U.S. Kuchipudi Dance Camp: 'From the Everyday to the Sublime'

[Guest guest]

SILVER SPRINGS, Maryland, USA (Aug. 2, 2006): Almost every morning in

July, Silver Spring resident Nilima Devi's basement is filled with the

sound of stomping feet. Rhythmic, like a drumbeat, the sound comes

from young girls telling ancient Indian stories through dance.

 

Each summer, Devi and her daughter, Anila Kumari, run the Kuchipudi

Dance Camp out of Devi's home, where they teach kuchipudi dance, a

style of classical Indian dance distinguished by high-speed jumps,

stamping, leaps, deep knee bends, and theatrical hand gestures.

 

A rich part of Indian culture, kuchipudi dances have been used to

express myths and religious tales for centuries. Both Devi and Kumari

are critically acclaimed kuchipudi dancers; Devi has performed and

taught in the United States, Kenya, Java and India.

 

The campers are usually girls from grades five through 12, and

eventually give a final performance.

 

Over the summers, Devi and Kumari have added a new focus to the

month-long syllabus: connecting the ancient traditions behind

classical Indian dance to the everyday lives of campers in a way that

is both meaningful and empowering.

 

TOTAL IMMERSION

 

A strong emphasis of Devi's camp is flexibility — not just of the

body, but also of the mind. All students are expected to understand,

experience and express the elements of Indian culture.

 

The process begins on the first day and continues throughout. Each

time the girls dance, they are taught the significance behind every

rhythm, pose and gesture.

 

Parul Gangwal, 16, of McLean, Va., explained that almost every element

of kuchipudi dance is symbolic. After eight summers of camp, she is a

veteran.

 

"Here, they tell you the story behind individual moves. For example,

this means water," she said, rippling her arms so that each formed a

wave from shoulder to fingertip. She cocked one hand to her ear and

rippled the opposite arm. "This means elephant."

 

All kuchipudi dances are inspired by verses of poetry that are sung

during the dances, according to Devi. These poems are often in

Sanskrit, the ancient language she refers to as the "Latin of India."

To promote understanding, Devi and Kumari have campers memorize the

Sanskrit that accompanies each dance and write the English translations.

 

"They memorize, interpret, and really feel what they're doing. They

learn the meaning of the poetry and bring themselves into the dance,"

Kumari said. "When they dance, the idea is to create rasa — you have

to feel moved. It is not just technique, but expression."

 

Rasa is a concept that all the girls are taught. Literally, it means

juice — a reference to flavor, something that both the performer and

audience should be able to savor, Devi said. Now, it is often used to

mean spiritual expression.

 

"If there is no rasa, then the purpose of theater is lost," Devi said.

"It is the experience, the taste of the divine."

 

THE GODDESS WITHIN

 

At camp, the lessons extend beyond dance steps. Devi and Kumari teach

the girls traditions from which the dances have emerged.

 

"Dance is deeply connected to the musical, mythological and spiritual

traditions of India," Kumari said. "You can't explain one without the

other."

 

Once the girls understand the cultural roots, Kumari connects the

teachings to everyday life. Every day ends with a discussion about the

traditions they learned. Recently, the girls discussed how the idea of

beauty connects with the ancient idea of the goddess, a recurrent

theme in kuchipudi dance.

 

After exploring cultural images of beauty, the girls talked about

whether they felt the pressure to conform to one image of

attractiveness, as well as what it means to be a goddess today. One

girl described her family's expectation that she go to medical school;

eventually, she concluded that being a goddess probably means being

your own person.

 

"It gives you more confidence," said Bethesda resident Mrinalina

Pillai, 11, who is in her second summer at the camp. "It makes you

feel special, to think, `Wow, there's a goddess inside me.'"

 

For other girls, the dancing itself has proved to be a weapon against

social pressure.

 

"We have a 15-year-old dancer battling an eating disorder. She feels a

lot of pressure to look thin," Kumari said. "She said that dance has

become a way to retreat from that, because she cannot leap, cannot

stamp, cannot jump if she does not have strength."

 

FOR LOVE OF THE DANCE

 

Regardless of experience or background, all of the girls are brought

together by their passion for movement. Most have taken dance lessons

with Devi or studied other forms of dance. However, Devi maintains

that all people can come to the camp — there are no auditions — so

long as they like to move.

 

Anjali Dhar, 16, of Bethesda had never been exposed to Indian dance.

"I'd never seen it or anything," she said. "I just came to the camp

and said, `Wow, this is what I want to do.'"

 

With every summer, the camp becomes more like family. The girls call

Devi "Auntie," and one of them described her as a "second

grandmother." Hailing from a variety of areas and backgrounds, the

girls have become close to each other as well.

 

"I love coming to the camp — we've all made such good friends,"

Gangwal said. "It's great meeting the new kids who come to the camp

every year."

 

As the day wound down to the final minutes before the group

discussion, Devi began to sing. The room grew quiet except for the

low, guttural sound of her voice. Without speaking, the girls formed

two lines and began to dance, rehearsing one last time before going home.

 

They stared straight ahead, faces serious with concentration. Bare

feet pounded on floor to the rhythm of Devi's voice, and the girls

danced with fresh intensity, as though the day had just begun. For

what seemed like one long, suspended moment, the room was alive with

turning palms, stamping feet, bending fingers and agile leaps.

 

Then, the singing ended. The girls panted with exhaustion and

collapsed as Kumari prepared to start the group discussion. Because

they experimented with stage makeup in the morning, Kumari talked

about whether makeup is a retreat from oneself. Many people believe

that it is, she said, but stage makeup is different. The makeup, the

costumes, the jewelry — all are part of a transformation that occurs

every time they dance.

 

"It has the potential to create magic," she said, "and takes us from

the everyday to the sublime."

 

SOURCE: The Gazette, Maryland, USA. Camp takes dancers from the

`everyday to the sublime' by Olivia Bevacqua Special to The Gazette

URL: http://www.gazette.net/stories/080206/wheanew212458_31945.shtml