Danced Music-Bharata Natyam in Concert, 09.Oct.2022

‘Danced Music’ is a performance project that has its roots in a dance program created by my teacher, Shri Pathagudi S. Ramaswamy. Shri Ramaswamy was a master of improvisation. For a dancer that was a big challenge, for example he often changed the program shortly before the performance, or he suddenly sang a composition in a different raaga. The greatest challenge, however, was a Raagam Taanam Pallavi composition of his, which he adapted for dance. Raagam-Taanam-Pallavi are usually master performances by experienced musicians, as they consist almost entirely of improvisation through which a musical dialogue takes place between the musicians. This is even more difficult for a dancer, since the music with its complex rhythm, e.g. in the Pallavi, has to be put into dance on the spot. There is no time for choreographic considerations. To meet this challenge, a dancer must be totally ‘at home’ in dancing.

After my teacher left us, I no longer believed that I would ever be able to tackle a similar project again. However, after more than 50 years of being on stage, I wanted to try again. In ‘Danced Music’ the focus is on the music and its diversity, which in usual Bharata Natyam performances recedes into the background because there the dancer is in the foreground. My current singer, Shri Siva Prasad and the accompanist B. Raghuram are extremely accomplished musicians with whom I set up the ‘Danced Music’ project. Shri B. Raghuram already accompanied me and my teacher in his Raagam Taanam Pallavi version in the 90s.

I hope that in ‘Danced Music’ viewers will discover a new side of Bharata Natyam, a new dimension of Indian dance that touches their hearts.