"The distance between Vedika (acting area)- front and the first seat in the Prekshagriha (auditorium) itself was 24 ft. and with the central place where the king or the chief guest sat, it could not be less than 30ft. (Natyasastra XXVII, 74 and 78-79) which was far too great for any subtle expressions to be seen. Bharata's theatre was an intimate theatre and distance did matter much."
Goverdhan Panchal, an eminent interpreter of Natyasastra, the ancient treatise on Dramaturgy explains why all the important scenes were enacted in an area called the Rangapeetha (the main acting area in front of the vedika which was nearer to the spectator.)
Organizing classical dance in proscenium theatres, at huge festival venues in vast open spaces and even stadiums is like visually impairing a spectator first; and then asking him to appreciate a fantastic spectacle.
The chief guest and other VIPs occupy the first 4 rows after which the nuances of the classical dances are perceived progressively less; as we go beyond the privileged rows to the back of the auditorium.
The ordinary spectator (not by virtue of his understanding of the form but by virtue of his proximity to the performance space) is lampooned for not connecting to the performance. The blame game often victimizes the spectator who actually suffers the recitals; as he misses out on the finer aspects of the dance. The dancers justify their diluted repertoires to the need of the audience which they assume is not very informed and therefore does not connect. (we discount the possibility that the dancer's skills could be suspect.) Organizers are obsessed by numbers and are mostly oblivious to the dynamics/ compulsions of staging classical dances.
Organizers of festivals at large venues ask for huge dance troupes, dramatic and racy choreography aided by the multimedia interventions and loud acoustics to appeal to the audiences. Synchronized classical dance movements, formations, acrobatics, the complementing light and sound show can grab eyeballs and hence is the main component of the new genre of classical dance much in demand today.
Solo performances with nuanced abhinaya (histrionic representation) which blend the delicate body language with the evocative singing can make an impact even on an uninformed spectator. He need not always decipher the language of alien gestures (hastas/ mudras) to understand the layered presentation that classical dance is. Classical dance could actually appeal to a wide cross section of the spectators and in fact it should; as rightly propounded by Bharata in his Natyasastra.
A classical dance performance has to be essentially in an intimate setting to generate the desired rasa (sentiment) apart from it being a performance of utmost skill emerging form disciplined and dedicated training.
It may help the organizers and dancers to be a little sensitive to the spectators' needs, especially when they want to create a newer audience base and not blame the audience disconnect only on the western influences and changing times.
I cannot help but reiterate that SPIC MACAY is the only movement which has understood this basic ingredient of classical dance performances and takes the best of the maestros to youngsters in a simple and yet a comfortable and intimate setting and thus provides them with the profound experience of joy of high art.
Goverdhan Panchal, an eminent interpreter of Natyasastra, the ancient treatise on Dramaturgy explains why all the important scenes were enacted in an area called the Rangapeetha (the main acting area in front of the vedika which was nearer to the spectator.)
Organizing classical dance in proscenium theatres, at huge festival venues in vast open spaces and even stadiums is like visually impairing a spectator first; and then asking him to appreciate a fantastic spectacle.
The chief guest and other VIPs occupy the first 4 rows after which the nuances of the classical dances are perceived progressively less; as we go beyond the privileged rows to the back of the auditorium.
The ordinary spectator (not by virtue of his understanding of the form but by virtue of his proximity to the performance space) is lampooned for not connecting to the performance. The blame game often victimizes the spectator who actually suffers the recitals; as he misses out on the finer aspects of the dance. The dancers justify their diluted repertoires to the need of the audience which they assume is not very informed and therefore does not connect. (we discount the possibility that the dancer's skills could be suspect.) Organizers are obsessed by numbers and are mostly oblivious to the dynamics/ compulsions of staging classical dances.
Organizers of festivals at large venues ask for huge dance troupes, dramatic and racy choreography aided by the multimedia interventions and loud acoustics to appeal to the audiences. Synchronized classical dance movements, formations, acrobatics, the complementing light and sound show can grab eyeballs and hence is the main component of the new genre of classical dance much in demand today.
Solo performances with nuanced abhinaya (histrionic representation) which blend the delicate body language with the evocative singing can make an impact even on an uninformed spectator. He need not always decipher the language of alien gestures (hastas/ mudras) to understand the layered presentation that classical dance is. Classical dance could actually appeal to a wide cross section of the spectators and in fact it should; as rightly propounded by Bharata in his Natyasastra.
A classical dance performance has to be essentially in an intimate setting to generate the desired rasa (sentiment) apart from it being a performance of utmost skill emerging form disciplined and dedicated training.
It may help the organizers and dancers to be a little sensitive to the spectators' needs, especially when they want to create a newer audience base and not blame the audience disconnect only on the western influences and changing times.
I cannot help but reiterate that SPIC MACAY is the only movement which has understood this basic ingredient of classical dance performances and takes the best of the maestros to youngsters in a simple and yet a comfortable and intimate setting and thus provides them with the profound experience of joy of high art.
Madhavi, do the stage/auditorium layouts have anything to do with the fact that they are based on western designs that are based on the more vigorous stage dominating performances ?
ReplyDeleteviveik
Viveik, thank you for the question. I think it is not about whether or not the stage designs are based on western models.... There are mention of stages even before Bharata's times( before around 2BC- 2AD) which were of large sizes meant for huge dance ensembles. The different stages specified by Bharata varied in terms of whether it was for the royalty in the palaces or for the masses in public spaces. Their seating arrangements varied according to the particular requirements.Also different types of theaters were suggested for different kinds of plays. Thus the point is that the performance arena's have to be tailored to suit the needs of classical dance performances; not the other way round, if the spectator has to connect. It does not help to use the same stage for any and every kind of form and performance.
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