Physical Allure in a Dancer

“Am I wrong in expecting that a dancer on stage is not fat and thick waist-ed?

Am I being irreverent in expecting that a dancer be in best of physical shape?”

It was a text message from my friend in Hong Kong, who of late has been visiting India frequently, to watch our classical performing arts. His angst is not that of a dance critic’s, whose intentions are always suspect; his is the agony of an interested spectator of classical dance.

Is the lament out of place?

Senior dancers who have made a name; and are famed for their mastery over the art form cannot be questioned about their physique and appearance. One is expected to watch them with reverence for their past glories.  Their seasoned mastery of the form is often overshadowed by their unflattering appearance. No matter, they shall not give up the dancing space to younger dancers.

I have often wondered why the seniors hesitate to embrace the format of lecture demonstrations and talks; which would be priceless coming from their vast experience. They could wield great influence by molding the youthful and the enthusiastic minds seeking the depths of the Indian art forms. Maybe the mindless performing arts festivals, most of which are not thematically sculpted, need to have an appropriate slot for our dance maestros.

Many young dancers, too, are unmindful of their physique and appearance; and at times, the inappropriateness or the shabbiness of the costumes, the accessories and the make up mar a performance. Agreed, that the art and its technique is of primary importance; but it is also the production values which determine the siddhi – success of the dramatic production or the performance.

Indian classical dancers are fond of quoting extensively from the Natyasastra, the venerated treatise on dramaturgy which has left no aspect of drama/dance unexplained and un-analysed.

Verses 99-101 of the chapter 27 of the Natyasastra( Gosh, 2007) say,

Intelligence, strength, physical beauty, knowledge of time and tempo, appreciation of the Psychological State and the Sentiments, (proper)age, curiosity, acquisition(of knowledge and arts), (their) retention, vocal music prompted by dance, suppression of stage fright, and enthusiasm, will be the requisite qualities of an actor (patra).

A teenager dancing to mature lyrics, the import of which she/he does not understand is as out of place as an aged dancer, not in best of form, physically, portraying a srngara nayika. The age of the actor has to be according to the character he plays in a drama; which needs to be so adhered to in dance too.

There is no point in attributing a sexist agenda to the expectation that the much favored female dancer be in a good physical form and shape and also possess the charisma, if not great physical beauty; to hold forte and grip the audiences with a solo performance. One often feels that the men dancers need to work on erasing the effeminate trait in their dance; if not eliminate the same in their personas, off stage.

The group format is one which can accommodate any number of virtuoso dancers but does not seek charisma and beauty in individual dancers; though physical fitness is an important requisite there too.

This is not advocating the glamour and sheer physical beauty of dance and the dancer over the thematic spiritual content of Indian classical dances. The ability to transcend the physical and attain the metaphysical is the core of the Indian classical dances. The Manipuri dancer never ever establishes an eye contact with the spectator. An Indian classical dancer is invariably clothed quite modestly, providing for little or no scope for enticing the spectator by titillation.

However, nature has an established order of inherent beauty of symmetry, shape and equilibrium in all of its creations and the human body is no exception.

The debate on my friend’s innocuous query may ensue.