The Malavika Sarukkai thread has turned into a general dance festival discussion but I decided to start something new just on the lec-dems of the week.
Was anyone else here in attendance? Vijay, I don't know if you caught any of them. I sat through each and every one (and every evening performance too for that matter)-- yes, I had no other life for that week. But I digress...
I just wanted to express my general thoughts on the lec-dems and see what some others had to say. In the program, it had been written that in the morning sessions would be a "lec-dem and performance." The performances were there, and each was of course inspiring... and there was indeed a lecture which preceded the performance... but the demonstration bit was missing from most of the mornings. As a young dancer, I was personally very excited about these lec-dems more than the evening performances because I realize I still have a lot of learning to do! After the week was over, however, I was quite disappointed. The lectures mostly turned out to be life stories that, while interesting, were besides the point! Before one lec-dem, a woman who identified herself as a reviewer for Sruti magazine commented similarly and expressed her dismay. In the performance segment, each dance was explained as it would be in a normal program... where was the demonstration?
Paddukka demonstrated one karana; Anita Ratnam showed us a few movements from the Ariyar Sevai tradition; Dr. Vyjayantimala Bali depicted the differences between Kitappa Pillai's execution of jathis and the usual way of executing them; Smt. Rhadha (along with compere Sujatha Raghavan) delved into the style of Vazhuvoor Ramaiah Pillai with a few examples of the stylistic differences; and Lakshmi Viswanathan portrayed different aspects of Krishna and Shiva (using a variety of interesting poses). These were the only events that can be considered demonstrations that took place during the morning sessions, and most only lasted a few minutes out of the 1 1/2 hrs. allotted for each artist. A few, like Chandrasekhar sir and Dhananjayan sir, spoke about dance as a whole and their concerns about its status today. But again, the presentations were completely void of the DEM aspect of "lec-dem". On an unrelated note, I wondered why Sudharani Raghupathy was missing from all this. She was present at every single lec-dem, but gave none herself-- she might have had some interesting things to say (and DO!).
A part of me feels that I am wrong for complaining-- that I should appreciate the opportunity I had to see such stalwarts all in a span of one week. Of course, just from watching their performances, one can learn so much (and I did). However, when I go to a lecture-demonstration, I expect to learn something I cannot learn by merely watching a performance... there should be something different offered to the audience (or should I say, offered to the student... because these are the main targets for lec-dems). Or perhaps, being American or some other reason, I have a different concept of a lec-dem. The local audience seemed to know what to expect. Every day, I was in attendance with a notebook and pen in hand, finding things to write about, but I saw no one do the same. In fact, people were very curious about what I could possibly be writing... one woman thought I was a dance scholar/researcher! What happened to those kind of lec-dems, where people actually demonstrate things, and where it is not out of the ordinary for students to take notes? Does this not exist in the dance world? Maybe the lec-dems at Krishna Gana Sabha were different...
I'm sorry for this massive lament, but...
any thoughts?
Lec-dems at the Music Academy Dance Festival
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rshankar
- Posts: 13754
- Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 22:26
Umesh,
You raise valid points. Lec-Dems should be about proper demonstration. I remember many years ago attending a SPICMACAY lec-dem by Smt. Samjukta Panigrahi at the Punjab University in Chandigarh. She showed how the araimanDi of bharatnATyam becomes the chauka of oDissi. It was thrilling to see how the same jathis become different when danced with the tribhangI of oDissI, or in the bharatanATyam style. It was very enjoyable hour where she spoke and danced almost continually...SO I certainly understand you lament. Now, who will bell the cat and let these senior naTana maNIs know about this?
You raise valid points. Lec-Dems should be about proper demonstration. I remember many years ago attending a SPICMACAY lec-dem by Smt. Samjukta Panigrahi at the Punjab University in Chandigarh. She showed how the araimanDi of bharatnATyam becomes the chauka of oDissi. It was thrilling to see how the same jathis become different when danced with the tribhangI of oDissI, or in the bharatanATyam style. It was very enjoyable hour where she spoke and danced almost continually...SO I certainly understand you lament. Now, who will bell the cat and let these senior naTana maNIs know about this?
