PAPER 6 DANCE IN INDIA TODAY, DANCE-DRAMAS, CREATIVITY WITHIN THE CLASSICAL FORMS, INDIAN CLASSICAL DANCE IN DIASPORA (USA, UK, EUROPE, AUSTRALIA, ETC.) MODULE 29 INDIAN CLASSICAL DANCE IN FRANCE AND ITALY In this module we are looking at the state of Indian classical dance in Continental Europe. While Europe is a conglomeration of many countries, this module does not claim to cover all. However it covers several countries where Indian dance has gained root. These are stories of the success of cultural diplomacy- sometimes driven by state initiatives but more often than not by driven individuals. FRANCE We begin with France. Several Indians have settled down there and quite a number of schools and private tuitions can be found. Since the 70's, the interest is more, especially after the French revolution in 1968. There was a flourish in the culture and more Indians moved in. The French know a lot and they expect quality and new presentations. They will be disappointed to see only a Bharatanatyam recital. The presentation and quality is very much in demand. Here Theatre de Ville Paris and the Muse Guimet have long been centers that have showcased Indian classical dance. The Festival of India in France gave a flip to interest in Indian arts including dance. 1 Though many French dancers have come to India to learn, the only French dancer to have been awarded a Padmashri is Devayani, born Annick Chaymotty. She was awarded a Padmashri in the year 2009, but she lives in India. Chaymotty trained in Bharatanatyam with Kancheepuram Ellapa Mudaliar and Kalaimamani V.S. Muthuswamy Pillai. Kumari Sawrnamukhi trained her in Karnas, Kalanidhi Narayanan in abhinaya, and Dr. Balamuralikrishna in vocal Carnatic Music. She adopted the stage name Devayani and was cast in the lead role of the Telugu film America Ammayi popular in India and abroad. France has also honored Bharatanatyam dancer Pondicherry based Bharatanatyam dancer, Raghunath Manet, the first Indian to perform at venues as prestigious as the Opera houses of Paris, Bordeaux and Vichy and the Grimaldi theatre in Monaco, on the occasion of the first Nijinsky award, the Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters. In France, possibly the first and the most significant institute here, for both the showcasing and teaching of Indian dance, is the Centre Mandapa. She came to India in 1964 when she went to Shantiniketan and started her training in Kathakali with Haridasa Nair, son of Kunju Kurup. The same year she met Adyar K. Lakshman in Madras and took lessons in Bharatanatyam for a period of two years. However, Milena's ambition was to concentrate more on Kathakali and hence, after returning to Paris, she secured a scholarship to go to Kalamandalam in Kerala for eight months to work and collaborate with renowned teachers. During the same period she met M. K. Saroja, senior disciple of Kattumannarkoil Muthukumarappa Pillai in Delhi and continued her training in Bharatanatyam with M.K. Saroja. 2 Once back in France, Milena collaborated with Jean Louis Barrault to organize a tour for a Kathakali troupe. The UNESCO supported some of her efforts in this direction. In 1974 she married an indophile Roger Filipuzzi and set up centre Mandapa in 1975, shortly before the birth of their daughter Isabelle Anna. Milena and Roger played a decisive part in the UNESCO recognition that came the way of Koodiyattam, as a part of the intangible heritage of mankind. A short film shot by them in 1994 won the CID-UNESCO competition of video dance. Between 1980 and 1999 Milena organised several productions of Kudiyattam, performed by both Kalamandalam and Margi troupes. She had the opportunity to interact with great masters of Kudiyattam like Maani Madhava Chakkiyar and Painkulam Rama Chakkiyar who came to inaugurate the department of Kudiyattam at Mandapa. Although Mandapa/मंडऩा has presented Thullal and Kalari, Milena considers Kathakali and Kutiyattam as ‘great art forms having incredible impact’. The “Centre Mandapa” trains around 100 students who are keen on learning and imbibing the scintillating dance forms such as Bharatanatyam and Kathak. She is a great votary of Indian dance believing that more and more dance schools should be established in India and abroad so as to preserve the unique cultural heritage of this wonderful land for the future generations. In 1985 Milena and Roger adopted a girl from Mother Teresa’s orphanage: Maria Kiran (meaning “ray of light”). Isabelle Anna and Maria Kiran are now on international careers, the elder in the Kathak style and he younger in Bharatanatyam. Milena takes care that 3 Mandapa does not become a museum but remains a live place, open to people needing to renew themselves through traditional activities, a creative place. It is located in the 13th arrondissement of Paris and is famous for the fact that it regularly hosts a variety of artistic performances devoted to Indian art and culture. One of the first Indian teachers of