{"id":5686,"date":"2009-11-04T13:58:00","date_gmt":"2009-11-04T13:58:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lbpost.com\/articles\/life\/q-a-local-pioneers-of-south-asian-dance\/"},"modified":"2009-11-04T13:58:00","modified_gmt":"2009-11-04T13:58:00","slug":"q-a-local-pioneers-of-south-asian-dance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/hi-lo\/q-a-local-pioneers-of-south-asian-dance","title":{"rendered":"Q&A: Local Pioneers Of South Asian Dance"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"The Post Natyam Collective<\/a>, a quartet of MFA dance grads from UCLA, use the traditions of South Asian dance in distinctively modern ways. With two of the members living far afield, they develop collaborative choreographies via Skype, YouTube, and the Blogosphere. <\/p>\n

Performances of their new show, Trace<\/a>, are taking place at the Sea and Space Explorations Gallery<\/a> this Saturday evening at 8:30 PM, and on Sunday afternoon at 2:30 PM. Shyamala Moorty<\/a> and Cynthia Lee<\/a> took a few minutes to talk about the group, and their work. <\/p>\n

Sander<\/strong>: Let’s start by talking about the group. How did the four of you connect?
<\/em>
Shyamala<\/strong>: We all, at once time or another, went to UCLA for graduate school and were all engaging with contemporary, creative, and critical approaches to South Asian dance forms. <\/p>\n

Cynthia<\/strong>: There are very few people working on contemporary approaches to South Asian dance, especially in the US, as it is an emergent field that exists between cultures, aesthetics, and disciplines. So finding each other was like finding kindred spirits. <\/p>\n

Sander<\/strong>: Can you explain what you mean by contemporary approaches? <\/em><\/p>\n

Shyamala<\/strong>: We are all trained in Classical Indian dance forms. Anjali and I are trained in Bharata Natyam. Cynthia is experienced in Kathak and Sandra does Kuchipudi and Bharata Natyam. So we work engage with these forms to make them applicable to our contemporary reality. <\/p>\n

Cynthia<\/strong>: Engaging in a contemporary approach can manifest in many ways, in ways that impact either the thematic content or the aesthetics, or both. So, for instance, Shyamala created a solo show called “Rise” that was based on the riots in Gujarat in 2002. We also work with finding intersections, collisions, and dialogues between classical Indian dance forms and the other dance forms and performance traditions that we are trained in. <\/p>\n

In addition, we’re also interested in critically interrogating the history underlying these classical Indian dance forms, which is something we’re doing in our current project. <\/p>\n

Sander<\/strong>: Related to the history of South Asian dance, in a traditional context, is it used in this way?
<\/em>
Cynthia<\/strong>: Are you asking whether traditional dancers use classical dance for social commentary? <\/p>\n

Sander<\/strong>: Yes<\/em>. <\/p>\n

Cynthia<\/strong>: It depends on where you draw the line between a “classical” and “contemporary” dance artist — the lines of course are not absolute — but typically, no. <\/p>\n

Sander<\/strong>: What, then, is the cultural purpose of dance in South Asian dance?
<\/em>
\"\"Cynthia<\/strong>: Usually the content of Indian classical dances are either pure rhythmic dance or tell mythological stories, often from Hinduism. Historically the dancers were either temple dancers or courtesans (or something in between). <\/p>\n

Shyamala<\/strong>: In addition to adding social commentary we also draw on vocabulary and compositional techniques from contemporary western dance and other influences. <\/p>\n

Sander<\/strong>: So, using it to convey a narrative is not too far afield. <\/em><\/p>\n

Cynthia<\/strong>: Conveying narrative is a very developed part of classical Indian dance forms, which like many other Asian forms, bleed the lines between dance, theater, and music. The technique of “abhinaya” is dedicated to storytelling, emotional expression, and interpreting poetic texts. <\/p>\n

Sander<\/strong>: Can you talk a bit about how you develop choreography? Is there, traditionally, a written South Asian dance language?<\/em> <\/p>\n

Shyamala<\/strong>: South Asian Dance forms are passed on from teacher to student, there is no written language, but there are aesthetic manuals like the Natya Shastra. <\/p>\n

Sander<\/strong>: How do you communicate choreography within the group?
<\/em>
Shyamala<\/strong>: Our normal choreographic process usually is creating movement together in a studio. For our new work we are experimenting with developing choreography in a unique long distance collaborative process. <\/p>\n

Cynthia<\/strong>: The four of us are scattered all over the world — Long Beach, Los Angeles, Kansas City and Munich — and therefore are finding unconventional ways to deal with our geographic separation. In the beginning stage of our creative process for our current project, we had agreed on an overarching theme. We then switched off with giving monthly choreographic assignments to each other. We posted our assignments on YouTube and gave each other feedback via email. This got a lot of creative juices flowing. <\/p>\n

Sander<\/strong>: As you’ve said, you’ve really embraced technology to overcome the challenges of distance between members of the group, as far as developing ideas and specific choreography. How does this translate into performance?
<\/em>
Shyamala<\/strong>: For example, I gave the group an assignment to create a “cyber padam”. A padam is a love song that is danced to traditionally. In this case I asked the group to communicate a padam as if it is being told during the trials and tribulations of one of our remote SKYPE conference meetings via the Internet. <\/p>\n

