Before I could get anywhere with my first assignment, I had to know what I wanted to do. I started reflecting on my first year in the course and what we did then to give me a sort of springboard. I was hoping it would at least help me understand what area or theatre style I was interested in and if there was one similar or derived from it that I could focus on. Being in an international school and an international course, I recall looking into theatre practitioners and practises from all around the world. This helped us learn to have a broad perspective of the world. I learned how culture, traditions and circumstances influence how people chose to express themselves in theatre. Looking over my research material and class discussions from my previous year, something stood out to me. I identify myself as Indian, and have been brought up to be very proud of my culture and traditions. India is a diverse country, where no two cities, much less states, are alike. However, I have never had the chance to reside in my home country due to circumstances of my parents' employment. While I am grateful for the international education I have the opportunity to receive, it also makes me wonder on what I am missing out on in my home country.
That's when I realised that even though we had looked at so many practises and practitioners around the world, we had never comprehensively looked at Indian theatre practises. Quickly looking back to the prescribed list we were provided with, I was excited to realise that there was indeed an Indian theatre practise on there.
That was Kathakali. A form of dance drama from the state of Kerala.
Proud of my Indian roots, I have personally learned classical for over 8 years. Due to this, I immediately formed a connection with this topic. An important point to note is that India has various forms of indigenous dance forms. They originate from all different parts and have varying histories. While they all incorporate forms of drama, they are very different. It is an example of the difference in subtlety. To an untrained eye, the forms might seem similar, interchangeable even. That thought is taboo in our world. Each dance forms has such intricacies, that it is in fact quite difficult for a dancer primarily trained in one form to adopt the other. The heads have different tilts, the hands form different angles, and the expressions tell different stories.
Here is where my challenge came in, I already have preconceived notions about classical dance due to my experience with it. That could be a beneficial or detrimental. While it helps me understand the process, the content will be a little more difficult because I need to unlearn my previous knowledge to fully understand Kathakali in its purity.
I am excited for this challenge. I personally know a lot of kathakali dancers, who I believe will be a great source for me. I have never taken the initiative to learn about this dance form before. Due to the small town nature of the city, I have also, till today, not attended a Kathakali dance performance. I hope to amend that in the course of this project.
To begin my journey I realised I needed to understand more about the entire form of dance-drama before I chose the unique performance convention I wanted as the focus of my presentations.
I found this website which was a reliable source to give me some reading material to jump into this idea with: http://www.artindia.net/kathakali.html
This video was also a great find in terms of resources.
That's when I realised that even though we had looked at so many practises and practitioners around the world, we had never comprehensively looked at Indian theatre practises. Quickly looking back to the prescribed list we were provided with, I was excited to realise that there was indeed an Indian theatre practise on there.
That was Kathakali. A form of dance drama from the state of Kerala.
Proud of my Indian roots, I have personally learned classical for over 8 years. Due to this, I immediately formed a connection with this topic. An important point to note is that India has various forms of indigenous dance forms. They originate from all different parts and have varying histories. While they all incorporate forms of drama, they are very different. It is an example of the difference in subtlety. To an untrained eye, the forms might seem similar, interchangeable even. That thought is taboo in our world. Each dance forms has such intricacies, that it is in fact quite difficult for a dancer primarily trained in one form to adopt the other. The heads have different tilts, the hands form different angles, and the expressions tell different stories.
Here is where my challenge came in, I already have preconceived notions about classical dance due to my experience with it. That could be a beneficial or detrimental. While it helps me understand the process, the content will be a little more difficult because I need to unlearn my previous knowledge to fully understand Kathakali in its purity.
I am excited for this challenge. I personally know a lot of kathakali dancers, who I believe will be a great source for me. I have never taken the initiative to learn about this dance form before. Due to the small town nature of the city, I have also, till today, not attended a Kathakali dance performance. I hope to amend that in the course of this project.
To begin my journey I realised I needed to understand more about the entire form of dance-drama before I chose the unique performance convention I wanted as the focus of my presentations.
I found this website which was a reliable source to give me some reading material to jump into this idea with: http://www.artindia.net/kathakali.html
This video was also a great find in terms of resources.