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Umesh
- Posts: 361
- Joined: 04 Jun 2006, 12:59
How lucky you are to have seen Smt. Sanjukta... I've only watched videos, and that is all I will ever get! Now THAT is a lec-dem.
I intially thought of posting this on narthaki, but as it might come across as an attack (which is not at all the case), I decided against it. Although, now it seems like a good idea, as this does need to be brought to the seniors' attention.
I intially thought of posting this on narthaki, but as it might come across as an attack (which is not at all the case), I decided against it. Although, now it seems like a good idea, as this does need to be brought to the seniors' attention.
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vijay
- Posts: 2522
- Joined: 27 Feb 2006, 16:06
Umesh, I'm still too much a dance newbie to profit much from lec-dems although I did attend a fair share of LDs on music...but I can perfectly identify with your plaints - 90% of lec-dems tend to ramble on without any substantial progress in the direction of enhancing either the rasika's appreciation or the student's understanding. This is especially true of older vidwans who tend to substitute technical insights with nostalgic flights that all too often end on a lachrymose note - moving, no doubt, but not very instructive - a pity because they have so much to offer...the typical LD goes something like this:
0-10th minute - Token of appreciation for having "provided me a stage" etc. etc.
10-20th minute - Description the subject
20-30th minute - Discussion of subject itself, typically a song, before some random thought sparks off a trip down memory lane
30 - 60th minute - A leisurely walk down the said memory lane
60-70th minute - Hasty reversion to the topic at hand until some noted vidwan walks in
70th - 80th minute - tribute to the said vidwan and politically correct acknowlegements of all other comparable vidwans
80th - 90th minute - A quick glance at the watch and a comment on the inadequacy of the time allotted for the "vast ocean" that is the subject. Abrupt end with a song or two/mangalam
I never cease to be amazed by how utterly hopeless most of our senior musicians are when it comes to communicating. One really wonders how they managed to get across to their students. This has little to do with knowledge of English although it has its uses in reaching out to a larger audience. There seems to a complete lack of focus and clarity of thought process - the result is usually a meandering talk that broaches the subject from a number of angles but never quite gets a hold of it. Suguna Purushottaman, TNS, TRS are some of the rare exceptions to this phenomenon...
One would think it would be better in dance - in people like Malavika Serukkai, Anita Ratnam and Alarmel Valli, we have a bunch of exceptionally articulate and erudite dancers...if they were not upto scratch, we might as well completely abandon hope as far as music is concerned....anyway, here is a list of issuesd concerning LDs that, IMO, are worth pondering over
Shortage of time - 3 hours preferably over 2 days is the ideal time for most subjects even if the intention is to elucidate rather than instruct (perhaps a Workshop would be a better term for this)
Knowledge levels - given that everyone from a lay rasikas to serious amaterus and professionals are present, getting across to each section is a huge challenge
Lack of clarity of learning objectives - i.e if the lecturer can idenitfy what are the take-aways he/she hopes to leave the audience with and structure the LD accordingly, focus would come automatically
Poor Communication Skills - perhaps we could have a panel of communicators with adequate music/dance knowldge who can work with artistes to structure the discussions.
Vijay
0-10th minute - Token of appreciation for having "provided me a stage" etc. etc.