Cynthia<\/strong>: To give an example of how technology has infused the performance work we’re creating, I created (with our friend Loren Nerell’s help) a soundscore<\/a> in response to Shyamala’s “cyber-padam” assignment. I thought about what the usual elements of our internet conference calls are: bad reception, overlapping voices, the sounds of typing, and the occasional interruption by Anjali’s little daughter Neva. In addition to referencing some of these sounds literally, I created a more abstract sense of overlapping voices by layering two kathak rhythmic compositions over each other for a polyrhythmic effect. <\/p>\n

Sander<\/strong>: He played it for me. It is fantastic!
<\/em>
Cynthia<\/strong>: Cool, I’m glad you liked it! <\/p>\n

Shyamala<\/strong>: Each of us created a dance for video to Cynthia and Loren’s music, each showing our own end of the conference call. We mostly are using abhinaya which consists largely of facial expression and hand gestures. <\/p>\n

Cynthia<\/strong>: Also, we have embraced technology’s ability to reach audiences across geographic distance through a blog that documents our creative process. Here’s the link if you’re interested: www.postnatyam.blogspot.com<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Sander<\/strong>: How long has the collaborative process for this new work been going on?
<\/em>
Shyamala<\/strong>: The seeds of it began last December. Since then we’ve been refining our long distance process. Now we’re turning towards the actual material that we will be developing over the next year for an evening length multi-disciplinary performance. Our performance installation at the Sea and Space Gallery will share the first artistic products of this new material. <\/p>\n

Sander<\/strong>: How will your ‘geographically challenged’ collaborators participate in the performance?
<\/em>
Cynthia<\/strong>: Anjali and Sandra appear in our Skype webcam video, which will be shown at the gallery. Anjali and I also have a collaboration in which she choreographed a dance composed of close-ups on her wrist in response of a poem of mine. We’ll show that one too. <\/p>\n

Shyamala<\/strong>: We’ve considered [using a] live feed! It might be our next step, but we haven’t figured out all the technology to do it well yet. <\/p>\n

Sander<\/strong>: How much improvisation do you use in your work?
<\/em>
Shyamala<\/strong>: It depends on the piece. We have two pieces that use improvisation in the Sea and Space show. <\/p>\n

Cynthia<\/strong>: One piece is being directed by Carol McDowell, who’s also a curator for the performance series and a very accomplished postmodern improviser and interdisciplinary artist who has done a good deal of intercultural work. The piece is called “Adda with the Ancestors,” and it incorporates our personal dance memories. We enact, improvisationally, a conversation between ourselves, the “ancestors,” and the “guardians” of those dance memories, as well as conversing with each other. bshondy: You can also read a little reflection on the process for this piece on our blog<\/a>. \ud83d\ude42 <\/p>\n

Shyamala<\/strong>: The other piece, “Rasa Rerouted,” will be created by the audience, who will be invited to re-assemble fragments of ancient Indian courtesan songs. We have also invited some wonderful performers from different dance, theater and spoken word backgrounds to improvisationally interpret the audience’s poetry. Basically, this structure is a contemporary translation of the improvisational technique of abhinaya, where Indian classical dancers improvise interpretations of poetic texts through emotional expression and gesture. <\/p>\n

Sander<\/strong>: That sounds like lots of fun for everyone!
<\/em>
Cynthia<\/strong>: We hope so too! <\/p>\n

Shyamala<\/strong>: We’re chopping up multiple traditional texts, most of them traditionally performed by dancers…. Then the audience puts it back together into their own poems (think magnetic poetry). Then we’re having performers from other dance and performance disciplines, like post modern dance, classical cambodian dance, theater, etc. interpret the audience’s poetry. <\/p>\n

Sander<\/strong>: How has your work been received by the South Asian community?
<\/em>
Cynthia<\/strong>: I’ve had mostly very warm responses from the South Asian community, with an occasional shocked and offended response. <\/p>\n

Shyamala<\/strong>: From my experience, there is a more traditional community that is more resistant, especially before they see the work. So far, after they see it, even if they don’t agree they usually respect the artistry. There has been a lot of support from the our generation. In Los Angeles there is a yearly festival called Artwallah<\/a> that attracts a progressive South Asian audience. <\/p>\n

——– <\/p>\n

\u201cTrace\u201d
Sea and Space Explorations Gallery
4755 York Blvd Los Angeles CA 90042<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Members of The Post Natyam Collective will be performing new works this weekend at the Sea and Space Explorations Gallery.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":70221,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","inline_featured_image":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_":"","_author_alias":"","cap-aim":"","cap-description":"","cap-display_name":"","cap-first_name":"","cap-jabber":"","cap-last_name":"","cap-linked_account":"","cap-newspack_employer":"","cap-newspack_job_title":"","cap-newspack_phone_number":"","cap-newspack_role":"","cap-user_email":"","cap-user_login":"","cap-website":"","cap-yahooim":"","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_email_html":"","newspack_email_type":"","newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_hide_page_title":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_show_share_buttons":"","newspack_sponsor_byline_prefix":"","newspack_sponsor_disclaimer_override":"","newspack_sponsor_flag_override":"","newspack_sponsor_only_direct":"","newspack_sponsor_url":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-5686","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hi-lo","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5686","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5686"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5686\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/70221"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5686"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5686"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5686"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_spnsrs_tax?post=5686"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=5686"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}