Hello all!
So I am going to try a series of small experiments involving nonprofit arts production and our dance cmpany. It's rare to find rehearsal clips of dance on youtube, especially of Indian classical dance because I think we all fear that one bad comment. But, sometimes you have to take a risk and accept the feedback!
Sooo I am putting up 1 minute video clips on youtube, inspired by Shankar Tucker and Urban Dance Camp. Let's see how it goes...
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Dance Heals
I really need to find a way to consolidate these posts, but the effects of dance on the body and brain continue to astound me. It has healing and preventative links to some of the most degenerative diseases out there. And now, it seems to help prevent dementia!
This article here by Richard Powers sums it up nicely. I will quote it directly and let you decide:
"One of the surprises of the study was that almost none of the physical activities appeared to offer any protection against dementia. There can be cardiovascular benefits of course, but the focus of this study was the mind. There was one important exception: the only physical activity to offer protection against dementia was frequent dancing.
Reading - 35% reduced risk of dementia
Bicycling and swimming - 0%
Doing crossword puzzles at least four days a week - 47%
Playing golf - 0%
Dancing frequently - 76%. "
This article here by Richard Powers sums it up nicely. I will quote it directly and let you decide:
"One of the surprises of the study was that almost none of the physical activities appeared to offer any protection against dementia. There can be cardiovascular benefits of course, but the focus of this study was the mind. There was one important exception: the only physical activity to offer protection against dementia was frequent dancing.
Reading - 35% reduced risk of dementia
Bicycling and swimming - 0%
Doing crossword puzzles at least four days a week - 47%
Playing golf - 0%
Dancing frequently - 76%. "
Mind. Blown. Now get to that dance class!
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
A workshop with Kumudini Lakhia
I was lucky enough to take a kathak intensive workshop with Kumudini Lakhia, the mother of modern kathak dance, this past weekend.
It was absolutely incredible. Possibly one of the things I continue to feel surprised by - and also, on some level, completely expect - is that in the basics, dance technique across the board is fairly similar. There is no accepted dance where you can compress your spine, or not use your pelvis to create a turnout, or arch your back in a standing position.
What clicked from this particular workshop is that in dance, excess movement is never appreciated. While that may seem obvious in bharatanatyam, where the linear lines and strength convey that, you'd think the opposite with odissi and definitely kathak with its incredible soft (looking!), fluid, supple movements. Kumudini repeatedly emphasized solely moving the wrist from point A to point B with no extra openings, tweaks, etc. Even the hands were just these appendages that followed. She went so far as to give us a math lesson. "What is the shortest distance between two points? A line! Don't add any thing else in!"
From working with Nrityagram (and following them for years now) and continuing work with kathak, the final word in all of it, regardless of what you are trying to convey to an audience (strength, severity, lightness, fluidity, happiness) you must whittle down your work to it's most basic ingredients. Like food, it in fact the simplest things that are the hardest to execute because of the required precision and control of body to perform them.
I'll leave you with the following:
Some lovely points Kumudini made, which I just wanted to share directly (making no comment on the truth of these):
"It is better to be a bad original than a perfect copy."
"What is the real difference between the dances of India? It is whether they are based on Krishna or Shiva." She went on to explain her theory - kathak, kuchipudi - these are based on the lightness of Krishna. Odissi, Bharatanatyam - within the strength of Shiva. What was really interesting was the division has nothing to do with technique, simply the mood that the dance conveys.
There was a point, also, where she described her theory as to why the hands are where they are below in this common kathak pose:
Kumudini's opinion (which differed from that of her guru's and spoke that it was simply her interpretation, NOT right or wrong) was that the hand pointing upwards was the idea that kathak was infinite, like the sky it references. The hand pointing outwards, was to the horizon, always showing that there is more to learn, more to grow, more to explore.
Anamika-Navatman Intermediate Kathak Students + Prashant Shah! (I tried to find the group shot with Kumudini but couldn't)
It was absolutely incredible. Possibly one of the things I continue to feel surprised by - and also, on some level, completely expect - is that in the basics, dance technique across the board is fairly similar. There is no accepted dance where you can compress your spine, or not use your pelvis to create a turnout, or arch your back in a standing position.
