It is not up to you to decide if you are good or not
Leave your channels of inspiration open
Let the movement flow
Surrender your spirit to the dance
It is for others to decide, not you.
- Martha Graham's advice to choreographer Agnes De Mille about Self Doubt
Diwali in India this year was more subdued than usual, with the eco activists asserting their voice against bursting crackers. I was away from home and missed the welcome bustle of domestic cheer that has accompanied my annual Deepavali (as we South Indians say) in Chennai. For over a decade I have missed being woken by my mother and grandmother at 4am and led to the bathing areas for a special oil bath with turmeric paste and sesame oil while their soothing voices would sing that famous Telugu song SITA KALYANAM VAIBHOGAME...
This year I am not home to supervise the same ritual for my daughter Arya, who, incidentally, refuses to allow me to sing the words to the song, citing it as a patriarchal custom. So instead I just hum the tune to her.
I miss the rustle of a new silk sari and the excitement of visiting my elders and good friends, sharing news and plain town gossip.
Deepavali away from home just does not feel like a festival for me. And on that very day, October 27, I arrived in San Mateo, Bay Area, California. What greeted me was a giant power outage and zero connectivity! Imagine in the tech centre of Silicon Valley to have the raging California fires threaten not just lives but the working of so many homes!
It is festival season so let's switch moods and begin on a positive note!
Read on...
Leave your channels of inspiration open
Let the movement flow
Surrender your spirit to the dance
It is for others to decide, not you.
- Martha Graham's advice to choreographer Agnes De Mille about Self Doubt
Diwali in India this year was more subdued than usual, with the eco activists asserting their voice against bursting crackers. I was away from home and missed the welcome bustle of domestic cheer that has accompanied my annual Deepavali (as we South Indians say) in Chennai. For over a decade I have missed being woken by my mother and grandmother at 4am and led to the bathing areas for a special oil bath with turmeric paste and sesame oil while their soothing voices would sing that famous Telugu song SITA KALYANAM VAIBHOGAME...
This year I am not home to supervise the same ritual for my daughter Arya, who, incidentally, refuses to allow me to sing the words to the song, citing it as a patriarchal custom. So instead I just hum the tune to her.
I miss the rustle of a new silk sari and the excitement of visiting my elders and good friends, sharing news and plain town gossip.
Deepavali away from home just does not feel like a festival for me. And on that very day, October 27, I arrived in San Mateo, Bay Area, California. What greeted me was a giant power outage and zero connectivity! Imagine in the tech centre of Silicon Valley to have the raging California fires threaten not just lives but the working of so many homes!
It is festival season so let's switch moods and begin on a positive note!
Read on...
This is in response to the #payforarts . There is a big movement on watsapp against paynperform.
ReplyDeleteBut what about nopaymentnoperformance. Nobody is talking about that .
I feel the dance community is intellectually challenged lot! If supply>demand such practices will continue and there is nothing wrong with that because , legally speaking there is no act of coercion involved.
Just like in the film industry where the actors are propositioned to sleep with the producer/director/castingagent and the actor has the choice to say no , similarly the dancer is not forced to pay , s/he has the choice to look for other opportunities. But the question is , can dancers save themselves the "temptation" of not getting seen on the stage while there is another replacement ready to paynperform.
Conclusion-- Sussane k Langer called Dance and illusory medium , I say dancers live in an illusory world . SAB MAYA HAI!!!
ReplyDeleteThis is with regard to Rajyothsava award- Yes, as in previous years, this year also the RAJYOTSAVA awards in various categories, including dance, are fraught with controversies. As you have rightly pointed out, it is strange that they could not select a single classical dancer to deserve the award! Further, why should there be an age-tag of 60 plus years to be eligible for the award. Meritorious contributions should be the primary consideration as it has been done as an exception this year in giving the Rajyotsava award to a 16-year-old girl for her remarkable achievements in yoga.
It is unfortunate that an award given this year to an art institution is openly criticized and allegations made against a senior dancer for nepotism. It is embarrassing that it has become a talking point. It would have been more reasonable if the concerned individual was contacted, sought her response to the allegations and quoted ‘her’ as otherwise it seems to be one sided.
This is with regard to Rajyothsava award- Yes, as in previous years, this year also the RAJYOTSAVA awards in various categories, including dance, are fraught with controversies. As you have rightly pointed out, it is strange that they could not select a single classical dancer to deserve the award! Further, why should there be an age-tag of 60 plus years to be eligible for the award. Meritorious contributions should be the primary consideration as it has been done as an exception this year in giving the Rajyotsava award to a 16-year-old girl for her remarkable achievements in yoga.
ReplyDeleteIt is unfortunate that an award given this year to an art institution is openly criticized and allegations made against a senior dancer for nepotism. It is embarrassing that it has become a talking point. It would have been more reasonable if the concerned individual was contacted, sought her response to the allegations and quoted ‘her’ as otherwise it seems to be one sided.
