Preethi Ramprasad, a student of Bharatanatyam, based in New Jersey, recently won an arts scholarship from National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts (NFAA), U.S.A.
A disciple of Prof. Sudharani Raghupathy, Preethi has been travelling to Chennai in July-August every year, for the past 12 years, to train in Bharatanatyam. She was in Chennai this July too. Preethi enters Rutgers University this year and in this column, she talks about an 'Arts Week' she enjoyed at Miami…
It all began when my mother read about a finalist for the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts (NFAA) scholarship, in the India Abroad newspaper in the United States. NFAA's charter is to seek out artistically accomplished young people throughout the United States and give them national recognition through cash awards and scholarships. Each year, the NFAA conducts the prestigious Arts Recognition and Talent Search Week, or ARTS Week, in January. It is an all-expense-paid trip to Miami, Florida to learn more and showcase your talents.
From the time I read of the NFAA, the prestigious Arts Week has been a goal for me in my dance career. Although it cannot compare to actually living the experience, the following is my account of the ARTS Week, which I did manage to reach.
Every summer I come to Chennai, India, and learn Bharatanatyam from Prof. Sudharani Raghupathy at Shree Bharatalaya. Last summer, however, I had a more specific goal to attain than just a dance performance.
To qualify into ARTS week, in the 'World Dance Category', and specifically Bharatanatyam, the participants were to submit a video of a thrikalajathi theermanam, and a separate abhinaya part, each not exceeding two minutes. The presentations are then judged by recognized experts in each category. If a dancer got a ten out of ten in this initial judging, then they would be selected to attend the ARTS week.
Finding a suitable piece to record and send to the NFAA was a difficult task, because it is hard to fit challenging movements and steps into just two minutes. But with the masterful minds of my teachers at Shree Bharatalaya, I recorded a segment from Vidwan Madurai N. Krishnan's famous varnam, Adharam Neeye in Karaharapriya ragam. The segment included the difficult first jathi of the varnam, followed by the abhinaya depicting the Gajendra Moksham.
Of the over 6500 applicants, I was one of the fortunate few to be selected for participation in ARTS Week 2006. In all honesty, I was flattered but did not really know what I had gotten myself into. We were told to bring another prepared piece in addition to our audition solos. I chose a piece deeply rooted in the tradition of the Tanjore Quartet, one of the Navasandhi Kautuvams on Lord Kubera. I spent the next month practising 'Adharam Neeye' and the Kautuvam.
Talent from all over…
I flew to Miami, Florida, sporting a white NFAA t-shirt along with several other finalists who were chosen for various other arts, including theater, Jazz, Ballet, Tap, Creative Writing, Photography, Film & Video and Visual Arts. Little did I know that the few people I met on my flight were only a taste of the amount of talent I would be seeing during my one week stay.
On arriving at the hotel, I met my closest friend at the ARTS Week. Mangala Maddali, the other Indian classical dancer from Mississippi, was selected for Kuchipudi dance. She was my roommate, and discussing the arts with her brought about both camaraderie and a deeper respect for our respective dance styles.
On the first evening of ARTS Week, all the participants were divided into their respective disciplines: dance, visual art, music, theater, and writing. In our groups, we watched the audition tapes of all the finalists. As I gazed at the people around me in awe, I realized the humbling talent that surrounded me during this week. After the viewing of all the tapes, we were introduced to the experts who were to interact with us during the week. My master teacher was a Bharatanatyam disciple of Kamala, Vidya Murthy, who is now based in Los Angeles, California. I was also introduced to the renowned Sukanya Rahman, daughter of Indrani Rahman, who was one of the judges. In addition, I was introduced to the various other master teachers in Native American Jingle, Irish Step, Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Modern, Korean, and African dancing.
There were three parts to the judging at the ARTS Week: studio performance, show night performance and master class performance.
Studio Performance
In the studio performance, I danced my piece for the four dance judges and my fellow dance finalists. Hearing from people with no background in classical Indian dance that they understood the story of 'Gajendra Moksham' which I depicted in dance, gave me tremendous confidence.
Next, we had to prepare for the performance in front of all 160 of the ARTS finalists. Here, we had a stage rehearsal in order to ensure smooth transitions. The evening performance was perhaps the most thrilling of all the arts presentations that week. It seems inadequate to put into words, but I have never experienced this much interest in Indian Classical dance, and I have also not felt as much curiosity in learning the types of world dances that I saw.
Master Class
With the main performance and the studio performance behind us, we had to prepare for the last third of our judging process for the scholarship. This was known as the master class. Here, I had to dance and demonstrate the navarasa (nine expressions) for abhinaya and was given a new nritta piece to learn on the spot.
An aspect of ARTS Week that cannot be forgotten was how my appreciation for Bharatanatyam grew more and more. I learned from the other dancers that the difficulty of Bharatanatyam is that it looks relatively simple, but the movements that involve every single body part are more difficult than many other dance styles.
It was an enriching experience to learn the other styles of dance as well. We also got to speak and learn from the renowned father of modern ballet, Mikhail Baryshinikov , and the head of the New York City Ballet, Mr. Jacques D'Amboise. In fact, if you asked me now, I could probably show you a small choreographed portion of an African dance, and even a modern dance!
On the last day in Miami, we had a debriefing where all of the dancers stood up and told each other what a moving experience ARTS Week was. There was laughter, the shedding of tears, and a general gratefulness for being part of such a diverse and interesting group of people.
In March this year, I learned that I got a level II scholarship in the arts, $1500 from the NFAA. Ultimately, it was my time in Miami which not only helped me gain appreciation of other arts, but also a deeper understanding of my own. It is an experience that my dance practice was once leading up to, but now it is one that is leading up to more endeavors in dance yet to come.
>> For more information about the NFAA scholarship program, go to www.NFAA.org
>> You can write to Preethi at singdanzp3@yahoo.com
