Wednesday 4 January 2017

The 36th Natya Kala Conference: Part 2 - Footloose and fancy free with Dr. Sunil Kothari


4th Day
The session opened with V.A.K. Ranga Rao dispelling wrong impression given when he had asked Padma Subrahmanyam to show Karana Valitoru. He said that he did not compare it to cabaret, but such an impression was created because of the hip movement. He reiterated that the text sung for dance must have correct wordings.

The session between Nandini Ramani and Swamimalai SK Suresh was illuminating for young generation of dancers. Nandini described how she had received training from the legendary Balasaraswati. She and her gurus Kandappa Pillia and his son K Ganesh held the tradition very high. Fidelity was the key word. The dancer had to stick to one guru, one bani. There were no questions allowed. One had to follow what the guru taught. By osmosis one learnt a lot. The music, the movement, the adavus, the abhinaya with reference to Balasaraswati was exceptional. Bala later on went abroad to teach. But within India it was just remembering whatever she taught. There was no specific methodology.  So vast and rich was her repertoire and music that dancers who studied under her feel blessed that they had glimpse of her greatness. Nandini maintained when young dancers asked if they could learn from other gurus, she told them that she also believed in fidelity to one guru and one bani.


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