Dance of Soul!

This is a tribute to the two who inspired me to take interest in dances and write about it to the best of my ability. Both are biding their time to reappear on the stage one for Kuchipudi and another for Bharatanatyam. These are no great names. But then you dont dance for popularity nor for attention. You dance because you need to. You dance because your soul tells you to. You dance because there is nothing else that will give you the happiness of meeting with yourself, your inner self as you spin on the stage.

Creative people and that definitely includes Kuchipudi artists certainly seem to be quite a moody lot. Even the best of them tend to get disillusioned and withdraw themselves into a shell. There are no particular reasons for this. It just happens that one day you decide to hang your payals or salangai (the jingling leg ornament) and that is that. Days and months and even years pass by and the memory of the stage and the sounds of the cymbals and mridangam are lost in mists of time and one fine day it all comes back. And How!
Suddenly things revive the stage swims back into the realms of reality and the make up has been done and the and costumes are characteristic of the art, bright and beautiful have been worn. The long plaits have been intricately done and the flowers are in place so also the head ornaments like Rakudi the hand ornaments Chandra Vanki and the neck ornaments Adda Bhasa and Kasina sara is been adorned. The jingling jewellery for the feet is daintily hugging the twin feet. Everything is set and the nervousness of the stage and the fear of returning to it after so many years lost is thing of the past.

what remains is the audience, the thrill of appearing before this group of sharp witted rasikas, some of whom may know the art some ignormus, but all would be ready to witness the etheral performance that would evolve before them as the evening will wear on.

Nothing matters to me saki, I am Rukmini, I am Sathyabama, I am Krishna, I am gopika, I am the cause of the world, I am the destroyer of the earth, I am the reviver, I am the almighty and I am the ignorant, I am all and I am noone. I am everything and I am nothing. The feet will tap out rhythemically the songs written so many years ago by the great artists gone long past. The stage they strode the notes that they sang, the music to which they danced is all there but the dancing feet is gone. If I had not come back to this dance floor even I would have been forgotten to relics of time, the yellowing pages of history, to the memories of a few living beings, to the pages of books where a small reference to my work would have been made, may be to the websites which alluded to me when I performed.

But I am not history, I am not time, I am here, I am dancing I am going to be your being, I am going to be my being. I am going to dance and I am going to live through my dance, albeit for the brief time slot that is provided to me. I am the beginning and I am the end and because I am there the world is bright and beautiful. Because I dance the world is rejoicing. This is not vanity but this is reality. If I had not been dancing, someone wouldhave been. After all there were so many dancers before and so many more would come after me. And yet since I am here I matter. The world is there because I am there and when I am gone the world will still be there and you will be there and one day even you will be gone and yet the world will still be there. The stage will still be set, the percussion instruments will still be made and the ageless Kuchipudi will still be practised. I want to enjoy the time slot provided to me so that I can be part of the ever present world to which I am but a brief visitor.

I chose to come back to the stage because I need to come back I need to be part of this scene, this is my soul , this is my meaning of life this is the etheral dance which the Lord Shiva himself lent his soul to at the beginning of everything. The celestial dance will continue in many myriad form. I will dance because the Lord danced.

The day will wear on, the audience would clap, the feet will beg to be relieved, the back will cry for attention, the sweat will tell me that I am done and yet I will be back on stage again and again, till such time I will bid adieu and all that, not because I need to go but because I choose to go!

A Kuchipudi evening in Delhi

Nava Pallava 2007

Kuchipudi has evolved from a dance operatic form to the present day solo and stage ballet form over a period through a series of experimentation is what the experts who practice this art say. Any living art form naturally has to take the sights and sounds of the period and incorporate in its repertoire. This was quite evident in the evening performance of the quiet and almost demure artist Prabir Datta and his disciples at the PSK auditorium in Delhi today August 18 2007.

Meliflous music, extremely colourful costumes and sheer energy of two male artists backed by the graceful troupe of senior and junior artists took the audience through an evening of entertainment in pure Kuchipudi peppered by bold experimentation by the seasoned artist Prabir Datta, an unique male dancer from Bengal who learnt and practices the difficult dance form Kuchipudi unique to Andhra Pradesh in National capital Delhi. There cant be a better example of national integration than this!

