Friday 1 May 2020

Anita says...May 2020

We will not go back to normal
Normal never was.
Our Pre Corona existence was not normal
Other than we normalised greed, inequity, exhaustion
Depletion, extraction, disconnection, confusion,
Rage, hoarding, hate and lack.
We should not long to return my friends.
We are being given the opportunity
To stitch a new garment.
One that fits all of humanity
And nature.

- Dr. BRENE BROWN
School of Social Work, University of Houston, Texas

What do I say that has not already been said, seen and performed during these part 30 days?
I am so fed up with my phone and my iPad. I am sick and tired of desperate dancers performing in their non photogenic homes just so "they are not forgotten." I have seen so much bad dancing, especially Bharatanatyam, that it has turned me off this wonderful form for a while.

Dance is about human interaction. It's about the sweat and the panting and the effort and the exhaustion. It is about the exhilaration and excitement of having completed a phrase, an item, a performance, a rehearsal well. It is about the RASA of human eyes watching another human body in the same physical space and not through the cold, glassy eye of the camera. It's also about embracing and being applauded by actual audiences and not by "likes" and "heart" emojis.

I have enjoyed the riches of the world's greatest museums and cultural spaces. Operas, ballets, online tours, ancient history talks, cooking lessons, language lessons - my days have been filled with so much that I did not feel one day blurring into the next.

1 comment:

  1. Dear Editor, As President of ABHAI i would like to clarify one point in your Editorial which says that ABHAI has reached out to Folk Artists. It's not only Folk Artists that we have reached out to, but Artists who are Dancer-Teachers, Orchestra Musicians,(which includes Vocalists, Nattuvangam artists, Flautists, Mridangists, Violinists) Make-up artists, Costumers, Lighting Technicians, Folk dance Artists and Theru Koothu artists. In all 72 Artists have been assisted till date to a tune of Rs.6.5 lakhs and the work is still continuing with requests for help pouring in every day. Just wanted to clarify this. Thank you..

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