What clicked from this particular workshop is that in dance, excess movement is never appreciated. While that may seem obvious in bharatanatyam, where the linear lines and strength convey that, you'd think the opposite with odissi and definitely kathak with its incredible soft (looking!), fluid, supple movements. Kumudini repeatedly emphasized solely moving the wrist from point A to point B with no extra openings, tweaks, etc. Even the hands were just these appendages that followed. She went so far as to give us a math lesson. "What is the shortest distance between two points? A line! Don't add any thing else in!"
From working with Nrityagram (and following them for years now) and continuing work with kathak, the final word in all of it, regardless of what you are trying to convey to an audience (strength, severity, lightness, fluidity, happiness) you must whittle down your work to it's most basic ingredients. Like food, it in fact the simplest things that are the hardest to execute because of the required precision and control of body to perform them.
I'll leave you with the following:
Some lovely points Kumudini made, which I just wanted to share directly (making no comment on the truth of these):
"It is better to be a bad original than a perfect copy."
"What is the real difference between the dances of India? It is whether they are based on Krishna or Shiva." She went on to explain her theory - kathak, kuchipudi - these are based on the lightness of Krishna. Odissi, Bharatanatyam - within the strength of Shiva. What was really interesting was the division has nothing to do with technique, simply the mood that the dance conveys.
There was a point, also, where she described her theory as to why the hands are where they are below in this common kathak pose:
Kumudini's opinion (which differed from that of her guru's and spoke that it was simply her interpretation, NOT right or wrong) was that the hand pointing upwards was the idea that kathak was infinite, like the sky it references. The hand pointing outwards, was to the horizon, always showing that there is more to learn, more to grow, more to explore.
Friday, March 8, 2013
Stop Motion Video and Dance
Stop Motion video is a fascinating technique that allows you to turn the visual upside down on it's head.
What's truly interesting is that stop motion video can basically create dance out of the opposite notion of dance: still pictures!
The implications blow my mind a little bit but I wanted to share this. What would it mean to take a dance like bharatanatyam or odissi which speaks to sculpture and create a stop motion video?
What's truly interesting is that stop motion video can basically create dance out of the opposite notion of dance: still pictures!
The implications blow my mind a little bit but I wanted to share this. What would it mean to take a dance like bharatanatyam or odissi which speaks to sculpture and create a stop motion video?
Sunday, February 10, 2013
A Kalakshetra Teacher in Beijing
This video made me so happy. Bharatanatyam is showing that it can certainly be taught and appreciated as a class on a global level.
Maybe it is because, as the author says, people are looking to diversify, tired of having their children take ballet and piano lessons, but even if that's the case, it's a big step in the right direction for Indian arts to be valued in a more mainstream manner!
Friday, January 4, 2013
Hip Hop and Indian Classical Dance
This entire post was sparked by the incredible urban dance artist Brian Puspos and this video:
The first time I watched it, it brought me close to tears. There was something about the way he interpreted the lyrics, his deep emotions, and close relationship with the rhythm that made this pop.
And then it struck me...this is abhinaya at its best! What am I doing thinking of abhinaya as an esoteric medium restricted to be within the definition of Indian classical dance???
He has a word to word meaning - choosing the most important parts of the sentence to describe to the audience. He uses hastas - grabbing, catching, showing his heart. His facial muscles show anguish, pain, resolution, happiness, and all in a dance like manner. What else is abhinaya if not that?
This got me watching more and more hip hop videos. And then, I realized, bharatanatyam has something to learn from hip hop. We often think we are difficult to understand, follow, etc - but then you watch hip hop and it's much the same. Hip hop's positions - bent knees and arms - are enormously grounded and rhythmical. Its movements isolate arms, legs, torso head, eyes, in similar ways to bharatanatyam. Spatially it often keeps to one spot, just as Indian classical dance does. It's not about flexibility, turns, or leaps. It has an intense geometry.
I could have just described Indian classical dance's most important values in the last few sentences. So maybe us artists can get a kick of inspiration, intensity, and a different viewpoint all together by realizing that we are more than our history...we are less esoteric, less different, less "other" than we think these days.
The first time I watched it, it brought me close to tears. There was something about the way he interpreted the lyrics, his deep emotions, and close relationship with the rhythm that made this pop.