Coming back to the Dance programme which was dedicated to celebrate the 60th year anniversary of Indian independence and also at a personal level to the memory of Prabir's departed mother who died this day seven year's earlier, the renowned artist was able to offer a highly entertaining and thought provoking kuchipudi dance performance. The programme had a rich blend of tradition and modernity with the Vande Madaram rendered anew by A R Rehman, the celebrated music composer of Tamil Nadu bringing up the rear as the last programme.

Prabir was only matched by Arindam's own highly energetic stage show which saw him rule the stage in gay abandon with sheer strength and expression. In the Ramayana Sabdam which itself is a difficult and long dance song to render, leave alone with a group coordinating its movements, Arindam was everywhere smoothly taking up the leadership and guiding the other fellow artists through the complex story of Ramayana starting with the aranya Kandam and ending with Rama Pattabishegam.

The song weaves the delicate story with the staccato one line stanza which shifts scene after scene bringing forth the vanity of Seetha in seeking to possess the magical deer, her admonition of Lakshmana, his seeking out the deer while Ravana coming in to seize Rama's consort and the Eagle king Jatayu fighting him, Rama coming to know of the abduction from Jatayu, the brothers meeting Hanuman and then his master the monkey king sukreva and the amalgamation of the monkey soldiers, the vanquishing of the lankan king Ravana, restoration of the kingdom to Sukreva and donning of the Royal mantle at Ayodya by sri Rama all were reenacted with exacting precision and even repetition of every scene by the different pairs of artists on stage. Quite an amazing show which left the audience breathless

Rabindranath Tagore's song that followed afterwards was like the proverbial autumn wind after a cyclonic storm! the lilting music and the graceful steps of the audience guided by Prabir himself in the middle was an experience which the audience well deserved.

If it was experience, sheer expression and of course tremendous energy by the pair of male artists, it was elegance, grace and beauty that was on display with the senior artists from prabir's troupe and the show was rounded off by the sheer grit and determination of the youngsters from the group to win everyone's heart. The show was compered with elan by Smitha Raman, a Bharatanatyam dancer.

The last time one saw Nava Pallava was in its maiden launch year and this year round it has matured as a group even though it is regret that one had to wait a full one year to be treated to such an evening of Kuchipudi. Hopefully one need not wait another year 's to see the Nava Pallava on stage again.

Kuchipudi past and future

While the dance performance like Nava Pallava greatly helps to bring to centre stage the living art form like Kuchipudi and also helps to expose many young artists to the real experience of facing the audience.

The programme also endorsed the willingness and boldness of the successive artists to experiment with the art form and not be rigid in maintaining its "purity" for its own sake. An interesting article by shobha natarajan one of the foremost exponent of Kuchipudi based in the US in the website link http://www.boloji.com/dances/00117.htm highlights the need to revisit the past to plan for the future in Kuchipudi.

Some excerpts from the article.

"While its close cousin, Bharatanatyam achieved recognition and international fame, Kuchipudi was lagging behind and was confined to its village setting. In the forties, a few teachers ventured into big cities like Madras and Hyderabad, and started training female students as well as directing dance sequences for the cinema. New dance pieces were added to the existing repertoire and soon Kuchipudi gained popularity. It is now considered one of the six major dance styles of India. Some of the front-ranking dancers are Yamini Krishnamurthi, Swapnasundari, Raja and Radha Reddy, and Sobha Naidu."

"Having performed Kuchipudi in several parts of the world, I find that it always makes a direct and immediate impact on audiences. Through performances, classes, collaborative stage ventures, and research, I hope to do my share in helping Kuchipudi get wider exposure on the world dance map. The responsibility now rests on the younger generation of Kuchipudi dancers to take this art form to a new higher level"

The message to young artistes is quite clear!

