September 2018
The current topic trending for Indian Classical Dance seems to be about "Mediocrity". What is "Mediocrity" in the context of classical dance? The question is quite complex and we should mention at least one factor that contributes to this complexity.
Almost all classical dances have different banis, styles, paramparas and then widely spread geographical practices. So what one considers as mediocrity is difficult to arrive at due to their historical origins and evolution since. It becomes tricky to arrive at one standard to determine as gold standard!
To get the debate going we can start with an article published, click here. I need to thank Odissi artist Sonali Mishra, Pulse and Sooraj Subramaniam and yes, Bharatanatyam exponent Rama Vaidyanathan for this relevant debate.
So is "Mediocrity" creeping into Indian Classical Dances and slowly eroding the rich culture of performing arts? What are the contributing factors? Is there a some "fix" needed?
One of the chief causes of mediocrity in dance is the acceptance of mediocre standards by teachers, schools and dance enthusiasts. This acceptance is one of the functions of socio-cultural mindset that values egalitarianism above the reality that all people are not equally good at all things. It is a cultural mindset based on rights rather than duties. Therefore you have a right to be considered excellent rather than a duty not to be mediocre. The appropriate demand for excellence is viewed as authoritarian rather than necessary, and so we have a rebellion of mediocrity against the 'authoritative' standard of excellence which mediocrity is unable or unwilling to attain. The result is that, in the interests of being seen to be 'compassionate' and 'humane', people actually begin to celebrate mediocrity and its right to assert itself as a new kind of morality. But, in fact, the destruction of excellence is an uncompassionate and inhumane activity because it drags even mediocrity down to a lower level (because there is no standard of excellence by which the mediocre can be judged to be mediocre), and so the whole cultural sphere is dragged gradually down to a level of mediocrity so mediocre that even the previous standards of mediocrity now look like excellence. That's why the standard of excellence should be set so high that is impossible for the vast majority of dancers to achieve.
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