The Artiste and the Wishing Tree

“Art is sufficient for a lifetime but a lifetime isn’t enough for art”. Artistes who have spent many decades dedicated to the study and performance of music or dance humbly claim that there is so much more to learn in their lifetime, that the ocean of art only gets bigger and deeper, that no matter how much knowledge they garner, they can’t possibly have perfected it all. Some of these musicians and dancers of repute have journeyed into more than one territory or genre. Hindustani musicians have learnt Carnatic; Jazz has found its way into the hearts of Carnatic musicians; Bharatanatyam dancers have learnt Odissi; Kathakali artistes have been adopted by Bharatanatyam and so on. The enigma of Indian classical music and dance lies in the fact that every form of music and dance is so unique and yet shares so much in common with the other genres. Differences and similarities range from subtle to vividly distinct ones. While some artistes chose to pursue both or all genres that they...

In the immediate aftermath of the floods that struck coastal Tamil Nadu in December last year, a rather unexpected point of discussion at the time of a disaster (or it would have seemed!) turned towards the December music and dance season. Some senior artistes urged to cancel the season programmes considering it inappropriate to be performing while the rest of the city was facing crisis. Some wondered if art may be the healing factor that the city was in dire need of. In the days that followed, the discussions and debates continued, a few Sabhas and artistes cancelled their programmes and devoted their time and money to relief work, some artistes performed but pledged their season's earnings towards flood relief and some artistes who were personally affected by the flood used the season programmes as a way to regain some sort of normalcy. While in other parts of the country, performances were being dedicated to the suffering souls of the calamity, some artistes carried on with th...

There was a time when publicity for a dancer was limited to "word-of-mouth". Posting invites, making phone calls to friends and colleagues, and featuring programme details in the newspapers was all one would do to announce performances. While these time-tested methods will stay, there has been an undeniable shift towards the digital domain and other current methods. These methods range from using social networking sites to creating promotional videos to featuring write-ups in art journals and magazines. The purists may claim that it would be worth your while to focus all your energy on refining one's craft than to spend any energy, time or money on publicity: "Opportunities will come to the truly meritorious." Reality, like always, presents a slightly skewed picture. While it is true that spending most of our energies towards a positive refinement of talent and skill is the most important thing for artistes, publicity for an artiste and marketing his/her work ...

The Arts and Money are closely related. Some claim an idealistic view- one in which there exists no relationship, claiming that it would defy the divinity of art to associate dance or music with mere numbers, but that seems far removed from the truth- money is essential to sustain the artiste, the art and the creative space it creates. It is common knowledge that in the era when dance flourished in the temples and royal courts, the artiste led a life of great respect and affluence. That was a time when musicians and dancers were free to work on their art-free from the vagaries of finances. Fast forward to the modern day proscenium- the performance itself has evolved. A performance no longer means just dancing but involves bringing together, coordinating and managing an entire ensemble of artistes and accompanists; hiring performance and rehearsal spaces, sound/light equipment, sets and managers. And this is a conservative list of activities and the accompanying finances that are invo...

Fitness for dancers is a topic that is often discussed at various fora- from discussions at dance class to seminars and online journals, the topic seems to be the need of the hour, for unfortunately, it has become commonplace to meet dancers in their 20s and 30s with swollen knees and stiff backs or some even nursing serious injuries. It is however heartening that there remain some dancers - young and old - whose agility, strength and stamina are awe inspiring. At a recent concert by a veteran, someone in the audience whispered “It must be the Yoga- look at how she dances at 70.”   And so it is worthy of our time to understand if indeed that is true. Is Yoga an all-encompassing answer to fitness and the antidote to dancers’ injuries? What is it that makes dancers who are serious practitioners of yoga, remain fitter than the rest. Can non-practitioners use Yoga to recover from injury? Is dance Yoga in itself? Considering the spiritual plane that both disciplines arise f...