Personally I think any aspiring artist should get their basics clear by first reading and learning about the dance form and gaining as much knowledge about it as possible. While it is a good idea to go asking your Guru about it, considering the way any dance is being taught and learnt at present with one class a week for one hour sandwiched between senior and novices, there is hardly any time to interact with your Guru. The next best source is the Net which is definitely a great source of information. Take for instance the great dance guru Shoba Naidu Kuchipudi Art Academy website http://www.kuchipudi.com/ It is a veritable library of facts and details about Kuchipudi dance form and its practice. It is definitely important for any student to first get to know about the greatest exponents of this art form. The simplest thing to do is to click on the following link http://kuchipudi.com/htmlfiles/person.htm which will take you to the pages which will give amazing information about the dance gurus of the past beginning with Chinta Venkata Ramayya (1860-1949) founder of Venkata Rama Natya Mandali the earliest known organised attempt to propagte this dance form. You want to know about various dance styles of Kuchipudi read more

The website is also designed extremely well and contains so much of content that it should be a Must Visit section for all the budding Kuchipudi students young and old.

Of knowledge and its propagation about Kuchipudi

Nava Pallava Dance performance on 18th August 2007 (artists Sharanya, Priyamvda & Sukanya Datta)

Kuchipudi like any other art form needs to be nurtured through the near activist zeal of its practitioners. For instance, Vijaya Prasad, one of the most prominent exponent of Kuchipudi from Maharashtra took up the issue of a wrong information in the school text books about Kuchipudi having originated form Tanjore Tamil Nadu and got the government to correct the school text book.

Many of the prominent artists have written books on the subject, published papers and even done their phds devoted to the subject. Most also regularly visits temples associated with the art form to study the sculptures and try to incorporate the themes in their presentations. There are others who delve deep into the India epic and folklore to isolate stories and themes to embellish their presentations. Some more look at the music related to Kuchipudi and try to ferret out rare renderings suited to the rendering of the dance form. There are yet others who try to blend the dance with other popular dances from the classical order to find the amalgam of beauty and expression of this rare art form.

Numerous ballets, songs, dance competitions, dance expositions, temple dances and other public performances are taking place in Kuchipudi around the world as the audience in support of this dance form keeps growing in sheer size and also quality.

Every year dance festivals are sponsored by the Government of India’s Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR). ICCR also supports the artists from all forms of art and a regular calander of events are brought out by the council every year, the details of which can be had by linking to the council’s website. If you want to be a regular to ICCR’s programme the best thing you can do is become a “friend” of ICCR by joining their “Friends of ICCR Forum” by paying a nominal life membership of Rs 3000 per couple or Rs 2000 for an individual. Considering the kind of massive dose of entertainment information you would receive every year, the membership is worth every rupee. Follow this link provided by http://education.vsnl.com/ for an application form of ICCR friendship forum.

ICCR also brings out books, publications and multimedia CDs on various art forms and don’t look for any books on dance from ICCR you will not find one! If there were any, one cant find it as the search option on the site does not yield anything. It just doesn’t work. Someone should immediate remove this glitch from the site otherwise it could be quite embarrassing. ICCR has a calander of events link under the happenings section and the calendar has the latest month’s events August 2007.

Capturing the nuances and the rare work of the grand artists is no easy task even though the internet has given the tools for research to do the task. More awareness of the use of Internet and the facility to put together the available knowledge and offer it to the wider audience—whether they practice the art or mere rasikas—is a challenging task. Also the delicate question of intellectual property right of whether a rare information belongs to a website or can it be propagated to a wider audience, ascribing to the original website of course, is a moot question.

I am taking the stand that so long as the source of the information is identified anyone is free to distribute the information based on their interpretation and use of the information as after all, knowledge is free so long as it has been put in the public domain. We will keep growing this blog!

Elements of Indian classical dance

Indian classical dance

Indian classical dance are essentially Bharatanayam, Kathak, Kathakali, Odissi, Mohinyattam, Manipuri and Kuchipudi. Each of these dance forms have evolved their own techniques, tradition, music and performance standards. Added to this is the style which the exponents of each of this art form follows while rendering their performance on stage.

What is common to all is the abinaya or expression.



