Review of Chandralekha’s RAGA –In Search of Feminity

It is time some one stuck their neck out and put it on record: `Modern, experimental, exploratory’ dance performances come and go. Everyone is dazzled by their brilliance and applause at the innovation borders the frantic. But the thunderous clapping drowns the most important question: What was it all about? This time, the confusion was created by Chandralekha’s latest dance performance, held in the city last week.

As in the past, her troupe was alert, agile and in full control of their angas and upangas (parts of their bodies). The veteran choreographer’s brief explanation before the show about the "femininity in men and in us" completed the picture. NCPA’s Tata Theatre, filled to capacity, was enthralled. After all, the silver-haired danseuse has a certain reputation.But on dissecting the performance, the question that arose was: What was one supposed to appreciate? The flexibility and acrobatic finesse of the dancers’ synchronised movement? If it was the technique of Bharat Natyam, while it waswell-executed, it was bordering on the basic. If it was the femininity in men expressed through a delicate bodily dialogue between two beings (in this case, two very well-trained male dancers executing a lengthy sensual composition), the message was conveyed.

But were we supposed to grasp that homosexuality reveals a gentle, feminine aspect of the male psyche? The interruption of the duet by a sensual female dancer, who is joined by other dancers, then leads opens the interpretation that society does not let femininity in men flourish. Or were we simply to forget the gender of each dancer and look upon them as `beings’ in search of their femininity? Too many questions, too few answers. This is in no way a defence of the school of thought that believes that classical dance should be restricted to narratives based on mythological themes. But if a piece of art fails to reach the audience, then does it not defeat the purpose of the performance itself?