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PAPER 8

DANCES AND DANCE DRAMAS OF SOUTH EAST ASIA MASK DANCES OF SOUTH EAST ASIA /ASIA-PACIFIC COUNTRIES RESEARCH METHODOLOGIES FOR PERFORMING ARTS (DANCE)

DANCE THERAPY

MODULE 12 DANCE DOCUMENTATION - SCULPTURE AND PAINTING

Almost all teachers of dance must have faced such questions as

these from their students “But can we not create the dance of Uday

Shankar?” The generation next, listening and reading the stories and

awed by the greats such as Uday Shankar, Bala Saraswati, Ram

Gopal, Gauri Amma will never be able to re-create their dance!

Except a few notes, personal memories, some musical scores, mostly

scattered descriptions, if more lucky, a few film clipping are all that

we can offer to the this young nation of its most precious heritage.

The preservation, documentation and transmission of this gold mine

of intangible cultural heritage should perhaps be our major concern

and priority at this time. Here is a brief survey of some of the

material available of the dances that are the historical records. They

describe visually and narratively the dance, be its movement

grammar, movement phrases, aesthetics as well as philosophy and

all the facets. Most likely and often, the records and documents of

dance, which have survived so far, are indirect. Except the dance

treatise in Sanskrit and regional languages, at most places, dance is a

byproduct, part of decorative structure, embellishment, part of a

story or narration or historical event and the like. Hardly ever one

finds total information on even the physical structure of a particular

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dance number. Perhaps there is no record, notation, and analysis of

all dances choreographed by Shri Pandanallur Minaxi Sundaram Pillai

for all to learn, understand and appreciate. It may be in the memory

and practice of his students.

India has an incredibly rich cultural heritage. There are hundreds of

performing art forms, including theatre and drama, dance, martial

arts and musical traditions, both classical and folk. Some of these

traditions are better known than others, and as a result, are given

more opportunities to be showcased.

While there is a proliferation of performances of dance forms like

Bharata Natyam, Kathak and Odissi, there are few opportunities for

audiences to see other, lesser known performing arts traditions like

Sattriya, Kutiyattam, Chhau and Vilasini Natyam. Chances are that

many people may have not even heard of these art forms, let alone

had the opportunity to experience them.

Why is it that some performing arts are better known and more

popular than others? Are those which have been given the classical

‘tag’ somehow entitled to more recognition and seen to have a

higher value? This brings up some pertinent questions: What makes

a dance ‘classical’? Does a dance form need to be a granted a ‘status’

to be recognized and valued?

Despite their different names (and classifications), many of India’s

performing arts traditions actually have a lot in common. They have

their origins in the NatyaShastra, the ancient text on dramaturgy

written in the 2nd century by Bharata Muni and thus share many of

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the same principles. For example, they feature aspects of nritta (pure

dance), nritya (expressive dance) and natya (drama). They have a

sacred and ritualistic aspect and were often performed in holy places

like temples or monasteries.

Today these performing arts traditions have been adapted for

presentation on the stages of metropolitan cities and each has

developed a distinctive performance repertoire.

So as you see, there are two major concerns one of preservation

which includes documentation and another is propagation of all

forms of performing arts. These are parallel streams and at times

they join. Our concentration in the study here is more concerned to

documentation of Dance.

Words, symbols, films are the major methods of recording the action

of dance. Drawing, painting, sculpture, photographs are the major

methods of recording movement pauses. It is said that dance is the

moving sculpture. From wall paintings in the caves to the fanciful

miniatures, paintings-pictures of one sort or the other have provided

clues to the dance style, dance themes, dress code of that time, and

sometimes actual movements. Without such visuals, it would be

impossible to attempt to re-create any images of the gone era in our

minds. Sometimes skillful depiction of a dancer in action seems to

provide better records than photographs. Classical Dance, as

practiced in India, has a long history of the oral tradition. However it

is important to note that along with this very significant oral

tradition, there exists a parallel unconscious ‘documentation’ of

dance that strongly authenticates the oral tradition. The teaching,

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instruction and performance practices of the classical dances in India

have been carefully passed from one generation to the next through

the oral tradition.

Though based on Sanskrit texts like the Natyashastra, Sangita

Ratnakara and Abhinaya Darpanam, the specific technicalities of the

dance and the interpretation of the content continued to be in the

hands of the professional families. They were the dancers, musicians

and teachers who actually practiced the dance form. But when one

looks beyond the texts, examining the other visual and literary art

forms that were contemporary to the dance texts, we have a wealth

of an amazing amount of indirect records of the dance that

corresponds to what is written in the texts.

We almost ‘unknowingly’ find dance in other artistic media such as

sculpture, painting, iconography, archeology, architecture and

literature. Though not consciously made or produced to depict dance

traditions of that particular time or region they provide us with a

continuous link of the Natyashastra tradition.

These records of dance offer new ways of looking at and

understanding how dance was practiced in different periods of time

and space. These various mediums can be interpreted as the

‘historical evidences’ – important links in the existence of dance and

its development in different parts of the country over the last many

centuries.