10-20th minute - Description the subject
20-30th minute - Discussion of subject itself, typically a song, before some random thought sparks off a trip down memory lane
30 - 60th minute - A leisurely walk down the said memory lane
60-70th minute - Hasty reversion to the topic at hand until some noted vidwan walks in
70th - 80th minute - tribute to the said vidwan and politically correct acknowlegements of all other comparable vidwans
80th - 90th minute - A quick glance at the watch and a comment on the inadequacy of the time allotted for the "vast ocean" that is the subject. Abrupt end with a song or two/mangalam
I never cease to be amazed by how utterly hopeless most of our senior musicians are when it comes to communicating. One really wonders how they managed to get across to their students. This has little to do with knowledge of English although it has its uses in reaching out to a larger audience. There seems to a complete lack of focus and clarity of thought process - the result is usually a meandering talk that broaches the subject from a number of angles but never quite gets a hold of it. Suguna Purushottaman, TNS, TRS are some of the rare exceptions to this phenomenon...
One would think it would be better in dance - in people like Malavika Serukkai, Anita Ratnam and Alarmel Valli, we have a bunch of exceptionally articulate and erudite dancers...if they were not upto scratch, we might as well completely abandon hope as far as music is concerned....anyway, here is a list of issuesd concerning LDs that, IMO, are worth pondering over
Shortage of time - 3 hours preferably over 2 days is the ideal time for most subjects even if the intention is to elucidate rather than instruct (perhaps a Workshop would be a better term for this)
Knowledge levels - given that everyone from a lay rasikas to serious amaterus and professionals are present, getting across to each section is a huge challenge
Lack of clarity of learning objectives - i.e if the lecturer can idenitfy what are the take-aways he/she hopes to leave the audience with and structure the LD accordingly, focus would come automatically
Poor Communication Skills - perhaps we could have a panel of communicators with adequate music/dance knowldge who can work with artistes to structure the discussions.
Vijay
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sbala
- Posts: 629
- Joined: 30 Jul 2006, 08:56
I'm a newbie to both music and dance. I attended the lec-dem on Varnams by Smt. Seeta Rajan during the early part of the season. The presentation was very balanced with content, nostalgia trips and beautiful singing. I have also attended her other lecdems. On the whole, she plans her presentations very well, with her disciples chipping in whenever she forgets something.
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rshankar
- Posts: 13754
- Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 22:26
Umesh,
I was indeed blessed to have watched Smt. Sanjukta's lec-dem as well as several of her performances. Sri Raghunath Panigrahi (her husband) singing and Smt. Sanjukta's dancing were like that line from a tamizh movie song - 'vENu gAnam tenralODu SErnda pinnAlE gAnam vErAi kATru vErAi kEtpadE illai'!
Smt. Chitra and Sri Viswesaran come the closest.
I was indeed blessed to have watched Smt. Sanjukta's lec-dem as well as several of her performances. Sri Raghunath Panigrahi (her husband) singing and Smt. Sanjukta's dancing were like that line from a tamizh movie song - 'vENu gAnam tenralODu SErnda pinnAlE gAnam vErAi kATru vErAi kEtpadE illai'!
Smt. Chitra and Sri Viswesaran come the closest.
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rshankar
- Posts: 13754
- Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 22:26
Umesh,
Here is the official review of the lec-dems..particularly love the last line here:
http://www.hindu.com/fr/2007/01/26/stor ... 990400.htm
And see this for a sepia print of a young Vyjayantimala:
http://www.hindu.com/fr/2007/01/26/stor ... 560800.htm
Reminds me of how the late Padmini described Vyjayantimala in her serialized biography (ellAm inbamayam): 'iLamai kundrAda azhagu' (I hope I got that right!).
Here is the official review of the lec-dems..particularly love the last line here:
http://www.hindu.com/fr/2007/01/26/stor ... 990400.htm
'gAnam vErAi, kATRu vErAi kEtpadE illai'The lasting impression of the morning was one of such supreme commitment to the art that the dancer was indistinguishable from the dance.
And see this for a sepia print of a young Vyjayantimala:
http://www.hindu.com/fr/2007/01/26/stor ... 560800.htm
Reminds me of how the late Padmini described Vyjayantimala in her serialized biography (ellAm inbamayam): 'iLamai kundrAda azhagu' (I hope I got that right!).