Odissi: When a Tradition Evolves...

It has been ages since my last post (I'm embarrassed to say that it has been almost a year to be exact!). However, looking at the positive side, a lot has changed in the past year both professionally and personally, thus allowing for much time to think, reflect, and focus my thoughts on Odissi and its future direction.

The study of culture has always fascinated me... culture and how it evolves. I supposed the interest stemmed from the hyphen (Indian-American) upbringing, always questioning what "tradition" is and what does it mean to "preserve tradition." As a classical dancer, having trained mostly in India, but living in the US (and that too, in New York, the "capital" of contemporary culture) these questions become even more relevant, especially when we look at how the world has changed.

When I look at Odissi today, I think of an immensely talented, but orphaned child. Having been nurtured under the careful eyes of Gurus, scholars, critics, and the like, Odissi had quite a robust reconstruction/resurrection period. However, the context of this dance form has changed dramatically over the past several decades. Unlike the initial revitalization period, which had a cohesive body in Orissa to regularly engage and discuss the dance style, the Odissi world today is largely fragmented. Though the music and dance fraternities are certainly not wanting for creativity, energy, or passion, there is (severely) lacking a regular, collective discourse on the future direction of this art form.

In order for Odissi to truly flourish, it requires an in depth analysis not only of the form and content of the dance (this includes dance philosophy/text, movement vocabulary/aesthetics, costuming, literature, music, and presentation to name a few), but also the context in which this dance form is being practiced... which raises may questions with regards to accessibility, training, authenticity, standards, etc.

Having experienced quite an involved and robust reconstruction process, now is the time for Odissi to really flourish. Unfortunately however, the dance world is becoming far too performance-driven. With the flourishing of dance schools cropping up by the dozens, dance curricula focus less on the holistic development of the artist (music, philosophy, etc.), and more focused on imitating movements. Combined with the plethoras of dance festivals featuring anyone and everyone who dances Odissi, the Odissi world is operating in performance mode.. or more accurately, "survival mode." The result? a generation of dancers that have become mere imitators and not innovators of the art. This is an issue of great concern, especially when we think about the future evolution of Odissi.

This is just the beginning of a few blogs that I have written on this topic... more to come, so do stay tuned!