Tribute to Bharata

WHY DO humans dance? Easy: it is to vent an irrepressible sense of physical energy. The myth of Bharata Muni goes deeper, however: humans dance to sublimate that energy and turn it away from crasser instincts. When we watch boisterous youngsters being taught classical dance, the explanation immediately makes sense. Even parents of boys seem nowadays to recognise the value of this disciplined physical activity once reserved for girls.

In an unusual tribute to the author of the Natya Shastra the New York-based researcher, choreographer, and teacher V. Gayatri - takes her guru Rukmini Devi's vision a step forward. The dance- drama, `Bharata Anjali', originally performed for two consecutive evenings and incorporating the major Indian classical dance styles, was skilfully reduced to a piquant narrative form for a dance-surfeited Chennai audience on December 19 at the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.

The small troupe of eleven dancers briskly traced the legend of the Fifth Veda as visualised by Gayatri, against stunning backdrops designed by herself, which included a gigantic Kalamkari Om. Highlights were the `Churning of the Ocean of Milk' with athletic boys figuring as Devas and Asuras, a consummate portrayal of the Navarasas (the nine quintessential emotions) by senior artiste Balagopal from Kalakshetra as Siva and Gayatri herself as a winsome Parvati, and a sparkling thillana by three female dancers, one of them the Chinese dancer, Xiaoling Xie. Adayar Lakshmanan's impressive nattuvaangam, the melody of Sai Shankar's voice, Thyagarajan's flute, and T. K. Padmanabhan's violin, as well as the lively Sanskrit slokas chanted by Gayatri and a crisp English commentary by Renuka all came together to enrich this poem in dance, about dance.

VASANTHA SURYA

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