Abhinaya

Abhinaya is common to all Classical Indian dances. Abhinaya is the expressional aspect of dance, or nritya. In contrast to this, Nritta is composed of only pure dance and will feature striking and aesthetic poses, but will have no expressional meaning and symbolism. Abhinaya have been categorised into four types:

Angika - or physical, using movements of every part of the body to convey meaning, with hastamudras (hand gestures), mandis (postures) and even the walk of the dancer.
Vachikabhinaya - or vocal/verbal, used formally today by members of the orchestra or supporting, non-dancing cast.
Aharyabhinaya - or external, expression, mood and background as conveyed by costume, make-up, accessories and sets.
Satvikabhinaya - or psychological, shown by the eyes in particular and as a whole by the entire being of the performer, who feels the mood, the character and the emotion as emanating from the self, not as an act or practical presentation.

The Navrasas or the nine moods

In addition, the navarasas, or nine emotions, give all dance a completeness that allows the dancer and the rasikas (audience) to experience the full beauty and meaning of the lyrics and the movements they are portrayed by.

These emotions are expressed in the eyes, the face, subtle muscle shifts and the body as a whole.
1. Hasya (happiness)
2. Krodha (anger)
3. Bhibasta (disgust)
4. Bhayanaka (fear)
5. Shoka (sorrow)
6. Veera (courage)
7. Karuna (compassion)
8. Adbhuta (wonder) and
9. Shanta (serenity).

Kuchipudi notes

India has a rich tradition of music and dance in their sublime form and much of the temple art, sculptures, theatre, folklore, folk arts, street music and even traditional practices at home resonate with music and the signature of celestial dance. Even Gods danced and the dancing God shiva in Nataraja form is the most visible iconic depiction of what the great Lord was all about. Celestial dance is the greatest liberator of mind and body. The rhythmic swaying of lithe and sensuous bodies to the lilting and sometimes powerful high pitch music would transport not just the dancers but even the audience to a world of ecstasy from which will find it difficult to return.

Great artists and dance gurus have preserved these art forms for generations on end adding to the rich culture of the forms reflecting each era of history mankind had passed through. Indian dances are mainly Bharatanatyam, Odissi, Kathk, Kathakali, Mohinyattam, manipuri and Kuchipudi. Each of these dance forms are from a specific region of the country even though the aficanodos of these forms could be found anywhere in the country. The metropolises of India, Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkatta, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad has Gurus and schools that they run representing almost all the dance and music traditions of India.

Kuchipudi is a dance form that originated from an ubiquitous village by the same name in Andhra Pradesh, a southern state of India. Kuchipudi derives its name from the village Kuchelapuram. The technique of Kuchipudi makes use of fast rhythmic footwork and sculpturesque body movements. Stylized mime, using hand gestures and subtle facial expression, is combined with more realistic acting, occasionally including dialogues spoken by the dancers. For a long time, the art was presented only at temples and that too only for annual festivals of certain temples in Andhra Pradesh. According to tradition, Kuchipudi dance was originally performed only by men and they all belonged to the Brahmin community. These Brahmin families were known popularly as Bhagavathalu of Kuchipudi. The very first group of Brahmain Bhagavathulu of Kuchipudi was formed in 1502 AD. Their programs were offerings to the deities and they never allowed women in their groups. However things have changed now with the modern dancers primarily comprising of women. The dance follows the following two forms today

1 'Natyamelamu' consists of a group of actors (males) performing Kuchipudi dance drama.
2 'Nattuvamelam' is a tradition of dance performed by woman artistes. This tradition had two sections , those who performed at the royal courts and those who performed in the temples


Historically it was performed as a dance drama, with several dancers taking different roles. The themes are mostly derived form the scriptures and mythology, and the portrayal of certain characters is a central motif of this dance form. One example is Satyabhama, the colourful second consort of Lord Krishna. Another unique feature of Kuchipudi is the Tarangam, in which the performer dances on the edges of a brass plate, executing complicated rhythmic patterns with elan.


