KutcheriBuzz
Interviews
Radhika Shurajit - Bharatanatyam Dancer
- Category: Interviews
- 10 June 2000
Radhika Shurajit of the Trio Sisters writes on dance today, caught as it is between the obligation to preserve the old and the need to continue to appeal to today's audience and with today's mass media exposure.
Recently my sisters Shobana and Gayathri and myself featured in a Bharatanatyam recital at The Music Academy, Madras, as part of 'Bharata Natya Manjari', an endownment by the family of K.Chandrasekharan, former Vice-President, The Music Academy and dedicated to the memory of Balasaraswati and Rukmini Devi.
It was quite interesting to note that the presentation of a regular 'margam' (traditional format of dance items) was well received by the audience in Chennai. The auditorium was packed and it was heartening to see that the art of Bharatanatyam retains audience interest despite so many innovations in the present day scenario!
But this is not the only kind of performance we do or can do today. The impact of T.V and films on the common man is so great, that one has to use the media to take an art form like Bharatanatyam to the masses. One cannot ignore the influence of media.
We need the roots and we also need the wings!
But as far as media content goes, Dance has been getting a step-motherly treatment. All our channels carry mostly film-based programmes, with very little dosage of classical music or dance, since the audience rating for the same is on the lower side.
To create a mass appeal, we need to present the art form in a way that the people will understand". Keeping this in mind, I designed my dance serial, 'Dheem Tharikita' for Jaya T.V, which is telecast on Mondays from 6.30-7pm.
Choreographing for stage is different from that for a camera. I have choreographed dance sequences for Tamil films like 'Indira', 'Om Saravanabhava' and 'Swarnamukhi', and the latest in this is 'Bharathi'.
The difference between 'real space' (place) and 'reel space' (time) has to be understood to do this. Thought continuity is important while choreographing for the screen for instance because of the post-production stages in filming.
Also, while adapting to the media, one has to be aware of the lighting, colour of costumes, audio signals, video-framing and time, apart from positioning of the camera. The camera eye is different from the human eye.
I am currently working on a ten-episode serial on dance, 'Appreciating Bharatham' for the music & dance channel of numtv.com, the webcasting division of Pentamedia Graphics Ltd.
We, the trio sisters will be presenting a dance feature 'Vanjiyum Kuravanjiyum' on 28 October, at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Coimbatore. This will also feature students of Shobana's dance school in Coimbatore.
As for the December season, we will be presenting 'Amudhum Thenum', incorporating compositions of modern poets in the classical medium.
The sisters run a Bharathanatyam school called Thrayee in Madras. Radhika works from No. 31, I Main Road, Besant Nagar, Chennai-90. Ph: 491 1544, 446 2002. Fax: 491 4734. Gayathri can be contacted at 442 4951. Shobana : 491 1197. E- Mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
