Classical approach all the way

Manpriya Singh

Passion, perseverance, patience—it requires nothing less than all the elements put together to pursue any art form; classical ones all the more! There is no dearth of respect or admiration, dedicated followers even. But isn’t there something that stops our ancient dance forms from assuming the popularity of, let’s say Bollywood’s naach gana? “This is because it’s not instant. You enrol a child in Bollywood dance class and the next day they are good enough to give a performance whereas it takes years to rehearse, practice and learn Kuchipudi or Bharatnatyam,” opines Dr G Ratheesh Babu, who is in Chandigarh with his crew from Raipur, as part of the third edition of the National Classical Dance Festival—2017.

Kuchipudi & ballet

Catch him re-enact the journey of Lord Krishna spread over a one-and-a-half hour slot. “We are presenting a Kuchipudi style ballet, comprising 10 dancers that will remain on stage and 5 people on the orchestra.” He adds, “We will present the journey of Lord Krishna right from his childhood to Vaanprastha. Lord Krishna, being a universal theme, will resonate with audience in the North as well.”

Bharatnatyam akin to yoga

Surprising as it might sound, he draws a parallel between the mudras and the asanas. “I am writing a thesis on how Bharatnatyam and yoga is correlated. If you look carefully, the basic postures in Bharatnatyam called karanas are very similar to yoga mudras. So if you know this dance form, there is no need to learn yoga separately,” adds the doctorate in Kuchipudi, who learnt his first steps in Mohiniattam at the tender age of five and intricacies of Bharatnatyam before choosing Kuchipudi dance as his calling.

Along the way, did any other forms of dance ever catch his attention? “I respect zumba, hip-hop or any other form of dance but when it comes to performing, it has to be Indian classical dance.”

Appreciation course

Having staged close to 1,200 shows, there is a note or two worth exchanging about the audience abroad and back home. “Unfortunately, here one will still find people who have come to watch the show but are disinterested. Foreigners, who are otherwise clueless about Indian culture, comparatively, show much more curiosity. They always approach you at the end of the performance with feedback and questions.” He adds, “I don’t mind even if only 10 people come and watch my performance. That’s much better than a gathering of 1,000 disinterested viewers.” That’s the beauty of ancient art forms. Who needs crowds anyway?

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(To perform at the Tagore Theatre—18, Chandigarh on June 22 from 6.30 pm onwards)