Kuchipudi Dance Institutions

There is a lot of excitment about this form of dance even among the younger generation despite all the modernity and distractions, thanks to the pioneering work being done by famous dancers like Raja & Radha Reddy, Swapnasundari, vempati chinna satyam, shobha naidu, manju bhargavi, pasumarthy venkatesa sarma, vyjayanthi kashi, shanta rati mishra, arunima kumar among others. With the right kind of promotions by interested people including pioneering websites like http://www.artindia.net/ http://www.kanakasabha.com/ the dance tradition has been kept alive in the academies and houses of these artists. We will begin listing some of the dance schools and dancers as we go along.

Kuchipudi Dance Academy Mumbai

The school is a pioneering Kuchipudi dance institute in Dombivili, Mumbai. It is a non-profit organization, established in the year 1981 by Smt Vijaya Prasad with an aim to popularise Kuchipudi in Maharashtra. The teaching is imparted in Guru Shishya Parampara style. Each student is personally trained under the able guidance of the guru herself.

The following is an excerpt from the Academy's website on what Kuchipudi is all about. See also the videolink provided at the site. It is one of the best sites on this dance form and the anxiety of the Dance guru Vijaya Prasad to propagate the art form is quite evident from the meticulous way the site has been constructed along with superb content, except that it has not been updated of late as one notices.

Codification of Kuchipudi
In the 15th century, a saint called Siddhendra Yogi who is believed to have been saved by the Lord Krishna from drowning, codified the movements and enriched the repertoire of the Kuchipudi dance form. Siddhendra Yogi previously known as siddhappa, championed the cause of redefining this dance form aiming at eliminating exploitation of women. Kuchipudi was enriched by the advent of the female dancers. Renowned gurus like Vedantam Lakshmi Narayana Sastry, Chinta Krishnamurthy and Tadepalli Perayya, broadened the horizons of the dance form. The reforms brought in has led to the women playing the male parts in this dance form.

The dance repertoire

The Kuchipudi dance begins with worship rituals. A dancer moves about sprinkling holy water, and then incense is burned. Indra-dhvaja (the flagstaff of the god Indra) is planted on the stage to guard the performance against outside interference. Women sing and dance with worship lamps, followed by the worship of Ganesha, the elephant god, who is traditionally petitioned for success before all enterprises. The bhagavatha (stage manager-singer) sings invocations to the goddesses Saraswati (Learning), Lakshmi (Wealth), and Parashakti (Parent Energy), in between chanting drum syllables.

Then each principal character introduces himself or herself on the stage with a daru. A daru is a small composition of dance and song specially designed for each character to help him or her reveal his or her identity and also to show the performer's skill in the art. There are nearly 80 darus or dance sequences in the dance drama. Behind a beautiful curtain held by two persons, Satyabhama enters the stage with her back to the audience and her braid hanging from the curtain.

In a style of its own

Kuchipudi has its own style which is very pleasant to watch and many of the songs are tuned to a special rhythm which is unique and enjoyable. The Kuchipudi dancers are experts in Sattwika Abhinaya, Bhava Abhinaya. The charm of Kuchipudi lies in its fast and intricate footwork, sinuous grace, and the use of the eyes to express moods and feelings. The technique of Kuchipudi closely follows the tenets laid down in the 'Natya Shastra '. There is some mingling of the folk idiom, which makes it highly appealing to a wide spectrum of viewers. The training takes about four to seven years, and includes two sets of adugulu or basic steps, the jatis or combination of movements, and a detailed study of the 'Natyashashtra' (theoretical aspects of dance). Copyright © Kuchipudi Dance Academy


Here are the video links from Kuchipudi Dance Academy Video

Kuchipudi is a living art form

The popular Indian information website http://www.webindia123.com/ has some interesting content in its website on Kuchipudi Some excerpts from the article.

