Dance Journal, Week 7 (Mar 2, 2010)

DNCE 320
Journal, Week 7
March 2, 2010

Meduri, Avanthi. "Bharatha Natyam -- What Are You?" Asian Theatre Journal 5.1 (Spring, 1988): 1-22. JSTOR. ITHAKA. Web. 26 Feb. 2010. .

Please note: because I was traveling this past weekend and wanted to avoid excess weight in my suitcase, I did not read this article from our textbook, but instead purchased it in PDF format from JSTOR, an online archive of academic journals and other scholarly content. Interestingly, the only difference between JSTOR's archived article and the article as printed in our textbook is the pictures. The archived article included two pictures, while the textbook included only one. All three pictures are different.

My prof wrote: "hmmm."

I didn't really mean anything by pointing out the difference in pictures, just that it's kind of weird that they would choose a third, different picture for the textbook anthology we're using, rather than just re-printing the journal article as it originally appeared, and I wonder what prompted that decision.

In this discussion of Baharatha Natyam, a form of South Indian classical sacred dance, Meduri tells us that “Indian dance... encapsulates both in structure and in content the philosophical aspirations of the Indian mind. It appears as a sublime synthesis of philosophy, sculpture, music, and literature,” and is part of a “total theater that links all the minutest units of dramatic presentation.”

Meduri presents some of the more recent history of this ancient dance form, beginning with two figures from the early 20th century, Balasaraswati and Rukmini Devi. These two women approached dance from different philosophies, though they both came from the devadasi (temple dancer) tradition. Balasaraswati saw the representation of “love” as pre-eminent in Bharatha Natyam dance, emphasizing both the self and the other, but “never carnal – never, never.” Meanwhile Devi saw “love” as presented in the existing dance form as too crude and literal, unsophisticated, and believed that it should represent not sensuality, but devotion. Interestingly, even though each dancer condemned realistic modes of expression in Bharatha Natyam dance, which emphasized exaggerated theatricality, and preferred subtle and nuanced expression, each dancer considered the “vulgar.”

The author also presented some reflections on gender issues with the dance's history and modern presentation. Because India is a historically patriarchal society, men have all the social and economic power. Thus the dancer (who I am assuming is always female, though the article does not explicitly state this), is expected to conform to the pressures of the male gaze. For example, most contemporary (young female) dancers are taught by men. Meduri writes, “Thus the dancer, in the most impressionable period of her life, is taught to interpret herself and her art through the male filter.”

These issues (as well as others involving Indian post-colonialism) have created some dissonance, discord and disillusionment within the Indian Bharatha Natyam community, prompting some dancers (such as the author herself) to leave India and try to find their own artistic direction and vision abroad. Meduri closes the article by writing, “I think we need a post-colonial aesthetic, a theory that can describe and evaluate the secular reality of dance in all its marvelous multiplicity.”


Foreman, Kathleen. "Dancing on the Endangered List: Aesthetics and Politics of Indigenous Dance in the Philippines." Moving History / Dancing Cultures: A Dance History Reader. Ed. Ann Dills and Ann Cooper Albright. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan UP, 2001. 384-388. Print.

This piece seems to be more about politics than aesthetics. The author speaks of some parallels between her experiences with “Native Canadians” (a term that made me go look up the publication date – 1995 – as the preferred label nowadays [in Canada] is “First Nations People”) and with “tribal Filipinos,” as both countries have a history of Western colonization. Her stated affinity for indigenous populations makes me believe she means the term “liberated” on page 384 ironically: “The Americans first liberated the Philippines in 1899 during the Spanish-American War and then again during World War II from the Japanese.” There was no visual cue (such as quotes) to indicate whether or not she means the word ironically or not – but, after all, the Americans didn't just “liberate” the islands and then leave them alone; they have had a lasting effect on the Philippine people's culture and politics.

My prof wrote: "Yes - curious use."

The paper is centered around the work of Jack Yabut, director/choreographer of PETA, the Philippine Educational Theatre Association dance collective. An urban Filipino, he works with tribal elders in an attempt to “develop and promote a national Filipino consciousness and grassroots social change through the arts.” By studying and presenting tribal dance, Yabut hopes to engender a renewed respect for the sensibilities and traditions of Filipino tribal people, especially with respect to their culture and land, within the post-colonial world of the increasingly urbanized Philippines.


Practice Journal

Since I was out of town again this weekend, I didn't get much practicing done. I did spend some time in the mirror working on the torso undulations, but I don't think I've improved much. At this point, I'm just hoping I can remember the bits that were added last Thursday! I'm also having trouble with the step-turn-jump-flap-scoop combination. The first one is ok, but I'm having trouble getting into the second one from the end of the scoop. I think I'm trying to step with the wrong foot, but I'll have to try to figure that out. It's frustrating because I move for a living – you can't play my instrument without moving! – but I feel so uncoordinated once it's called a “dance” and not just me moving to the music. Perhaps I need to stop worrying so much about it and just let my body do its thing....

My prof wrote: "I second the motion - at least for now let yourself learn holistically. The ideas will sink in."