Bharathanatyam needs no introduction to the people who hail from the land of "Vedic Culture".It is one of the oldest art forms and preserved with its purity ,the art has been handed down to us as a living tradition by our previous generations.
While I was browsing for some article about the theoretical aspect of this art form on the internet..I did come across a site that said "learning Bharathanatyam online".I could not believe my own eyes for a moment. This site had "algorithmic" instructions embedded in it on how to perform dancing , starting from the first step of Bharathanatyam .While I do appreciate the earnest efforts of the creator of that site to spread this ancient art as wide as possible, I have my own apprehensions about what impacts this is going to cause to the originality and purity of Bharathanatyam .
Bharatanatyam has its wide range of movements and postures and a balanced melange of the rhythmic and mimetic aspects and is often referred to as Natya Shastra. To this day it has been taught in a formal environment known as "Guru - Sishya" environment.It is so much of an intricate art form that it needs a visual, methodical , systematic and a long term commitment both from the student and the teacher to imbibe it into our system.
Mere words and pencil sketching cannot bring out all the dimensions of this great dance form and this opens up innumerable avenues for mis-interpretation and hence could result in something else which is "similar" to Bharathanatyam but not "Bharathanatyam" itself.
There has been a specific reason for the way Bharathanatyam and other Indian art forms have been taught in a formal environment as our culture does not accept anything less than "PERFECTION".
It would be a great injustice if this art is distorted from its pure form and I earnestly request that we(our generation) , in our quest for blending the technology with art forms should not become the perpetrators of this .
While I was browsing for some article about the theoretical aspect of this art form on the internet..I did come across a site that said "learning Bharathanatyam online".I could not believe my own eyes for a moment. This site had "algorithmic" instructions embedded in it on how to perform dancing , starting from the first step of Bharathanatyam .While I do appreciate the earnest efforts of the creator of that site to spread this ancient art as wide as possible, I have my own apprehensions about what impacts this is going to cause to the originality and purity of Bharathanatyam .
Bharatanatyam has its wide range of movements and postures and a balanced melange of the rhythmic and mimetic aspects and is often referred to as Natya Shastra. To this day it has been taught in a formal environment known as "Guru - Sishya" environment.It is so much of an intricate art form that it needs a visual, methodical , systematic and a long term commitment both from the student and the teacher to imbibe it into our system.
Mere words and pencil sketching cannot bring out all the dimensions of this great dance form and this opens up innumerable avenues for mis-interpretation and hence could result in something else which is "similar" to Bharathanatyam but not "Bharathanatyam" itself.
There has been a specific reason for the way Bharathanatyam and other Indian art forms have been taught in a formal environment as our culture does not accept anything less than "PERFECTION".
It would be a great injustice if this art is distorted from its pure form and I earnestly request that we(our generation) , in our quest for blending the technology with art forms should not become the perpetrators of this .
6 comments:
Hmmm.... If we want others to know about this 3000 yrs old art without visiting India and spending '$' with "So called GURUS".
Online wouldn't be just the only
perpetrators, we need to understand not everyone today who teaches know the art in right way and teach with right intention.
now the question becomes .. how do we spread this across ?
Online learning can help Bharathanatyam students who would like to improve their theoretical base just like your original search that lead you to the website. A few of us who are so far away from India read the Natyasashtra on the web and this to me is a blessing.
But practically how far it would be feasible for somebody to learn entirely through online lessons is a question? Do you know there is one famous dance class that offers online webcam teaching at around 800$ a month? But it may help
We started a blog (along with a few friends/acquaintances based all over the world).I share the current happenings in the world of Bharathanatyam, from what is mailed to me, told to me through my friends from all over the world. This has generated considerable interest and sharing of info related to Bharathanatyam... That way our quest in Bharathanatyam is aided by the web.
hi Spy,
I am not saying you need to be in India to learn this art..all I am saying is ,Bharatanatyam is to be learnt from an authentic teacher where there is an one to one interaction b/w the mentor and the pupil.:-)..
thanks for visiting my blog :-)
hi Sangeetha,
As you have rightly pointed out, acquiring theoritical knowledge is different from learning to perform the art itself.My fears are pertaining to the areas where one tries to reproduce the physical from of the art by learning it online.
I shall definitely visit your blog to increase my knowledge about Bharatanatyam.Thanks for this :-)
"our culture does not accept anything less than "PERFECTION""????????????????
Are you dreaming????
Very true. Bharathanatyam is an art which has to be learnt only in traditional fashion as it involves lot of nalinam, bhavan n other physical things.
However as Sangeetha rightly pointed out, such online site might be useful for people who already know the art and now trying to improvise it.
Any way a very good post. Keep writing more.
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