Samavesh II Report

- Supriya Devi

(Report of her talk in Samavesh II on Jan 12, 2013, Chennai)                                    {flike}

Anne Dietrich a Culture and Dance Educationist from Germany is trained in Ballet, Jazz, Contemporary dance, Improvisation Techniques and Theatre. She began her journey in Mohiniyattam in the year 2005 when she started training under Guru Smt Leelamma in Kalamandalam. She spoke about how she embraced Mohiniyattam and shared her experiences and thoughts on the dance whilst making a comparative analysis between Mohiniyattam and Contemporary dance.

“In classical ballet we speak only through body without any expression on the face and somehow I felt a deep desire to emote and tried to connect music, theatre and dance”: Anne’s dedicated voice spoke. In 2004 she made her first production connecting the three and she found it really interesting to tell story by giving a good emotion to the audience. Her quest had just begun.

Her Indian travails

She knew India existed and didn’t know much about the country until 2003 when her friend who was learning Kathakali passionately told her about Kerala Kalamandalam. While looking for more information she came to know about Mohiniyattam and was instantly taken by its grace and feminity. Compared to the straight and jumpy movements in ballet, Mohiniyattam looked more beautiful and using the facial muscles to emote was a fascinating aspect for her. She was also amazed as to how hand gestures are used to narrate stories.

(Report of her talk in Samavesh II on Jan 11, 2013, Chennai)                                 {flike|furl=EN}

Representing her guru and mother Kalaratna Kalamandalam Smt Sugandhi and her research guide and guru in Natyashastra, Dr Padma Subramanyam and all the artistes and scholars who have helped her in her research studies, Smt Nanditha Prabhu shared her understanding of the Traditional Music of Kerala which she internalised as part of her research studies on the Ritual Dance forms of Kerala and the traditional Music of the region.

There is a very cardinal relationship between music and dance; music is the mystery that dance try to reveal and the two coexists in all performing arts tradition, she said. For a thorough understanding, she began with an introduction from Natyasastra the earliest Pan-Asian text on dance drama. Though the term Performing Arts came to use in 18th century,  Bharata Muni says that Natya (Performing Arts) ends in Rasanishpathi; emergence of a rasa and gives a summary of elements that leads to it is also mentioned.  In Natya Sangraha, he says Rasa emerges from a psychological state of mind called the bhava. The Bhava which the performer feels is the Bhavakatva and when it reaches the audience it is Bhojakatva, finally it ends in Siddhi, either Manushika Siddhi or Daivika Siddhi. 

Report of her talk in Samavesh II on Jan 12, 2013, Chennai)

A theatre artiste and contemporary dancer, Eugenia Carrillo is also trained in Trapeze and acrobatics.

In year 2000 she chanced upon a Kathakali performance and got completely drawn to it and after four months she packed her bags to Kerala for learning the artform. After few months of her training in Kathakali she joined Kerala Kalamandalam and started her training in Mohiniyattam under Guru Leelamma and her tryst with the dance form continues.

Speaking at Samavesh II, in Chennai, she revealed her perspective of Mohiniyattam and about taking the dance form to Spain. A lover of Mohiniyattam, Eugenia said her aim is not only to be a Mohiniyattam artiste but to spread Mohiniyattam day by day because she feels that the world needs this beautiful dance form, Mohiniyattam.

Spain and India share many cultural similarities and both celebrate nature in their cultural and artistic expressions. When I first saw Mohiniyattam I felt that I found something that I was looking for, she said. In theatre, we rely mainly on voice for expression but in Kathakali and Mohiniyattam I could feel that it is poetry in motion. These two art forms I thought was a compilation of all that I learnt in dance, theatre and acrobatics. For a Mohiniyattam dancer, the dance is like an instrument which is always with her to create music whenever she wants, she added.

She expressed gratitude all the gurus who shared their knowledge with her; Kalamandalam Leelamma, Padmashri Kshemavathy, Dr Neena Prasad and Padmashri Bharati Sivaji. They have given her the opportunity to taste the nectar of this eternal flower, she said.