The Devadasi Tradition

HISTORY LESSON!

The Devadasi Tradition is one of the most notorious parts of Indian history. Devadasis were women who were "married to God." They were the temple and royal dancers that survived under the patronage of kings and noblemen in medieval India. However, patronage tended to be a very kind word. In order to take care of themselves, the devadasis often had to resort to prostitution. 

The Devadasis were the original performers of Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi, and the like. In those times, dance education had a looser structure. Thus style evolved with the person. In the view of one of my interviewees, the devadasis' style evolved with need. Dance was there livelihood - how does one make the dance enticing and earn a living (and more patrons)? This does not refer solely to prostitution, but to entertainment as a whole. Style evolved with necessity. 

My Existential Crisis Pt. 2

So I'm back!

The more I think about my projecty crisis, the less crisisy it seems. It's merely a lot of thinking and sorting that hurts my brain. So let me explain where I stand right now. As far as analysis between different styles of dance go, I'm golden. I have plenty of material and grasp to present the differences between Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi, and Mohiniattam. But it all gets a bit confusing when I hit the analysis of various styles within Bharatanatyam. So when I asked all the experts during the interviews, one of the responses I got was quite shocking. "Defined schools of style do not exist."

......
LOLWUT
......

Down crashing comes my mindset and the organization system I had. So now I'm exploring the two viewpoints: the traditional view of schools of style, and the non-style viewpoint.

My Existential Crisis- Part 1

Dear everybody,

Okay so maybe my title is  little dramatic. But my project is kind of having an existential crisis. So my trip to India was simultaneously the best and worst thing to happen to this project. The best because, well, it was amazing, and enlightening, and a whole slew of other adjectives. But as much of a intellectual journey as the interviews were, they confused me to no end. I have so many ideas that I think I'll have to end up formulating an answer before changing my original questions themselves. I don't even know. The interviews took me on a path that challenged traditional thoughts on school of style. They took on a very definitive tone - what IS style? Some may argue it is individualized per person. So....there's a lot of thinking to do :/

~Prithvi

More on Mohiniattam

Hi! 
So one of the important things I discovered about Mohiniattam is that it is a highly evolving dance form. While Bharatanatyam is also still evolving, Mohiniattam is growing much faster. Mohiniyattam is the only art form of India that was subject to several revivals and renaissance. The efforts of Maharaja Swathitirunal (1813-1846) and the attempts of Kerala poet Vallathol Narayana Menon, in 1932,1937 and in 1950, are important endeavours in the history of this art. The late Thankamani was the first student of Mohiniyattam at the Kerala Kalamandalam (1932). She left the institution within a couple of years on her marriage to the late Guru Gopinath. 

Mohiniattam went through a period of outlaw, when it was thought to be a form of prostitution. Thus, during its revival, it began evolving and reforming. Ms. Gopika Varma was telling me how when she was learning, Mohiniattam only had about 32 or so adavus. Now it has over 160!

So more in the next post,

~Prithvi

More Mohiniattam

Hi!

Here's a video of a basic adavu in mohiniattam.

As you can see, this dance form is much more graceful and swaying. The basic stance (arramandi, akin to the plie in ballet) has legs placed much further apart as compared to Bharatanatyam. Hope you enjoy this video! I sure enjoyed taking it.

~Prithvi

Mohiniattam

Hello!

So I'm back from my week in Chennai, and did all my actual work. It was a week full of interviews (and extreme humidity induced insanity). But it was a crazy enlightening week, that probably gave me way too many ideas. My first interview was with Ms. Gopika Varma, a Mohiniattam expert and renowned performer. I had the luck of sitting in on her class and asking her a few questions. I'll elaborate on that in the next post, but I noticed that while Mohiniattam and Bharatanatyam share a base, they differ significantly in execution. The goal of Mohiniattam is for the performer to sway gracefully and hypnotize the audience. The footwork involves a lot more heel and toe work, and lacks the rigidity thats characteristic of classic Bharatanatyam.

I have an awesome video that I took in the class (multiple actually) but the wifi here is spotty at best, so I'll post them when I return next week! Off to pack :/

~Prithvi

Madras Madras!

So I'm finally in Madras, and now begins the bulk of my work. This week, I'll be meeting with dance professionals and conducting Interviews (with a capital I for some added importance). I've spent my train ride composing my questions so here they are. This is purely a base skeleton and I'll ad lib depending on the progress of the interview. Feast your eyes:

1. The major schools of Bharatanatyam are Kalakshetra, Vazhuvoor, and Pandanallur. What is it that sets [insert style name] apart from the others?
2. What are the stylistic components used in choreography that are uniquely [insert style name]?
3. How would you characterize the nritta in [style]? (ie: rigid, flowing, etc.)
4. How would you characterize the abhinaya in [style]? (ie: subdued, dramatic, etc.)

These are my basic questions. I start all this lovely business tomorrow, but right now I'm off to the beach! Ta :)

~Prithvi