The relentless hustle and clamour that is Margazhi in Chennai, for artistes and audience alike, is equally potent with spaces or moments of stillness and quiet immersion. It could be the reassuring first landing on that jeeva swara of a raga in a kutcheri, an unanticipated choreographic improvisation in an oft-repeated composition, a moment of internalisation in a workshop, or a few echoing words from the keynote address of a conference. Curated by Sparsha Arts Foundation, led by Vidhya Subramanian, “Where the music meets the dance”, a session on musicality in dance facilitated by Mavin Khoo and Brindha Manickavasakan, was one such stilling experience. The session conducted in Sparsha studio at Neelangarai in Chennai was a part of an ongoing series of initiatives, to engender conversations between various classifications within the arts.
The coming together of the two artistes, whose craft is beyond introductions, was in itself a matter of anticipation. With a varnam in Sankarabharanam and an ashtapadi in Suddha Sarang as the primary context of demonstration and discussion, and quick snippets of Khamas and Bhairavi for comparison, the interaction between the dance and music in the session meandered unhurriedly, like a river that is sure of its course.
Brindha Manickavasakan
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
With a few quality interactions with Mavin Khoo, one will observe that he repeats certain terms and ideas. Nevertheless, each time they sound fresh and smack in context, as does his abhinaya. In its subtlety, his abhinaya, devoid of unique gestures and metaphors, is new each time because he is present there, in that moment, and that makes it absolutely alive. A few ideas that recur in his conversations and discourses are shamanistic, ambiguity, but the word musicality, and the immeasurable influence that it has on his dancing, is a constant refrain. Every word he spoke was effortlessly translated and demonstrated in music by Brindha.
“I often see an urgency in terms of how clever the choreography can be, as opposed to stripping back and checking if we are sitting musically in it,” Mavin shared. Speaking from his personal experience, he further explained that two aspects were crucial to his process. One, becoming embodied in the raga and the voice of the musician, their aesthetic and intuitive choices, and the other, finding child-like joy and potential in every note of the raga. In a back and forth between dance technique and musicality, he emphasised on the stylistic hastas along with the stylisation of a pedestrian emotion, bringing about a grip in the ownership of identity, that is lived and not learnt.
Vidhya Subramanian
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
Researchers Julin Brodie and Elin Lobel, in their journal on integrating somatic principles into dance technique, argue that feeling is not always reliable, and what one is accustomed to, starts feeling right. Mavinlanded exactly on the same thought, speaking about certain mannerisms in abhinaya that are habitual, that take away from precision. “There is a temperature to it. I don’t know if it makes sense,” he said. It did make sense when he demonstrated a specific and unique shade of sringara for every note of Sankarabharanam.
From a musician’s point of view, with Sankarabharanam as an example, Brindha spoke about the extent of travel from her first varnam in the raga to the vastness in terms of history, compositions, and therefore the space for exploration. She explained that the first note ‘sa’ itself is unique in different compositions, in terms of the karvais, and how the sahityam adds a whole dimension to the raga. Speaking about the terms of collaboration Mavin said, “I lead, unapologetically, but I also surrender”. Brindha concurred with the same and shared that she does follow the repetitions and transitions when singing for dance, but allows the raga to take over at times. She added that her manodharma does not feel curtailed in any way in the collaboration.
The session was summarised with a few conclusive thoughts. As important as immersion is for the dancer, so is the objectivity to edit in the process. While it is not necessary to dance just for the audience, it is important to understand that the dancer’s responsibility is to enable the audience to connect their memory or experience with what is being danced. The questions raised after the session were few, but it was apparent that the take-home from the session was in fact a whole lot of questions on one’s choices as a dancer.
Published – January 21, 2025 02:05 pm IST
Friday Review
