|
BY CATHERINE THOMAS
Shakuntalam,
a Kuchipudi Dance Ballet
If you want the bloom of youth and fruit of later years,
Thousands of years before anyone ever heard of Michael Flatley, there was another even more celebrated Lord of the Dance: Natraj, an incarnation of the Indic deity Shiva, kept the world spinning with his cosmic ballet and bestowed the gift of dance upon the human race. In India, dance is considered the epitome of classical art, originally an ecstatic expression of divine worship that brought the dancer closer to the gods. The highly evolved artistry of the classical dance tradition is exemplified by the Kuchipudi ballet Shakuntalam, which opens the 12th inspired season of Kalakendra, the Society for the Performing Arts of India. Once a night-long event performed in hallowed temple courtyards and shrines by devotees of Indian deities, the 4,000-year-old Kuchipudi form has retained some of its devotional aspects and much of its dramatic origins. It's noted for its vibrant rhythm, free-flowing style and emotional intensity. Solo dances are characterized by rich expression, fast rhythms, swinging knee movements and circular arm gestures that coalesce to create a mood of abandon and excitement. Kuchipudi dancers practice original and complicated footwork, as well as extraordinary balancing skills. Enchanting music, beautiful costumes and a complex dance technique that is at once graceful, animated, abstract and expressive have gained the Kuchipudi style immense popularity. Audiences are treated to a clear narrative and an engaging theatrical style that combines intricate dance forms with nuances of the ancient Indian artistry of mime, accompanied by the sublime melodies of the centuries-old Carnatic style of classical Indian music. The technique at the heart of Indian classical dance takes years to master; a dancer must be cultivated in music, literature, art and vocal skills. Training for a Kuchipudi artist begins at a young age, with parallel instruction in music, Sanskrit, Vedic scriptures and Indian mythology. Dancers perfect the precise movements of the eyes, neck, hands and feet and acquire a finesse of emotional gestures and facial expressions. After many years of rigorous training, the artist is given an opportunity to perform in small roles in major dance dramas, with progression to senior roles for artists of exceptional talent. Vempati Chinna Satyam, who is credited with reviving Kuchipudi and advancing the dance drama's beautiful solo form, choreographed this Friday's performance. It features four extraordinary Kuchipudi dancers: Ravi Vempati, the choreographer's son, and three female dancers, Kamala Reddy, Anuradha Nehru and Sashikala Penumathi. The ensemble also includes 26 other dancers and eight musicians, who will perform on violin, flute, percussion and voice. The Carnatic style of Southern India is the preeminent tradition of classical Indian music, noted for its cyclic rhythm pattern, complexity and rich emotion. The sounds produced by the seven svaras (units of melodic structure) are mythologically associated with the sounds of certain animals. Indian musicians generally regard their expression as a spritual, as well as aesthetic, exploration; while Carnatic music has retained most of its tradition, musicians are allowed full innovative and creative expression within the circumscribed form. The ballet Shakuntalam is derived from the early 5th-century masterpiece of classical Indian literature, the epic love story and religious drama Abhijnana Shakuntalam (Shakuntala and the Ring of Recognition). The play was composed by Kalidasa, the greatest of classical Sanskrit playwrights and poets; it is the epic story of the love affair of a handsome young king, Dushyanta, and Shakuntala, a beautiful hermit maiden leading an ascetic life in the forests of the Himalayas. The daughter of a celestial nymph and a mortal sage, Shakuntala has all the makings of a classical heroine, and the tale is infused with intrigue and suspense, burning passion, clandestine love, rejection, separation, amnesia, a gift, a curse, a miracle and a reunion--grand opera could hardly do better. As Natraj was said to have brought dance to the human race, so Kalakendra has brought a visually rich dramatic dance experience to Portland. Shakuntalam promises the artistry of Kuchipudi choreography set to a passionate tale of mythological proportions.
originally published August 12, 1998 |
