Building a temple for Bharatha Muni This was the previous topic discussed here. Click here to view the prize winning entry.

Recently, a dance fest in Madras featured Bharatanatyam performances for yester-year film songs. In the past, classical dance sequences have been part of films in India. And some dancers have been working on the idea of bringing those songs to stage. Be it vintage classics or Tamil songs of the 90's, what is your viewpoint on performing Bharatanatyam to film songs? Does it dilute the artform? Does it draw more audience? Does it allow dancers to experiment? Debate.

Here are the responses received at KutcheriBuzz:

Prize winning entry Music and dance are universal modes of self expression. Tradition adds an aestheic scaffolding by putting artistic bounds to the artiste's imagination. As long as dancing to cinema music does not compromise tradition, it is perfectly okay to do it. It does not dilute the art form in any manner. It does draw more audience since many can recognize the popular melodies and can relate to it. There might not be enough meat for experimentation unless the theme is very abstract. Cinema is more multidimensional media than pure dance. Choreographing these tunes in traditional Bharatanatyam with subtle nuances thrown in may in fact appeal to the connoisseurs of the art as well. Sumana Srinivasan Mumbai