Live Music in dance arangetrams in US

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music_is_life
Posts: 100
Joined: 04 Feb 2010, 01:53

Post by music_is_life »

Come summer and the dance arangetram season begins in US- so much is written about these arangetrams in dance forums and hence I want to focus only on one aspect of it which is appropriate to this forum:
Disclaimer- My intention in writing this is not to hurt anyone but a genuine interest to bring an awareness so that there is an improvement in quality of music.

I don't know about you. But I go mainly to a dance arangetram to listen to the music as I cannot appreciate the nuances of dance. To the credit of the young girls who perform, I must say that they do an exceptional job and one can feel the amount of practice they would have done to reach that level. However, the quality of music is a different matter. Unfortunately, the parents cut corners in this aspect and you always see the same two or three vocalists on the stage. Rather than I comment about their performance, don't they again listen to the professional video recordings of these events and vow that they will not again go up on stage out of courtesy to the people who attend. Why are they callouse and arrogant? Probably they take the audience for granted. And remember, the quality deteriorates year over year an dthis year I was particularly appaled by a 'ksheera sagara' rendition that I had to come home and cleanse my ears listening to the great TNS' rendition a few times! Unfortunately the parents do not know much about music and that is the reason this continues unabated. Who will bell the cat? If budget is the issue, can there be some innovation such as kareoke style with only 'live' nattuvangams? Can the learned members share their thoughts on this?
Last edited by music_is_life on 17 Oct 2009, 20:43, edited 1 time in total.

sureshvv
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Joined: 05 Jul 2007, 18:17

Post by sureshvv »

Please appreciate any type of "live" music over pre-recorded canned music. That seems to be the preferred route for reducing cost.

Nick H
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Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 02:03

Post by Nick H »

Just wondering... is it bad because it is played/sung by enthusiastic amateurs who are not quite up to the job, or because it is performed by poor-quality professionals, or because it is performed by capable professionals who don't have any enthusiasm for the task?

The enthusiastic amateurs I cold live with; as to the other options, I find it tough to decide whether pre-recorded music would be better or worse! Of course... there are other possibilities.

I'm no Bharatnatyam fan, but I've seen and enjoyed so many arangetrams, and enjoyed them for the quality of the music (ok, not kutchery, but still a pleasant way to spend an evening, dance or no dance) and the enthusiastic energy and dedication (even if it is going to end the next day) of the young dancers.

I think it is very sad that anyone would take part in such an event without the best interests of the dancer at heart, and without wanting it to be a wonderful event for them. They may take the audience for granted; if they are part of some cosy monopoly with one or more teacher they may take their pay for granted, but they should never take that young dancer for granted.

A sad post, music_is_life; very sad news.

rshankar
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Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 22:26

Post by rshankar »

The ones I have been to have been uniformly good (I am talking only about the music), and so far, I have not been disappointed. Usually, as far as I am aware, the parents do not have much of a say in the choice of the members of the live orchestra. Most dance teachers have a set of musicians they work well with, and get along well with. This is important, because for the most part, these artists are hosted by the teacher - they stay with the teacher and participate in rehearsals in the last weeks leading to an arangETRam. That is the reason they are used repeatedly. If the vocalist is not 'good', it is not that the parents have cut corners, and have 'settled' for a someone when a better choice was available.

music_is_life - if you feel that a particular school can do better in their choice of artists for the orchestra, you should probably let the teacher know how you feel and suggest better alternatives. They may not be able to make the change immediately, because some of these engagements are spoken of years in advance, but I am sure they will make the change eventually.

The dancing, however superlative it is, will fall flat if the music is bad (the opposite is also true - excellent music alone will not salvage a performance where the dancing is bad), so, teachers should not be averse to hearing a valid criticism that affects the quality of the performance of their students.
Last edited by rshankar on 18 Oct 2009, 02:20, edited 1 time in total.

raj-123
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Joined: 24 Dec 2006, 20:36

Post by raj-123 »

Which part of US are you referring to ? I have gone to hundreds of arangetrams in California bay area and I feel the standard is outstanding. There are few local artists who are great, and many dance schools bring musicians, violinists, flautists, mridangam artists from Chennai, Kalakshetra school or independent artists. I go with expectations that it is not going to be similar to a Sanjay Subrahmanyam or TM Krishna concert, but standards are outstanding in my opinion.

music_is_life
Posts: 100
Joined: 04 Feb 2010, 01:53

Post by music_is_life »

There are about 5 dance schools in our city. Let’s call them A, B, C, D and E. School E conducts arangetram once in two years, C&D does about 2 per year, B conducts 3-4 per year and A performs 6-8 per year. Generally, school C, D and E follows the practice of bringing the professional orchestra on tour to US. This group spends a week in the teacher’s house before the arangetram and generally the quality is pretty good and I was not referring to them. I was talking about A & B as the number of arangetrams churned out per year by these two schools has been growing steadily over the years. In the case of school A, it is a monopolistic situation in the sense that the parents have to take the whole package or nothing. Over a period of time the team members have all moved out to other parts of the country. With 6-8 performaces in a period of three months, they all come together a day before the arangetram and do an all-night practice and come to the stage to perform and you can imagine how this will sound. School B used to focus on quality as they used to have one per year but now I observe that this school is also following school A in terms of quantity and I see a constant deterioration of standard.

mohan
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Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 16:52

Post by mohan »

If the musicians only have one day practice with a debut dancer - it is bound to be a failure. I've been part of the local orchestra for a few arengetrams in Sydney. After learning the songs, the vocalist and mrudangam artist attended weekly practice sessions with the dance teacher and student for a few months. In the last couple of weeks the other instrumentalists joined the sessions as well. In the week prior to the arengetram there are typically 4 - 5 practice sessions scheduled involving all musicians.

For a successful performance the musicians need to know the dance intricately (and vice-versa). If this doesn't happen, yes they may as well dance to taped music.
Last edited by mohan on 19 Oct 2009, 08:44, edited 1 time in total.

sureshvv
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Joined: 05 Jul 2007, 18:17

Post by sureshvv »

Unfortunately even in Chennai many dance programs/ballets happen with recorded music.

sucharithra
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Joined: 29 May 2009, 04:20

Post by sucharithra »

Agreed. Just as CD recordings of concerts are generally not as attractive as (recordings of) live concerts, dance programs with pre-recorded music are bound to lack the lustre that comes with a live orchestra. However, in the area that I live in, the dance schools that bring artists from India have always done very well. Perhaps in situations where this is not the case, the teacher should take up the burden of not only bringing the artists but making sure that there are enough pre-arangetram rehearsals. After all, their students have worked very hard to reach the stage that they are at. :)

natyasri
Posts: 315
Joined: 09 Feb 2010, 04:05

Re: Live Music in dance arangetrams in US

Post by natyasri »

anyone has contacts on the orchestra? i would like to book one. thank you

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