The practitioners of these media perhaps worked in their own

disciplines with parallel ideology of Indian philosophy that brought

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them all together. The influence of Dance on other creative

disciplines is expressed by this unconscious documentation at

multiple levels and in direct and indirect references.

Though in the Indian tradition each art form had its own Shastra that

identified its principles, the body or the human form was the

common medium of expression and was dealt with accordingly.

There many unconscious references to dance that can be identified

in sculptures in temples and other public areas, paintings, murals,

inscriptions, and closer to the 20th century, in photographs, cinema

and videos. Even though we may not have any kind of ‘formal’ dance

notation, we have enough supportive evidence to prove conclusively

that we had a continuous, unbroken tradition of classical dance in

India.

Patronage to dance from royal courts began to diminish by the

middle of the 19th century with the British establishing their

supremacy over the country. This had its influence on royal support

to the temple supported performing and visual arts. However as

other art forms and supporting technologies emerged, dance images

were captured in those media. From monumental sculptures and

murals, the newly invented art of photography captured numerous

images of dancers in performance. These were also not directed by

any formal need for ‘documentation or recording for preservation or

transmission’. However these were certainly more realistic images

expressing what actually existed. Whereas in the past, the temple

sculptor could exercise his own creative vision in the portrayal of a

dancing figure, the late 19th century and early 20th century

photographs of devadasis and nautch girls were true-to-life

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portrayals. They clearly showed the ‘ardhamandi’ postures, hand

gestures, the kind of clothes and jewellery worn, and the

accompanying musicians and so on. Their role in the continuity of

tradition is significant and they provide a vital link between the past

and the present and at times may indicate which way dance will be

going in the future.

Before independence, in India the classical dance, the temple and

royal patronage were inseparable. The Indian temple itself was the

single-most important repository of dance performance and showing

continuity in the performing tradition. Most royal courts were

patrons of the large temple complexes in their kingdoms. The large

temples had natyamandapas and rangamandapas on their campuses

where dance performances were held. These performances were a

part of the religious rituals. People came to pray at the temple and

could also see the performances thus giving social sanction to the

dance and to the performers. Such continuous exposure provided

knowledge and appreciation of the arts to the common people.

Many of these traditional performing arts also went through a period

of precariousness and faced many challenges to their continued

existence. When support structures and patronage to these arts

performed in temples and courts were disrupted, the development

and continuation of these forms was interrupted.

Following Independence when there was an increased interest in

India’s artistic heritage, some dance traditions experienced a

renaissance and rebirth. They were adapted for the modern stage

and entered a new period in their development. Because of this

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historical interruption followed by revival and reconstruction, most

performing arts traditions we see today can really only be considered

to be ‘neo-classical’ as they are reinvented versions of their former

selves.

Today a performing art form tends to be classified as ‘classical’ if it

has its origins in the Natya Shastra and features, as mentioned

previously, elements of nritta, nritya and natya. Despite the fact that

many of India’s performing arts traditions trace their origins to the

Natya Shastra, it is generally claimed that there are only eight

classical dance traditions.

How do the Visual Arts, Literature, Architecture, Films and the like

become the records of dance or how do they provide a record for

Dance, for the movements? Exploring the vast amount of sculptures,

paintings, literature, films as found in the temple complexes, caves,

miniatures, libraries, in theatres, in nook and corners of India, one is

able to bring out specific categories showing Dance being recorded in

its most technical aspect to the Dance-like representation in the

various Arts. These can be broadly surmised in four levels:

1. Dance – shown in its pure Technique

2. Dance – shown as a Performance Event

3. Dance – Dance-like Activity

4. Dance – Stories

RECORDING of DANCE in SCULPTURE

Most of the sculptural ‘recording’ of dance is found in temple

sculptures. One of the richest sources in the entire country of

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sculptural representations of dance is believed to be in the

Chidambaram, Kumbhakonam and Brhadesvara temples in Tamil

Nadu.

The Devi Temple in Chidambaram has some especially marvelous

examples of the depiction of dance in sculpture. Both the

Natyashastra and Shilpashastra use the same unit of measurement

for space. Also, both disciplines require a correct and detailed

knowledge of the human body, the bone structure, the joints and

their flexibility, the muscular system and the limbs.

The Karana sculpture on the temple wall shows the exact movement

as described in the Shloka, with all technical details of movements of

different parts of the body. The name of the Karana further gives

information on the movement quality as well, like Bhujang Trasit,

Gangavataran, Dand Rechaka and such. These are the only records

available to us so far which describes the technique of movement, of

dance. It provides us the information for creation and execution of

the movement phrase.

Sculptural imagery of dance is found in stone, wood, metal,

terracotta in both classical and regional styles of depiction. Such

sculptures have provided an unbroken link for dance and they

existed and developed at multiple levels. It is also important to

remember that the tenets prescribed in the Natyashastra (2nd

century) and Vishnudharmottara Purana (3rd century) goes parallel.

