Dance Education- The Gurukula construct
The indigenous systems of knowledge transfer or education have gone through several phases of popularity, evolving with every passing generation and eventually paling in significance in many parts of the world thanks to colonial oppression. The world at large then continued to operate in colonial methods of education and work for several decades- even centuries. Today though, more and more people are realising that these are not optimal methods to learn and live by. In a world that is slowly trying to de-colonise itself (not just in India , but in several parts of Asia and Africa), indigenous systems are thus being re-looked at with new-found enthusiasm. From education to livelihood, revisiting these systems might be the answer to creating sustainable ways forward, feel experts. So as a dancer, delving into the world of an art form that traces its own ancestry to several centuries ago (debatably in different paradigms), what is our relation today with indigenous systems of knowledge transfer as students of the performing arts?
Broadly, one of the most common words to hear in the context of Indian education systems is the 'Gurukula'. Within the purview of the classical performing arts, most students of dance would have heard of the 'Guru-Shishya Parampara'. Both these terms hold a place of reverence. How these methods of education impacted the learner and society at large, say 500 years ago, and the intangible value of such methodologies are yet to be fully understood. Today, both these systems of education are understood in several different connotations. Also, many veterans would say that the glory in which these systems of knowledge transfer operated in has been lost over time. But would it be possible to revisit these systems in a way that we could derive the best from it and apply to our learning environment today?
The purpose of this article is to take the construct of the Gurukula- not as a physical space but as an emotional-mental entity. This is partly because very few institutions and individuals have the capacity to create the physical arena of a Gurukula. Within the idea of a Gurukula, we look at the Guru-Shishya connect, assimilation of knowledge, assessment of knowledge, owning it and in turn creating an environment to pass it on to the next generation. How can we learn from a system as it existed in the past. How do we draw from the experiences of those who lived within such a construct? This is in no way a compare and contrast between systems of yore and today but rather an attempt to complement and supplement the systems of learning as they exist today by way of ideologies that we could draw from.
Shanmuga Sundar, a popular performer and teacher is a prime disciple of Late Smt. K.J.Sarasa. He arrived at her school in 1994 and in the 18 years that followed until her passing away, he learnt in her 'gurukula'. With dance being his sole commitment and priority above all else, Shanmugam's tryst with life as a dancer offers us a window to the world that he inhabited, a world that may not exist today, but one that we can draw from.
TIME - beyond slots
Beyond the grammar that he actively learnt from his teacher, Shanmugam gained much from the hours that he watched his teacher teach other students. She taught each student differently, never once articulating these differences, but differences that Shanmugam learnt to identify over time. It was in these hours spent assisting her, travelling with her and watching her that he holds on to as one of the greatest learnings from the years with her. 'HOW' she taught became the guiding light for him- in his own journey as a teacher and also as a performer. 'Not everything can be taught in a one-hour class. For example the musicality in her choreography was something that was celebrated by everyone- this is an aspect that could be imbibed only over a period of time of watching her, and dancing and teaching under her watchful eye.' he says.
One of the aspects of a 'gurukula' that stands out is the vast amount of time that teacher and student spend together. In today's day and age where dance classes are strictly scheduled time slots, such an investment of time can become difficult- especially for students who also have other professional, academic or personal commitments. How then do we offer students an opportunity to go beyond time constraints? Can we set aside timeslots to watch others? Can we set aside timeslots for students to teach each other? Can we also move towards encouraging longer classes - it could be a move that finds resistance , what with academic pressure on school and college going children being high, but one that is worth exploring.
Assessing Progression
'There were no examinations to assess a student, nor were there courses and certificates', Shanmugam says. 'Our progression of dance would be decided in the pieces she chose to teach us and the platforms that she chose to present us in. When our peers danced, we would sit beside her on Nattuvangam as she conducted a performance. In the middle of a jathi she would stop and check if we had the Thalam intact. And that is how we learnt to wield cymbals. It began with wielding the Thattu Kazhi for a simple dhit dhit Tai while she taught and went on to conducting entire performances ourselves. It was a very practical teaching and learning system without theoretical lessons but we learnt it all the same.'
Assimilative exercises are popular methods of assessing progress in many learning environments (non-performing arts). But we live in a time where standardised examinations hold much value- this is valid in view of several dancers donning the teaching hat irrespective of the number of years of immersion in dance. While doyens of dance such as Smt. KJ Sarasa's nod of approval was sufficient to approve of a student's mettle, today with dance educators being many more in number and not necessarily of uniform calibre, standardised examinations for students becomes necessary. At the same time, the examination structure has constantly come under criticism because art is subjective, styles vary, examination stress is real, and several more reasons (that require an entire other article to elaborate). If we could marry the best of standardised structures and the more intuitive progress-check methods of the past, we could come up with a progress-check that is as subjective as the art but within set parameters. While this may sound too idealistic to actually see the light of day, several individual dance schools have taken steps towards this. For the entire fraternity to come together amicably on a process will take time but is not impossible.
Surrender to SLOW
'Ours was a time when we could soak in dance in the real sense.' The distance between learning a piece and owning it needs time. 'We did not record classes or take down notes. If I forgot a korvai that she taught me, I would stay up the entire night trying to recall it. And in the process, there is a lot more that you gain - you may or may not remember that korvai. But the time spent on thinking about the dance has a way of awakening much more within you that in turn helps you internalise the piece and eventually dance itself.' he says with much conviction.
Today, when item-based workshops continue to be immensely popular with students the world over, internalising a piece takes a backseat to being performance ready. I will be quick to say that workshops that dwell on aspects beyond mere execution indeed broaden a student's horizon - but these are few. The need is to make these few immersive workshops the norm. The incessant need to collect 'items' and be performance ready has paved the way for a fast food 'on-the-go' menu in the performing arts. We have long established that fast-food is detrimental to health! The answer to better dance health probably then lies in normalising 'slow'. A slow rumination over what we learn and a slow process of understanding and re-understanding it. The joy of presenting such a piece will be unparalleled.
While the stereotypical picture of a 'gurukula' is not what this article was directed at, this is meant to give us a start towards applying ideologies that the gurukula intrinsically represents. While this may be a start, do write in with what the gurukula system of knowledge transfer represent for you and what would you as a dance student or educator derive from it.
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