The present day dance

[sou2]

Hi,

I may be wrong, pls. correct me. Many years back dancers like Padma Subramanian, Yamini Krishnamoorthy, Krishnaveni Laxmanan and many other dancers who had excellent abinaya differed from the araimandi that we presently have.

They did not follow the araimandi position(so much as we follow now). I know dance has evolved over time. Could somebody tell me when did the present day form of dance evolve(that is with great araimandi position) and they were other factors also which has changed over time.

They seemed to have danced casually which looked very nice and ofcourse the present day dance also looks nice but seems to be little more tedious(atleast the way it looks)

Your views on this.

thanks.

[ksl]

Hi Sou2

Aramandi is not a 'present day' phenomenon. Natya shastra describes it as the primal position in dance. The emphasis on maintaining it is a 'present day' phenomenon. having excellent abhinaya is not mutually exclusive with having a good aramandi. There was never an intentional 'not following of aramandi period' in dance. Everyone is always supposed to sit in aramandi. Age and lack of strict implementation are two main reasons for departure from this stance. A strict aramandi these days is a result of the following:

1. A very strict standard set by Kalakshetra. Their students are all over the place as critiques, as examiners and as an . In fact Kalakshetra produced so many artists with a stamped deep aramandi and angasudhdham that people started missing leisurely dances and tagged them as too robotic.

Even Krishnaveni Lakshmanan at whatever age she performed can be seen with aramandi, with shanta dhananjayan in this clip. Both dancers are from Kalakshetra. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4r7Zn3JYmg

2. Competition. The Dancers of yesteryears were a handful and they had minimal competition. They could do as they please and get away. In todays times, if you lack an aramandi, no one will give you a decent review in the Hindu! or a prize at the local dance competition.

3. If you are looking for aramandi, you should look at nritta pieces. For Padma Subrmanyam, i have not seen a clip of hers doing Bharatanatyam when she was younger. I am sure she followed aramandi then. I am sure of this fact cos one of her bharatanatyam students has one of the best aramandi in business:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGBeRzeo59E

Later when she started performing bharataNrithayam...I think this dance is not as static as bharatanatyam in aramandi position. they constantly keep changing from one stance to the other. So it looks very fluid and thus less stressful to the eye. But when she was younger, you can catch glimpses of aramandi for as a short a period as she stays before changing into a pose of some sort..http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M85td5JBRhI

I have no comments on Yamini Krishnamoorthy. Not because i have not watched her dance.

3. Age. If you pick a single artist like padma Subramanyam and watch her over a period of time, u will see her doing less and less nritta pieces. Dancing is not like Music. It takes a lot more energy and physical stress and sometimes artists cannot keep up for whatever reason. With competition you see that changing too. Today urmila sathyanarayanan, Priyadarshini Govind, malavika Sarukkai..everyone boasts of a better maintained body and stamina than most youngsters. It takes a lot of effort to sit in that position and perform.

4. There is still debate over what is the correct aramandi. Some people turn their feet 120 degrees and others a good 180 degrees. Obviously the first one looks more leisurely. Some people sit literally half of their height and others sit about 2/5ths and others 7/8th ...you can do the math ..

5. If you like to see casual dances, there are still MANY dancers that have a poor or casual aramandi. Just look at youtube.

[rshankar]

Hi Sou2

Aramandi is not a 'present day' phenomenon. Natya shastra describes it as the primal position in dance.

In fact, it is possible that the araimaNDi or ardhamaNDala position was the primary position for classical dance all around the country (if sculptural evidence is to be believed). It appears that kathak and other north Indian dance forms lost their araimaNDi through evolution.

[rshankar]

I am sure of this fact cos one of her bharatanatyam students has one of the best aramandi in business:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGBeRzeo59E

KSL - agree totally with your assessment - awesome araimaNDi indeed. Here is another clip from Smt. Janaki Rangarajan to demonstrate not just the perfect araimaNDi where even the nooks and crannies of the periya visiri are displayed, but how her upper body is still while her feet move (numerous examples through the clip, but in particular, the taTTimeTTu sequence between approximately 1:08 and 1:15) - it is simply wonderful to watch.

[ksl]

@rshankar:

Abt the nooks and corners of her peria visri being seen: THat is also partly because she made sure her attachment to the pajama falls on her knee cap. These are little tricks which can make ur already deep aramandi look very sharp. Nonetheless i am very captivated by her angles

She has a very good aramandi but she keeps standing up and down in it. (notice the jathi carefully, esp 0.40-0.45). it is a deviant detail. It could either be her individual characteristic or something followed by everyone in school. I know in Kalakshetra you are not encouraged to go up and down in your aramandi.

[Kannagi]

ksl - i think rshankar is referring to another clip - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dI94wPhTORc

[sou2]

Thanks KSL and Shankar.

Both of you seem to have lots of knowledge on bharatnatyam. Good to have people like you in the forum which helps us learn a lot.

Thanks for helping us with your answers.