CONTRA 1: Rehearsal and Spontaneity

 CONTRA is a series of articles that attempts to look at aspects of the performing arts that seem to be on opposing ends of the spectrum but in fact are related to each other more closely than we assume. Since we attempt to look at mostly intangible aspects of the performing arts in this series, with emphasis on dance, the subjective nature of such articles throws open a lot of questions for deliberation. We hope that these questions will ignite thought and discussion with our readers. We welcome your opinions, experiences and notes to share.

In the first of the series, I look at an aspect of performance that is often taken as basic. And another aspect of dance that is considered to be the bastion of the veterans. Every student has been told infinite number of times that REHEARSAL is at the core of a performer. While I will take a detour throughout this article to unravel the many connotations that this word takes on, for now, I leave it here with a simple definition: 'Practice or Trial Performance'. The other seemingly contrary aspect we look at today is SPONTANEITY. Again, this is a term that takes different connotations depending on the experience of the performer. 

Firstly, why does one assume that these aspects are contrary to each other? One of the reasons is, some feel that in recent times the 'picture-perfect' look has been emphasised more than required. As a result, the process of presenting a piece to an audience is planned and charted to perfection (now, 'perfection' in itself is a word that is fluid). The result, they feel, is a piece that has been rehearsed to a point where there is no room for change at the performance. Thus pitting 'rehearsed pieces' against 'spontaneous exploration'. Another reason that these terms seem contrary is because rehearsal is considered to be an essential part of the learning years while spontaneity is a quality that is thought to be intuitively gained with experience; thus pitting these two terms against each other in the framework of 'time'. While each of these arguments may partially hold true, there is much beneath the surface of these assumptions that needs to be unraveled. In order to understand a few of these layers, I attempt to look at these terms from the point of view of the performer, and from the audience's perspective. 

For a performer, the quality of spontaneity is one that is felt in effervescent moments. It may be during the process of practice: take for instance a dancer who is in a practice session that is focused on improving technical precision. At any point in that practice session, there could be a moment of spontaneous movement between two other planned movements. Many dancers may easily overlook such moments if they are completely focussed on the precision aspect. But if one were to be aware of every bodily movement, these spontaneous movements can open up another dimension to a previously 'perfected' movement. And thereby, a completely rehearsed movement can become embodied in very different ways simply because you paid attention to this spontaneity. And this is where rehearsal crosses paths with spontaneity, although not very obviously.

Take now, the process of choreography. This is probably the most obviously dynamic process for a performer. In very apparent ways, spontaneous moments of thought occur with respect to concepts and execution. How these spontaneous moments are moulded effectively into a presentation depends on the expertise of the person. And where is expertise honed? At practice and rehearsal sessions where the learner, through years of repeating and rehearsing movement vocabulary, begins to identify with it as a fluent language. And it is this fluency in language that develops into expertise. And therefore it is years of rehearsal that lead to a point where a performer is able to identify those spontaneous dots and lines that can be drawn into a larger picture. 

Move over yet again to another process- that of a performance. One has heard of several legends who repeated the same piece to several audiences and every time the performance seemed different. What was different is usually not easy to put a finger on- because that is the quality of spontaneity- it is almost as if you were looking at Heisenberg's cat. For the performer himself/herself, spontaneous moments may occur within rehearsed sequences- and these could range from slight inflections to entire passages that are inspired by the movement or music or ambiance. Spontaneous moments may occur even as internal realisations- not visible to the audience, but moments that actually open yet another window of introspection. These are highly intimate and profound moments that have rarely been documented but probably are the most powerful. Sometimes, to a performer, the overall experience of a particular performance may seem to have been 'spontaneous' while another 'rehearsed'. To deliberate on such experiences or not is a question that I often pose to senior artistes. And most often the answer has been to 'enjoy the moment' and acknowledge how you felt, but not overthink these experiences. 

So if Rehearsal and Spontaneity were so closely knit for a performer, what are they to an audience? Does it matter? May be. Are they perceived in different ways? The answer to this lies in the experience of the audience. Much has been written and detailed in Indian texts about the experience of the 'rasika' but ultimately, the experience is one that cannot be tangibly proclaimed. Also, in today's world of performance, rehearsal and spontaneity are also coloured with nuance, subtleties, gimmicks and more. A subjective evaluation of all of these permutations and combinations is tedious to say the least! But what becomes clear is this: a performance can engage the audience only if the artiste has been able to gauge in years of rehearsal into a body and mind that responds spontaneously- either on or off stage. And isn't that the ideal that every performer hopes to attain?! 

Where do rehearsal and spontaneity crossover for you?

Published in Ananya Kalasinchana in collaboration with Sri Jayasimha Reddy