CLARIFICATION
ReplyDeleteI wish to give a clarification since there seems to be some misinformation and distortion of facts, which has unfortunately been used as the basis for writing the article that appeared in various fora in social media, including Narthaki magazine.
To start with, Prabhath Arts International is not owned by Rajendra. It is an independent organization and neither Rajendra nor me are in any administrative or artistic capacity there. Rajendra and I have our own dance school, Abhinava Dance Company, which we have been running for twenty-five years.
I was a member of an eighteen-member suggestion panel for the 2019 Rajyotsava Awards given by the Government of Karnataka. This panel is different from the Selection Committee, which is headed by the Chief Minister of the State.
The task assigned to the members of the suggestion panel was to offer suggestions to the Ministry of Culture. This panel consisted of many people from diverse fields and each of whom suggested ten to twelve names for the award. I suggested the name of several persons from both Dance and Music field.
Along with the Kannada and Culture minister, we worked for several days to go through all the nominations. From close to two thousand nominations, we shortlisted 128 names, out of which the government has awarded 64 people. While some of the names suggested by me were considered, many names of dancers suggested by me were not finalized for the award by the selection committee, in which I had no role to play.
After the awards were announced on Monday – i.e. 28th October – I , in excitement sent out messages of congratulation to various people and of the said congratulatory messages, I made a private video to wish Prabhath Art International and sent it to the Prabhath family whats app group which has around 100 people. I have said that 5 out of all the names i had suggested had received the awards. This video has been used for a smear campaign against me by people having vested interest. A lot of misinformation has been spread about me and even many dancers are being misled.
This being the case, I’m writing this to set the record straight to reveal the TRUTH. Kindly realise the fact that being a member of the suggestion committee, I am not supposed to reveal the names suggested by me. However, all I can say is that I did suggest the names of several dancers, especially senior dance artists whose names were not finalized by govt, which was out of my control. I hope other dance artists realise this and not impute baseless allegations against me.
Sincerely
Nirupama Rajendra
Rehearsing with US based artistes has opened my eyes to the many challenges faced in their day to day lives. No matter how large a home they live in, the daily grind of dropping kids off to school, picking them up, cooking for the family, grocery shopping, laundry duties consume so much time away from the arts. Having lived in the US for 15 years, I know the conundrum that many women, and some men, have in their daily routines. Kudos to all those who manage to maintain their passion and conviction for dance and music in the midst of marriage, motherhood and domestic Goddesses!
ReplyDeleteWell said!
This month’s edition of ‘Anita Says’ has sparked many reactions (some of them knee-jerk) and opinions on a hot topic for decades… the pay to perform campaign. The effort to even make this a digestible topic to the dance community is noteworthy. But, how did this even start in the first place? Why is no one addressing this issue? Did it start because of nepotistic dance Gurus, trying to promote their kith and kin? Did it only start when ‘loaded’ NRI dancers were ready to bridge the gap of their geographical dislocation through ‘buying’ performances?
ReplyDeleteA performance always begins by ‘applying’ to a Sabha. Now, which Sabha in Chennai or for that matter in India actually has a clear cut application form that needs to be filled out? None! How does one apply for a performance? Through contacts, stalking the sabha secretaries, making overseas phone calls, being snubbed by rude staff or even through self-proclaimed dance connoisseurs, who take more money to do the running around, simply because they ‘empathise with your situation’. Some have even made it their business, to show ‘compassion’ towards these lost dancers, lure them into paying money for a sabha slot or sometimes even a ‘rarest of the rare Tanjore Quartret Varnam’ or ‘the original lyrics of this and that Varnam’. Dancers genuinely believe this is authentic, exotic and irrefutable.
What about the already established dancers- turned organizers, who unabashedly take money for a performance slot in their dance festivals? The same ones who pretend that they have never ever paid for a performance????? How is it that even the rich and elite, even those of a royal heritage do not hesitate to quote the prices for each slot in their 'esteemed' festivals???
What happens to dancers who do not want to pay? They simply do not get any opportunities. Does anyone care? Absolutely not. It is kind of a given, that in today’s scenario, talent does not play any role.
Why cannot the organizers make it open to public that yes, they need funding, and yes, dancers need to pay to help them conduct a festival. But, make the process of selection and application non-discriminatory and crystal clear, without under the table dealings, nepotism, etc. Not to mention the innumerable instances where dancers are asked to ‘pay in kind’ or send their ‘workout pictures’ at questionable times of the day or night(!!!) (A Bangalore based photographer comes to mind)
Let us face it. This is not going to change. At least not in the near future. Therefore, instead of this cat and mouse chase, let us focus on the upcoming season. Let us try and be compassionate, watch performances non- judgmentally, give the right critique, save the negative criticism. Most importantly be human.