Time to recognize the new breed of young and talented
Bhavanvitha Venkat
This year's announcement of Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards for performing arts came about with turbulence and accompanied with some questioning. That an informal list came out into the social network and was widely circulated did not go well with some sections. Whose making is the leakage of the list? or who gave away the list to the press? is there really a delay? All these questions would become silent with passage of time only to surface during the next edition.
Looking at the list and following the trend it is quite obvious that there is a pattern in it. Going even further; some interesting classification that is being followed is found. Some artist are getting the awards due to their contributions, say by the disciples they produce, the manner in which they spread about their art form all across the world, or the perfect art that they personified through their performances both in the domestic and international circuits.
There is another classification of artists that surface from and through the family traditions, parampara that find opportunities for asking, through the good will of the lineage. They travel wide and extensive, gain reputation for their performances, and carry art through to the next generation.
What we have to look for is for another category of artists that are hardworking, passionate but have no dance in their background in the family. We find such dancers who have professional qualifications in career, working in jobs, that have put their life into dance through acquiring additional dance degrees (or titles, or even without any document) from well known academies and institutes. They are young and venturing and exploring the world spreading their dance.
I found many such dancers attending seminars, participating in conferences, attending university courses, enrolling for workshops, articulating their views on social networks, making new dance productions investing out of their very own funds. They work with musicians, sponsors and writers.. with limited resources, and if they are lucky, they get support from their teachers and gurus in the process.
They move out of their original towns and cities due to jobs, family, and can be even found shifting locations from time to time. Disheartened they are not, but surely looking for some encouragement.
They don't get the same support like the influential dancers that you find in the above two classifications, yet they contribute enormously to the eco-system. They work their way through challenging systems and circuits. They travel wide and explore different styles and cultures at times questioning and at times challenging the artificial barriers. In turn they face questions for their creative abilities. Most importantly they don't pay to perform or they don't prefer to perform without any remuneration. They fight exploitation and shine in their own merit.
Let's the Akademi encourage this classification too as in most other progressive countries they are considered precious.
I found many such dancers attending seminars, participating in conferences, attending university courses, enrolling for workshops, articulating their views on social networks, making new dance productions investing out of their very own funds. They work with musicians, sponsors and writers.. with limited resources, and if they are lucky, they get support from their teachers and gurus in the process.
They move out of their original towns and cities due to jobs, family, and can be even found shifting locations from time to time. Disheartened they are not, but surely looking for some encouragement.
They don't get the same support like the influential dancers that you find in the above two classifications, yet they contribute enormously to the eco-system. They work their way through challenging systems and circuits. They travel wide and explore different styles and cultures at times questioning and at times challenging the artificial barriers. In turn they face questions for their creative abilities. Most importantly they don't pay to perform or they don't prefer to perform without any remuneration. They fight exploitation and shine in their own merit.
Let's the Akademi encourage this classification too as in most other progressive countries they are considered precious.
About the contributor: Bhavanvitha Venkat is a Kuchipudi dancer and critic. You can send the feedback directly bhavanvitha@gmail.com
Kuchipudi - Smt Lakshmi Babu
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