And then it struck me...this is abhinaya at its best! What am I doing thinking of abhinaya as an esoteric medium restricted to be within the definition of Indian classical dance???
He has a word to word meaning - choosing the most important parts of the sentence to describe to the audience. He uses hastas - grabbing, catching, showing his heart. His facial muscles show anguish, pain, resolution, happiness, and all in a dance like manner. What else is abhinaya if not that?
This got me watching more and more hip hop videos. And then, I realized, bharatanatyam has something to learn from hip hop. We often think we are difficult to understand, follow, etc - but then you watch hip hop and it's much the same. Hip hop's positions - bent knees and arms - are enormously grounded and rhythmical. Its movements isolate arms, legs, torso head, eyes, in similar ways to bharatanatyam. Spatially it often keeps to one spot, just as Indian classical dance does. It's not about flexibility, turns, or leaps. It has an intense geometry.
I could have just described Indian classical dance's most important values in the last few sentences. So maybe us artists can get a kick of inspiration, intensity, and a different viewpoint all together by realizing that we are more than our history...we are less esoteric, less different, less "other" than we think these days.
Friday, December 7, 2012
The meditative quality of dance and music...and bubble wrap
http://www.npr.org/blogs/krulwich/2012/12/06/166685434/what-to-do-when-the-bus-doesn-t-come-and-you-want-to-scream-an-experiment?utm_source=NPR&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=20121207
The post above describes the frustration of waiting - and how to keep ourselves occupied, thus reducing said frustration - with something as simple as popping a bubble.
Tablet and phone applications work in this exact manner. What is so fascinating about slicing fruit that it can hold us for a 45 minute subway ride?
The answer: absolutely nothing. We just prefer having something to do than not.
Which brings me back to dance, music and meditation. Shouldn't we be able to manage a 5 minute wait for a bus without wanting to scream? I find that I can happily sit on an hour long bus ride, daydreaming or thinking about the actions of my day or my plans for the future. And I am quite sure that my dance training is why I am able to do this (coupled along with a highly active Roald Dahl-esque imagination, except my flying peaches are filled with taans and alaps and have clouds that can be used as dance floors).
The power of focus for the practitioner is truly where the power of art lies. Both from the standpoint of the viewer: can the art take you to a place where you don't feel like you are waiting for the end of the performance? Where it centers your focus, draws you in, and holds you in a meditative state of mind? And from the standpoint of the artist: can you focus during your practice on the one step that needs to be repeated over and over for 30 minutes. Can you focus during the song itself so deeply that you are truly present in the moment?
I suppose you can argue that bubble wrap is a focus, a simple, repetitive motion that allows you to be both the artist and the viewer. However, I think we can agree that most of us feel like we've gotten a hell of a lot more out of the meditative quality of an intense show than from chucking angry birds at some poorly piled up wood.
The post above describes the frustration of waiting - and how to keep ourselves occupied, thus reducing said frustration - with something as simple as popping a bubble.
Tablet and phone applications work in this exact manner. What is so fascinating about slicing fruit that it can hold us for a 45 minute subway ride?
The answer: absolutely nothing. We just prefer having something to do than not.
Which brings me back to dance, music and meditation. Shouldn't we be able to manage a 5 minute wait for a bus without wanting to scream? I find that I can happily sit on an hour long bus ride, daydreaming or thinking about the actions of my day or my plans for the future. And I am quite sure that my dance training is why I am able to do this (coupled along with a highly active Roald Dahl-esque imagination, except my flying peaches are filled with taans and alaps and have clouds that can be used as dance floors).
The power of focus for the practitioner is truly where the power of art lies. Both from the standpoint of the viewer: can the art take you to a place where you don't feel like you are waiting for the end of the performance? Where it centers your focus, draws you in, and holds you in a meditative state of mind? And from the standpoint of the artist: can you focus during your practice on the one step that needs to be repeated over and over for 30 minutes. Can you focus during the song itself so deeply that you are truly present in the moment?
I suppose you can argue that bubble wrap is a focus, a simple, repetitive motion that allows you to be both the artist and the viewer. However, I think we can agree that most of us feel like we've gotten a hell of a lot more out of the meditative quality of an intense show than from chucking angry birds at some poorly piled up wood.
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