Kuchipudi, a representation of a fine combination of Natya, Nritta and Nritya was earlier never a solo affair and required a number of actors. It was presented in the open air on an improvised stage by men and boys who were given a vigorous training in abhinaya, music, dancing and singing. Earlier the female roles were played by boys and young men of comely appearance. The Sutradhar or the director of the stage played the key role. He was the conductor, dancer, singer, musician, comedian, all rolled into one.
The play began with the orchestral music which included Mridanga, Madala and a pair of cymbals, followed by an invocation to a deity and appearance of Ganesha, the elephant headed god to bless the performance. Then came the dancers offering worship to the Flagstaff or Flag of Indra. The Sutradhara then announced the theme of the play, introduced the characters in his sing-song voice and appealed the audience to witness the show with attention. This marked the end of the prelude and the beginning of the play proper.
Each character entered the stage dancing and singing the merits of the character he or she was impersonating, which is known as 'Daruvus'. The play progressed at a leisurely pace and relaxed tempo punctuated with dances both abstract and expressional. It contained some very complicated items of original footwork such as tracing out an outline of a lion or an elephant with the feet on the floor or dancing with the feet on the edges of a circular brass tray or with a water pot delicately and precariously balanced on the head.

Today Kuchipudi is considerably a different style of dance form than it originally used to be. In most of the cases it is now a solo performance done by female dancers. The Sutradhara has become a phenomenon of the past and the Vachika abhinaya, that is, expressional numbers are sung by the danseuses herself instead by the vocalists in the background on the stage as was the traditional practice. The element of devotion to gods has also been done away with and it has become purely a secular affair with predominance of 'sringar' or erotic flavour. Besides the drama component has also been totally reduced. The main expressional number is from Jaideva's Ashtapadi, the Ramayana, the Puranas, Tirtha Narayana's Krishna Lila Tarangini or Tyagaraja's compositions, but now the dancer combines into herself the roles of the singer who sings the 'daruvu', the actor who speaks the lines and the dancer who mimes and dances to interpret the text. Elements not indigenous to the dance drama such as sculpture like stances and freezes based on perfect iconographic forms motifs and shapes have also been incorporated into Kuchipudi dance recitals to make it more competitive with other dance forms.

Vempati Chinna Satyam

Kuchipudi's greatest known Guru's of modern times, has been the leader of this art form in whose footsteps the long list of practising artists of the art have come today. Vempati Chinna Satyam himself has been the disciple of the legendry Vedantam Lakshmi Narayana Sastry and Tadepalli Perraya Sastry who worked hard to resurrect the dying artform to bring it to the centrestage. Vempati had set the pace for the exemplary work his own disciples did in the later years for propagating Kuchipudi as the modern dance form while keeping the time worn tradition intact. The Dance which is a fusion of folk art played in the streets with the fine artistry of dance drama performances of the stage gained a distinct status and appeal at the hands of Vempati. He took the dance from the obscure corner of Andhra Pradesh to the world stage by performing with his fellow artists around the world and spearheading the setting up of dance schools in the Western world. His style is known for its flawless technical brilliance, neat well defined crisp lines of the body combined with innovation, creativity and a unique sense of space and time which is very important for the art to communicate the barriers of language and culture.

Vempati also set the tradition of organising dedicated dance schools for Kuchipudi with his Kuchipudi Art Academy in Chennai which is the oldest dance school teaching Kuchipudi. He also set up Kuchipudi Kalashetra in Vishakapatnam. Vempati composed almost 180 solo pieces and 15 ballets most of which are being staged verbatim by his disciplines everywhere which included Padmavati Srinivasa Kalyanam, Vipranarayana Charitam, Menaka Viswamitra, Kalyana Sakuntalam, Bhama Kalapam, Chandalika, Padmavathi Sreenivasa Kalyanam, Rukmini Kalyanam, Hara Vilasam, Siva Dhanurbhangam and Ardha Nareeswaram, being the latest. In fact, much of the work in Kuchipudi could safely be said to have some sort of iterative link to Vempati's work spanning more than five decades.

An indepth interview with the legend is carried in the website http://www.chennaibest.com/ by Janaki subramaniam with Vempati gives rare insights into the mind and work of the legendary Kuchipudi guru

Swapnasundari, an unparalleled Kuchipudi dancer and author

There are but very few masters who are both good at teaching and also practising an art form. And there are but few who could transcend the next level of researching and publishing a truly major treatise on the subject of their interest. Swapnasundari,the rare Kuchipudi artist from India is all this and more.

