Silence- Not a virtue anymore?

I have suffered for long from the malaise of doubting myself, my intentions and my views, especially on the aesthetics of classical dance. Maybe, my readers would classify me as a chronic un-realist with a critical attitude bordering on cynicism.

Dance circles have often baffled me.  I was brought up on the supposed portrayal of  “universal truth” through art which leads to the ultimate liberation- attainment of enlightenment. A couple of programs, once in a rare blue moon, do indeed make an impact enough to wonder whether the calm and repose felt during the performance and also much after that; is what the near divine aesthetic relish is all about. Many would scoff at this revealation, though not openly. 

One does come across maestros whose art and also their simplicity and humility can utterly humble one; while on the other hand, one encounters artistes exemplifying showmanship bordering on arrogance. It is ironic to often see clichéd mannerisms of utter reverence being overdone- for instance one pulls the earlobe in reverence when one’s teacher’s name is taken, the right hand is placed on the chest with an exaggerated humble bent of the torso and so on and so forth…. And the same artiste, in another instant, could exhibit aggressive and opportunistic salesmanship to sell and project his art. Can humility and uncouth aggression co exist in mutually exclusive compartments in the same person?

Performances with a still center are as rare as they are difficult to define. Maybe such performances are the ones which are not just for the sake of enjoyment or education but which have the power to take the spectator to a state of harmony with his own self or take him closer to the unknown realm of universal truth …

In the, so called, thinking dancers’ parlance, dance is all about expressing one’s own self… while the great maestros of dance across ages espoused that it was all about the self, merging into the character and thereafter into the universal truth. In many dance and theatrical forms,like in Kathakali, as the make-up progresses the artiste goes into a meditative transformation and actually becomes the character much before the play begins.

Mostly, one gets to witness personal flamboyance and the loud showmanship, playing to the gallery as is the norm with today’s performances, especially Kathak. There is hardly any experience of silence amid the show of virtuosity. Once I witnessed a talented Kutiyattam artiste, used to the adulation and awe of the uninformed audiences, portray the prolonged scene of Bali's death, with all subtlety thrown to winds. The seasoned spectator was restless and wished for the speedy death of the character being portrayed; while the uninformed got carried away for a while by the gimmickry of the long drawn throes of death and its various stages. After a certain point the performance became a misery for all. But who can enlighten the artiste? 

Clinical precision in technique or virtuosity which generates a harmonic equilibrium with the symmetric rhythm in nature is an essential ingredient of dance and creates a sense of beauty. However, the subtle and the understated are the virtues which manifest as the calm and repose in a performance which need to form the core/essence of a performance.

However, this could only be a view of a spectator suffering from critical cynicism.