having said that, Bharata natyam has become the victic of its own success in the meliu of art performance

I think you are right about the philosopy of both the artists than concentrating on similarities of ‘form’. Interesting point.

I am not a big fan of Daksha Seth but I did like her ‘journey’- from kathak dancer to where she is now. I feel she has lost her way a bit and has become purely a spectacle.

‘ Injecting meaning through abstraction idea.’
It worked very well with Chandralekha with Bharatanatyam and kalariyapattu and dont see why it cant with Heshmas exploration. You are spot on.

At the end of the day it is upto the artist to decide the choices s(she)
makes and a very best luck to Heshma Wignaraja and the likes of you who brings much needed scholarship and crticism for the dance scence to thrive in
SL.

It is also interesting to note as part of our Sri Lnakn dance histories, abstraction combined with dance drama paradigmes was succesfully excecuted by many Tamils in Sri Lanka and the diaspora using Bharata Natyam. This was similar to the model of newly invented Chinese communist dance traditions in communist China – DAnce as propaganda / or collective aspirations of a peoples( depending on which side of the fence one was sitting in). This innovation was very particular to SL and its Tamil diaspora and not found in the innovations within Bharata natyam in India. Wether one likes it or not that is part of our dance history too. Therefore trying to grapple with ‘abstraction’ has been happening in SL for quite a while. But any attempts to even analyse it as a historical phenomenan cannot be done withn SL at this time…though many are writing about it outside of Sri lanka.
Once again whilst Sinhala people looked towards Bengal for inspiration Tamils looke towards Tamil Nadu for the newly emmergent tradition of Bharata natyam. It predeccsor know as SAdir practiced in Temples was banned in Northern Sri lanaka well before the ban in India. The temple records show Nallur Murugan temple and Vannaaar pannai Sivan Kovill had temple dancers too. But puritaism sold by the Missionary Christians and then internalised by the elites/’reformers’ against dancing had got the better of dancing in Northern jffna well before it did in India.

I do believe the Kandyan dance (or any of our traditional art forms, including the folk arts) in their ‘pure’ form are boring to a modern audience. They are mostly unrefined and not suited for the set-up of performance: there is no inherent ‘journey’ in these forms that make it interesting for an audience. I suppose this is why we do not call them ‘classical’. I think the way forward therefore is through innovation: not just with the form itself but also the accompaniments, such as music – for example, through experimenting with rhythm. However, the other way forward, naturally, is to combine this experimentation in form with an experimentation with ‘content’: can we use the traditional forms to grapple with or address contemporary content? A ‘narrative’ or ‘story’ is not necessary: but one can inject it with meaning in the abstract. And I think that is worth exploring. That is perhaps how one can make it relevant and meaningful.

I have a few notes beased on my obeservations . I shall appreciate your comments. It s so rare to be able to have an intelligent analysis about dance in SL

x De contextualing ritual dance and then presenting it on stage seem
to be an option that many cultures around the world have utilised as a way of preservation. I have never been totally satisfired with its presentations. At early stages this may seem exciting but onece the novelty has gone the form seems to get struck wiothout any room for growth.

The other option has been to present ritual dance in festival type of commodified manner. But thatt seems unsatisfacotry too. festivals of India around the globe seem a good example of this.The Independence day parades are anothe example of this

A circular stage wityh audiences all around with the ability to walk in and out ( than following the European notion of thatre presentation frontal staging, pindrop silence, etc) is another tactic used by others to invigorate… Do you think this may partly solve some of the probelm?

X purely in movement terms, Kandyan dancing is similar to some kathakali, the odissi of Gotipura boys, and modern interpretations of martial/dance forms of Chau. Daksha Seth in India has found her own way of interpreting Chau in her style. This has been seeen as a welcome departure from what many people consider Indian dance to be( that which covers very little physical space) with leaps, jumps and extended limbs. Do you think a collaboration with such forms will be more apt and further introduce innovations in Vajira Chitrasena style.

X In terms of its idea of creating a modern dance form rooted in its own culture whilst embracing a pan asian aethetic( this was really a post colonial vision and reality) the forerunners in India were Uday Shanker and Ram Gopal. Chitrassenas revival has been heavily influend by these. But I feel uday shanker/ Bhatkande/Shantiniketan etc have all become stuck and at best now higlights a museum piece of a particular dynamic era. I suppose these are not that diffrent from the Martha graham, ted Shawn’s of these world whose modernity is now really a historical artifact.

x Looking for (perceived?) Kinship with Bengalis amongst some Sinhala people lead to udayshanker/ Shantiniketan axis to be prized. Ths was also a process of of distinguising(othering) themselves from the Tamils of Sri lanka. Simalar processes were also happning amongst Tamils of SL looking to South india. But infact, if these Sinhala revivalists looked towards Kerala EG; kathakali( similar to kandyan dance)s and Theyyam( similar to many pahatha rata ritual dancing) what would have been the legacy today? Once gain the consolidation of Sinhala Aryan and Taimil Dravidian colonial scholarship has had an impact on the areas of choices behind innovation and interpretation of taditions in SL.

x Whilst Sl society at large has been getting more parochial to the extent that it believes its traditins are distinctively separate from any Indian traditions it is commendable to show the intertwing of our traditions since time immemorial. This is not to take away the uniqueness of kandyan and paahatha rata dancing(s)

Nevetrtheless, I believe this is a bold step tyaken by Heshma etc that shall lead to the re-invigoration of dance in SL and we need to support it as dance lovers.

I wish i had seen the production……….