In a career spanning over four decades which is still quite current with the artist still busy performing around the world, Swapnasundari has impacted on the dance form in much the same way as her legendary guru Vempati Chinna Satyam with her own style and repertoire.

Swapnasundari is one of these rare masters of their own art who practises Kuchipudi and Bharatanatyam to perfection and also who is willing to spare her time and effort to research the subject thoroughly and also bring out publications for the posterity. She is bold in her approach to her dance and not wary of adapting modern styles in her choreography and at the same time she is a stickler for tradition having been trained by the greatest of Kuchipudi gurus Pasumarthi Seetharamaiah and Vempati Chinna Satyam. Her gurus in Bharata Natyam include KN Dakshinamurthy, Adyar K Lakshmanan and B Kalyana Sundaram. She received specialized training in abhinaya from the veteran performer and teacher, Kalanidhi Narayanan. Swapnasundari unearthed a treasure in traditional dance styles while she researched at the Andhra Pradesh temples which resulted in rejuvenation of Vilasini Natyam, an art form long forgotten by the mainsteam artists. She has been receiving guidance in this art from Maddula Lakshminarayana.

As the founder director of the Kuchipudi Dance Centre in New Delhi, she has trained a number of students and produced several ballets. The Delhi Government's Sahitya Kala Parishad Award is among the many honours that have been conferred on Swapnasundari for her contribution to the arts. A prolific writer, her new book The World of Koochipoodi Dance--notice the double "oo" as the dance form is supposed to be named according to her--has attracted rave reviews from the dance lovers. The World of Koochipoodi Dance (Shubhi Publications Rs. 3500) explores the efforts to revive the dance along with myths and legends popularly associated with it. The following is a brief extract from The Hindu Folio pages of Swapnasundari's article which gives an idea of the depth of research and the feeling the dancer has for Koochipoodi (as she puts it)

Reviving a lost tradition (From the pages of The Hindu december 05 1999)
Swapnasundari
In the history of Kuchipudi, it is the past hundred years or so which are significant, especially in terms of its development as a solo dance form, from its origins as an exclusively male, Bhagavata Mela tradition. Most popular in this derived form, Kuchipudi today is performed as much - if not more - by women as men. In the history of Andhra's dances, what preceded Kuchipudi was centuries of more than a dozen parallel dance traditions, Yakshaganas, folk theatre forms, and a street sampradaya, an exclusively-female dancing tradition in temples (more)

Prabir Datta the Kuchipudi icon of Delhi

Smt Swapnasundari's chief disciple sh. Prabir Datta is an experienced dance teacher who is propagating this art among the children of East Delhi and adjacent areas. Prabir Datta is one of the rather small number of male dancers whom he also believes are on the verge of extinction! "Unless more community platforms are made available and there is recognition that the male artists could perform as well as the female dancers, the bold experiments being done by the male in classical artform will only be history", Datta says,

Global Kuchipudi Exponents

Anuradha Nehru
There is an interesting dairy entry in Kalanidhi's webpages
about Anuradha Nehru being one of the most accomplished dancers practising Kuchipudi worldwide. One of the important discipiles of Vempati Chinnasatyam, Anuradha has been performing globally promoting Kuchipudi. Anuradha is the Artistic Director of Bethesda based Kuchipudi Kalanidhi and Kalanidhi Dance company in the US.
Kuchipudi Kalanidhi is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting Kuchipudi, founded by Anuradha Nehru in 1992 in Maryland. Kuchipudi Kalanidhi’s mission is to raise the profile of Indian Classical dance in the United States by presenting professional and outstanding quality dance productions and training the next generation of Indian Classical dancers to the highest standards.

There is a thought provoking quote from Anuradha found in the fellow artist Amirta Lahiri's blog

"Studying, performing and teaching Kuchipudi gives me endless joy and it is my fervent wish to pass on this joy to my students and to my audiences.As a dancer, my epiphany was the moment I went beyond technique to discover the true joy of dance. I believe that excellence in dance means complete involvement and total abandon. Dance is the beginning of a new universe of expression, communicating new worlds that words or images alone cannot describe.As a teacher and choreographer, I believe that Indian dance provides a rich and strong medium of communication that conveys contemporary as well as traditional expressions. A solid foundation of rigorous training is fundamental. Only on its solid base can the creativity and growth of Indian classical dance flourish."

