Dance Education - Crises mode

 Dance Education is a series of articles that will focus on various aspects of the teaching-learning environment, methodology, practice and more. Bringing together varied perspectives from across regions, ideologies and styles, we hope to encourage an active dialogue about what one might consider to be one of the most significant links between the performing arts and the world at large - the teacher and the taught.

The most visible upheaval that the pandemic brought on in the world of performing arts was 'performance'. With a pause forced on live performances, some did move to digital platforms to perform and share their art with audiences. However one soon realised that dance for the screen was very different from dance for a live in-person audience. Also, for many performers who depended on live performance for sustenance, the angst of an unpredictable future is something that brought them and their families into deep crises. That the arts community and the community at large continue to try to help these artistes through the second wave of the pandemic that has hit India is our only solace. For the more fortunate performers who were not economically hit by the lack of live performances, especially in the classical dance genre, the sudden cut off from travel and performance brought a much needed respite and rest to their bodies. But one can only rest for so long as the body and mind need to. Beyond that threshold, performers require the familiarity of stage, audience and ambience to thrive on. Or do they? 

As a performing art, one assumes that dance education places performance at the top of the pyramid of pursuits. So what then happens to the dance classroom and the pyramid in the absence of performance? This article hopes to ask and answer a few questions on this topic. 

Dance education begins with the teaching and learning of grammar or the building blocks of the art form. "At the early stages of learning dance, Abhaysa Nrityam, not necessarily to be danced on stage, is taught in class. As the student progresses, he/she learns aspects of Sabha Nrityam which can be shared with an audience." offers Shankar Kandasamy, Director of Temple of Fine Arts, Malaysia and an accomplished artiste and performer. "Every dance class is constituted by adavu practice, for example, which is Abhyasa Nrityam. This is a progressive aspect of training, a continuous one at that. It offers the opportunity to the dancer to become more articulate in the form." he says, emphasising the essential structure of the dance class irrespective of external circumstances. "The lack of time probably shifts focus to performance directed practice and rehearsal many-a time", says Shruti Gopal of the Upadhye School of Dance, where several students have become ensemble members, travelling and performing with their teachers. Most students have many other hobbies or classes to get to and there is only that much time that they can devote to be in the dance class. As much as it would be ideal to separate the performance rehearsals from the process of imbibing dance, one makes the best of what is available, she explains. With the pause in performance, the students have had the luxury of delving into dance and connecting with it at a much deeper level, she says. With lessons in music and aesthetics being provided to their students as a part of regular classes, the engagement with the art becomes a lot more holistic. 

Pavitra Bhat, believed that the practical aspects of performance were primary motivating factors for his students and therefore had to ensure that theoretical concepts were introduced in fun ways. With dance classes having moved to the online mode over the past year, he finds that the challenge for young children to focus will require teachers to find ingenious ways of holding their attention and keep the motivation until such a time that it is safe to be together in dance classes or in performance. In uncertain times such as this, keeping motivation levels up is a challenge not only for young children who are studying and learning in isolation but also many adults who will need to cope with the isolation, bad news and instability that the pandemic has brought on. Sharmila Mukerjee, Odissi exponent and Founder of the Sanjali Centre for Odissi Dance has found that this is an essential exercise that her dance classes have incorporated for all levels. "I have been unable to think of any production that I will present or perform to in the near future so I use choreographic exercises and short workshops on new pieces to engage with my students. One has to do whatever it takes to keep the morale high. This pause of course has given us more time to do lessons in theory - which wasn't possible in regular in-person classes. Students would walk in without their notebooks or would be absent; online classes have their plusses that way." she says, nudging her students to look at the positives that could come off a time like this. The online mode has also helped students who found it difficult to keep pace with their classmates. "Lesson videos and complementary material, breaking down lessons into modules have helped students cope with lags and gain clarity through the process", offer Shankar. "Students who may have retreated into a shell because they felt a need to play 'catch-up' constantly, have come out of these shells and blossomed in their own right", says Shruti, who has also used this time to reflect and re-contextualise her own engagement with the art. The sharp increase in conversations and workshops on digital platforms have allowed artistes, connoisseurs and students to engage with thoughts and commentaries that have remained on the periphery for long. This has enabled a much more critical understanding of our practice of the art form and the ways in which we formulate our relationship with the art going forward.

Shreema Upadhyaya, a young dancer steadily gaining popularity for her performances, finds that her conviction in process has been strengthened over these last months. "Sir (Praveen Kumar) always mentioned that performance is secondary; it will come and go but our practice should be a part of our routine and life irrespective of it. I think I only began to understand what it really means in the past year." she says. "From being particular about how well I could rehearse and present a piece, I have been able to unlearn these ideas of rehearsed perfection and understand that dance is about exploration. Every week we have been engaging in exercises that challenge and question our understanding of dance." Yet another up side to the performance pause has been the sharing of the process and exercises that Shreema indicates at, by many teachers across the globe. Students residing in places that may not always be on the tour or workshop itinerary have hugely benefitted from this. 

Dance for the sake of dance and the contentment derived from the movement and alignment of body and mind as a journey within has come to the fore for many performers. The dance class, as an extension, has begun to resonate with the essence of this journey. Are rehearsals and sadhana on different sides of the spectrum of dance pursuit? If these conversations are indicative, there is a blurring of lines between performance and process that seems to have begun.  Assumptions that the teaching process is one that churns out performers to a dozen, need to be relegated for a new order of holistic pursuit to become the norm.