Lyrical steps

Footloose

Dance, as an art form, comes cloaked in several layers. Digging beneath those layers and getting across a social message is what brings joy to choreographer Kalpana Raghuraman, writes Anusha Shashidhar.

 Dance fulfills different things for different people. For some, it is an artistic joy. For some, it is a preservation of culture. For some, it is literature in motion. For some, it is a professional identity. For Kalpana Raghuraman, dance is a medium to get across a social message. “Dance for dance’s sake, like art for art’s sake, is beautiful, no doubt,” she says. “But it can be, and in my opinion, should be, more. Much more.”

Kalpana never really considered dancing for a profession, even though she was trained in Bharatanatyam by her mother, Sharadha Raghuraman. Born and brought up in Netherlands, to her, it was simply one way of enjoying her Indian roots, and indulging in her love for art and culture. Consequently, she pursued Masters in anthropology in Holland, and even received a grant for a research that was part of her curriculum. Naturally, her choice of research was Bharatanatyam, as a classical dance form, through the ages.

Bound by traditions

Soon, Kalpana found herself in India, exploring the form and tracing the shift in its method of teaching and learning, and the apparent fixation on its preservation as a cultural heritage. 

“Earlier, classical forms were all about discipline, perfection, and devotion, what with the guru-shishya method of imparting knowledge,” notes Kalpana. “Through the years, however, it has come to represent a somewhat conservative and fearful protection of ‘tradition’. I call it conservative because many a time the form and structure become more important than the art itself. There is this apprehension about the ‘influence of the west and its contemporary dance form’.”

Kalpana does not mean to say that our classical forms of dance don’t need preserving; they sure do. She is merely curious about the fear of change the country as a whole seems to experience. Bharatanatyam is, arguably, a product of a hierarchical society, and the form expresses that in many subtle, and some overt, ways. And with that, any kind of change is viewed as ‘corrupting the form’, a near-death of sorts! 

“What we don’t seem to understand is that change is merely a transition rather than a complete transformation; the essence of the art form remains the same,” says Kalpana, earnestly. “Any art form, including dance, has to remain relevant to its times. Mere preservation won’t elevate its beauty; in fact, that would be death. We must learn to develop a sense of curiosity and zest for experimentation.”

Although, there have been a few attempts, and successful ones at that, in a country like ours, it is easier said than done. Kalpana reckons, “The problem is in the way we view contemporary dance. There is this tendency to think it is ‘a western form of dance’, while in truth, it is simply ‘dance of our times’. It is a euro-centric notion, a false one.”

Contemporary dance is all about expressing, and questioning the society, through the movements, rather than a form. In fact, it can be a mix of different forms. Simply put, in a contemporary piece, the message and movements preside over the forms used. It is an innovative way to keep the classical dance fans happy and at the same time take it to the next level with the social message, and that is exactly what Kalpana attempted with her choreography of Padme, a contemporary piece, that was recently staged in Bangalore. 

Padme had originally been produced by Korzo Producties, and staged in Netherlands. When the piece had to be produced for India, in Bangalore, Kalpana had to rework it from scratch, because her new troupe of seven Indian dancers were trained in different forms of classical dance — four in Bharatanatyam, two in Odissi, and one in Kathakali and contemporary!

Diaspora is a recurrent theme in most Indian authors’ books abroad. In the same way, Indian dancers and choreographers, born and brought up abroad, are no novice to the eternal search for roots, and the ever-present question of individual and cultural identity. Produced by dancer-actor-arts administrator Anita Ratnam, Padme was Kalpana’s expression of that same theme. 

Spiritual blooming

The lotus flower blooms amidst mud and water, and Padme was symbolic of that ‘spiritual blooming’ of diasporic individuals. Where do they figure in this world of borders and territories? How involved are they in terms of their culture, and which culture is that? How deep do their Indian roots go? The resulting performance was a unique rendition of the push and pull of a diasporic life; harshness of weathering the winds and softness of its beauty despite those conditions, just as in the life of a lotus flower.

Needless to say, Kalpana’s work certainly reflects her aim of furthering the cause of social choreography in India. She reminisces, “I had worked as a television and radio professional previously. But when I performed Bharatanatyam to live music, shortly after my Masters degree, I knew my heart was in dance. And with time, I came to realise choreography is my forte.”

“Frankly speaking, I’m more a choreographer than a dancer, although I do perform once in a while,” says Kalpana. “To me, choreography is a puzzle of sorts, almost like magic. I love visualising a piece and then seeing something else come out of it, especially when it dances a social message!”