great fame to teach at Centre Mandapa was Guru M K Saroja who started seriously teaching in mid-seventies, basing herself at Mandapa in Paris. Among her principal students were Vidya, Vani, Shalini, Jyoti and Shanti. Vidya has further trained Maria Kiran who now continues the guru's art. From Chidambaram to Champs Elysees, the art of Bharatanatyam travelled, thanks to Centre Mandapa. For her contributions to the arts, Milena Salvini has been honored by the French Government with the Chevalier of Arts and Letters. Milena’s daughter Isabelle Anna discovered Kathak with Sharmila Sharma, disciple of Pandit Birju Maharaj, in Paris, at Centre Mandapa. In 1998, Isabelle went on to become an Indo-French government scholar and ICCR scholar. She joined Kathak Kendra, New Delhi, under the guidance of Pandit Jai Kishan Maharaj, and has, since then, performed in various countries at different festivals. In 2007, she formed her dance company, ‘Kaléïdans' Scope. 'In 2009, Isabelle participated in the Bounjour India festival with French dancers Aurélie Oudiette and Hélène Marionneau. In France the Indian dance scene is enriched by the presence of dancers like Dominique Delorme and Brigitte Chantagnier. Dominique Delorme is probably the best known French dancer of Bharatanatyam. Dominique had his initial training in Bharatanatyam 4 from Malavika in Paris. Malavika was the stage name of Christine Klien. Malavika was a pioneer of Indian dance in France. Her first guru was Kanchipuram Ellappa. After the passing of her guru she went on to learn from Muthuswamy Pillai. For this reason many dancers from France, including Dominique chose Muthuswamy Pillai as their Guru. Malavika had also learnt some items from Padma Subrahmanyam. On her return Malavika began teaching at Paris and other French cities and even developed a scholarship and cultural exchange programme through a joint effort of the French Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the Indian Council for Cultural Relations. All of this accounted for the sudden burst of dancers coming to learn Bharatanatyam in India. Most of them have regrettably left dancing. In 1988, Dominique received this scholarship from the ICCR and the French Ministry of Foreign affairs to continue my training in Madras under Guru V.S. Muthuswamy Pillai. He went on to do his arangetram in 1990. But even before that, in 1989, he represented Guru Muthuswamy Pillai and danced the varnam, 'Adave Arulpurivai / अडवे अ셁ऱऩु셁वाई' at a seminar organized by the Sruti Foundation in Madras. He has also received special training in abhinaya from guru Kalanidhi Narayanan and Anuradha Jagannathan, in nattuvangam from Kamala Rani and in Carnatic vocal from Sulochana Pattabhiraman. Following his Arangetram in 1990, Dominique continued to perform solo throughout India, Malaysia, Singapore, Western Europe, West Indies and now in the US. He played Narada in ‘Krishnam Vande Jagathgurum / कृ ष्णं वꅍदे जगथगु셁म ’ choreographed by Sudharani 5 Raghupathy and Shiva in ‘Natya Shastra Avataranam / ना絍य शास्त्र अवतरणम’ by Dr. Padma Subrahmanyam. His first solo production ‘Nandanar / नंदनार’ toured India and Europe and received critical acclaim and has become his masterpiece. He continued his creative efforts with ‘Seeds of Light’ (1991) with Shakuntala and ‘Skin Deep’ (1995-96) in collaboration with Kalpana, both French Bharatanatyam dancers. ‘Dance with the Gods!’ (1997) and ‘Ardhanareeswara’ (2002) with Malavika were productions that have also toured Europe and India. In May 1989, he attended a 'Natyashastra Siksha Camp' conducted by Dr. Padma Subrahmaniyam and discovered the possibilities of the body. He participated in the documentary film, 'Bharata's Natya Shastra' directed by V. Balakrishnan in 1991. He developed a special interest in the 'Karanas'. In 2000, he was awarded the 'Villa Medicis Hors-Les-Murs' prize and the Romain Rolland award from the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs for a choreographic project out of which emerged, 'Les Saveurs des Karanas' (The flavor of Karanas). Dominique feels that there is a greater demand for the Padma Subrahmanyam version of the art as the Karanas connect to the ballet movements. Delorme always wanted to learn from great masters, believing that it is “Only when you learn from great masters can you really grow...Their values stay with us and we have to maintain this and continue to the next generation.” This is how he sees his role. Seycha Karpagam, disciple of Guru Jayashree Narayanan, attained her Bachelor’s degree from Pondicherry University, a Central 6 University of India, and currently performs and conducts Bharatanatyam classes at her institute Bharatanjali in Paris. Trained since childhood in mime, theatre and contemporary dance, Brigitte Chataignier’s career took a turn when, in 1986, she discovered and fell in love with Mohiniattam, the traditional dance form from Kerala that had come close to being lost by the start of the 20th century.