Amirta Lahiri herself makes an interesting departure from the conventional profile of an dancer being vivacious and quite expressive in her language from what one could make out of her blog entries made briefly for a few days recently. It is a pity that she has not continued her blog entries which are mostly about her Kalashetra days and her deep reverence of Rukminidevi Arundale the true icon of Kalashetra Chennai, the congregation of all artists, and Acca or akka (the elder sister in Tamil) for all dancers and a collossus of dance repertoire by her own right during her life time.

The web directory http://www.narthaki.com/ lists 41 exponents of Kuchipudi in the US alone which includes highly popular schools run by a host of Indian Gurus based in America. The list gives details of the Guru, the school address, the Guru's Guru and the website details along with the e-mail and phone links. An extremely useful source for those looking for collaborations and learning from the kuchipudi practitioners abroad.

The list includes Mythili Kumar of Abhinaya Dance company in San Jose, Radha Carman of Mandalam School in Los Angeles, Ramaa Bharadvaj of Angahara Academy of Performing Arts of California, Shoba Natarajan of Samskriti Foundation Illinois, Divya Yuleri of New Jersey, Niharika Pendakanti from the same city, Padma Chebrolu of Cincinnati and Satyavani Easwara among others.

Kuchipudi's exponents from home turf!

An exhaustive and useful list of exponents of this rare heritage art form has been provided in the site http://www.artindia.net/ You can follow this link to get to see the long list of the best artists of this tradition. Anyone who wants to add to this list can write to this blog! Here goes the link http://www.artindia.net/kuchipudi1.html .

Kalpalathika is one of well known disciple of Dr. Vempati Chinna Satyam, Founder-Director of Kuchipudi Art Academy, Madras who in her nearly 18 years of dance career has been able contribute immensely to the promotion of Kuchipudi. The founder director of Soundaryalahiri School of Dance was the youngest Indian dancer to be invited by an American university as a visiting professor of dance when she served for two semesters at the Richmond University, Virginia in 1999.

Kuchipudi Education

Education in Kuchipudi is like most other art forms is done in both ways, formal and informal. While the dance schools and individual dance teachers conduct their classes from the basic to the very advanced stage, there are institutions and universities dedicated to teaching Kuchipudi. These formal learning platforms also give certificates for Degree and post graduate courses and also enable the students to pursue their Doctoral programmes in this art form. Anyone with an interest in the dance form need not compromise on their career advancement or possibilities of earning steady income by being employed in the Government, Television Channels like Doordarshan, in the Univerities iself where they studied as instructors etc.,

Even students not part of the formal stream could also avail off the various certifications and examinations being conducted from time to time by the government and other prescribed institutions to attain qualifications in Kuchipudi dance. Here is a sample of what qualifications are required to persue the post graduate course in

kuchipudi from Telegu University M.A. Kuchipudi Dance, 2 years, 4 semesters (Hyderabad Campus)& (Kuchipudi Campus)Should have a degree in Kuchipudi dance from a recognised university(or) any degree from a recognised university (a) with a diploma in Kuchipudi Dance from a government recognised institution, (b) B grade artiste from Doordarshan (c)Should belong to a traditional Kuchipudi organization like Kuchipudi or Surabhi with 5 years experience in performance, (d)possessing a certificate of 5 years experience in any renowned and government recognized Dance or Theatre organization. Intake : 20

KUCHIPUDI FAQs

Where can I find Kuchipudi dance music?

You can find kuchipudi dance music CDs and recordings in music stores, online music stores, websites. Check the following sites musicplusvideos.com. I found the section III of a series on kuhipudi songs posted by one Ramakrishna in the the Teleuguworld but I am not sure about the first two parts! check this.

Masters of Kuchipudi are well known what about the next Generation of Kuchipudi artists?

Here is an interesting link I found in the grand masters of Kuchipudi Raja Reddy Radha Reddy's site about their own offsprings