The in depth analysis and study of Dr Kapila Vatsyayana firmly

establishes the inter-relationship of Arts beyond any doubt. The

theory is accepted and studied by all at national and international

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level. It has created a number of scholars and intense research of

Indian classical dance. At Ellora and Mahabalipuram, entire stories

from the Ramayana and Mahabharata can be found sculpted within

the caves and rock formations, the very same stories that are the

basis of the sahitya for dance themes.

The panels of group of dancers and musicians, as seen in so many

temples, gives the information on musical instruments, some idea of

hand, feet and body position of the dancer, costumes, perhaps style

and such. All the four above mentioned categories of dance are

easily found in sculptures and they contribute mightily in the

recording of dance in India through the ages.

There is one example of a sculpture that is specifically made to

depict a dancer in the tradition of the Court dancer, and where the

dancer may have served as a model herself. It is in the Maharaja

Fatehsinh Museum of the Laxmi Vilas Palace, Baroda, and is made by

Fellini, a visiting European sculptor at the Baroda Court in the early

part of the 20th century. It depicts female court dancers (who were

brought to Baroda from Tanjore) and is believed to be an exact

representation.

RECORDING of DANCE in PAINTING

There has been an old and time-revered link between dance and

painting in India. The pre-historic Bhim Betka Caves in Madhya

Pradesh have some of the earliest painted images of dance. Images

of dancers and their dance are available to dance practitioners

through paintings created in India since pre-historic times. Painting

on walls known as murals was a technique that survived centuries of

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battering by invaders, natural disasters and was often protected by

natural overgrowths as was the case with the Ajanta Caves. Murals

could be executed as tempera and fresco. Wall paintings are found in

pre-historic caves (Bhim Betka), rock-cut caves (Ajanta-Ellora) made

by Buddhist monks, inner surfaces of temples, palaces and houses of

noblemen (Rajasthan).

Both the Shilpa Shastra and the Chitra Shastra follow the dictate of

their own individual discipline. As all the art forms interpret and

depict life one finds a commonality running through them. The

three-dimensional sculptures and the two-dimensional paintings are

able to bring out the strength and beauty of the forms as specific to

their own medium. The paintings are also a great source of

information and historical sustenance to dance.

From the pre-historic to present times, through the paintings one is

able to get a continuous account of dance, its technique, its

presentation and thematic content. Different painting styles

prevalent at different points of time in history and regions have

nourished the art of dance.

Figures that appear to be like dancers and images of dancing figures

are found on walls, on scrolls, patta-chitras, illustrated manuscripts

like the Kalpasutra texts (Davasa-no-pado), Gita Govinda texts,

miniatures, etc. Such paintings were and are still made on walls,

ceilings, in caves, on cloth, paper, palm leaves, and ivory and so on.

In terms of the depiction of dance, the paintings being two-

dimensional are better equipped to depict narrative elements. The

subtleties of abhinaya with its minute details are easier to bring out

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through the brush of the painter rather than the hammer and chisel

of the sculptor. Some of these paintings illustrate religious texts such

as Shrimad Bhagavat Purana, Ramayana etc. Nomadic folk singers

and story-tellers used the scroll paintings (pata paintings) while

singing their stories or legends. Through the paintings, for example

those found in the Ajanta Caves or the Moghul miniatures; we are

able to identify prevalent social, cultural and artistic styles providing

much information on the contemporary styles of those eras.

The individual figures as illustrated in the Kalpa Sutra paintings are

detailed technical records of Hastas (Arala, Kangula etc.), Chari-s

(Mrugapluta, Harinatrasita etc.) and Drasties. Perhaps, after the

illustrated Karanas on the temple walls, these are the direct technical

records, notating Nritta movements. One still wonders, what

prompted to paint such technical records in these religious texts.

In the miniature format of painting of medieval times, with so many

different schools, portrayal of dance has remained favorite.

Miniatures became a popular form of art work and several styles

developed – Moghul, Deccani, Pahari, Mewadi, and Kishangarh and

so on. Be it a group of dancers in a court, individual dancers, Raga-

Ragini, Nayika-s and the like are popular themes.

Dance and music performances, dancers, musicians, Raga-Ragini are

common subjects for many miniatures. They reveal a formal

sophistication in the presentation of the dance, especially when the

setting is the royal court.

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British travelers who roamed the Indian princely kingdoms and the

countryside in the 19th century also made paintings/prints of

landscapes, local people, animals and birds, plant-life, fairs and

festivals, and local customs that they actually saw or experienced.

One such example is the paintings of ‘Nautch Girls’ in the Victoria &

Albert Museum, London. The paintings depict a performance by a

Nautch Girl within a haveli, while another is outside of a tent or

shamiana outside a bungalow (Col. James Skinner’s house, Delhi,

1830). “Col. James Skinner was a well-known for his lavish

entertainment of English visitors and his glamorous nautch parties.

He often presented his guests with pictures of nautch girls along with

their musicians.”

The dancers are in a Kathak-style dance pose, accompanied by

numerous musicians. They are wearing clothes and jewelry that were

popular amongst Muslim noblewomen of the mid-19th century north

India. One sees a drastic change in the costumes as seen in the

miniature paintings.