Blog and News
A place to exchange ideas, reflections, and thoughts
A place to exchange ideas, reflections, and thoughts
Kala Vandanam is proud to be a part of Minnesota Dance Festival 2024, presented by Ballet Minnesota, and looks forward to sharing the stage with many wonderful Minnesota dance groups. […]
Kala Vandanam is proud to be a part of Minnesota Dance Festival 2024, presented by Ballet Minnesota, and looks forward to sharing the stage with many wonderful Minnesota dance groups. […]
By Suchitra Sairam
08/19/2019
I can’t claim that this is a journey I planned or ever even expected to be on, but it is one that has influenced every aspect of my life.
Today marks 30 years since my Bharatanatyam Arangetram. It was 3 years into my Bharatanatyam learning journey (I started VERY late compared to most), a couple of months after I graduated from high school, and a week before I left for college. 7 months prior, I didn’t even really know what an Arangetram was – it was only due to observations and encouragement from Radhika Shurajit akka after I had a chance to learn from her that this even became a possibility, let alone a reality.
My appreciation to my first teacher Smt. Bana Ramanath for initiating my journey – she will always have my gratitude for giving me this starting point. I was her first student. I learned a lot through the process, even if I didn’t realize it then; things I wanted to always carry with me, things I wanted to forget, and certainly regrets. I didn’t know this at the time, but it embodied the definition of a journey – you observe, you learn, you do, then you take things forward and leave things behind based on what you want to do and who you want to become. But hopefully as the journey goes on, it is without any regrets.
I have been so so fortunate to have had many people give generously and influence my journey as it has moved forward over these past 30 years. Many things that have been beautiful, many things have been difficult, sometimes surrounded by others, sometimes lonely. But what carries forward is the aspiration to learn more, improve, and be a better person and artist for it. There has definitely been hard work and passion, but it’s mostly been good fortune for which I can’t express enough gratitude.
How lucky am I that mind and body still allow me to do something I love, that is integral to who I am, and on terms that are my choice. It’s always time for gratitude to those who help you make things possible. And there is always time to dance.
By Suchitra Sairam
08/13/2019
What a wonderful week we all enjoyed together at Natya Gurukulam 2019, our second residential camp. I am truly delighted that we had 18 dancers from Kala Vandanam and The Kalapeetham Foundation (CA) join us, ranging from young dancers just getting started to highly experienced dancers with many years of training and performance behind them. I hope that each and every one took away valuable experiences and learnings to enhance their respective onward artistic journeys.
My deep appreciation and very special thanks to Sheejith Krishna and Jyothishmathi Sheejith for sharing their art, approach and outlook with us, to Vaishalee Patel for sharing her passion for well being and 3 invigorating and relaxing yoga practices with us daily, to Camp Administrator Thangamani Appugounder for all of her help in preparation and in keeping things running smoothly on a daily basis, and to “Camp Paatti” Ambika Natarajan for her loving care in keeping a close eye on everyone’s well being. Without each of them and their respective talents, and personal commitment, this dream I’ve had for a long time would not be reality.
My heartfelt thanks to the loving staff at Koinonia Retreat Center who once again took such personal interest in caring for us and our needs every day. Koinonia is certainly in a beautiful location, but it is the people there that make it a beautiful place.
By Suchitra Sairam
I look forward to Vijayadasami every year. It’s the day to initiate into learning (vidya aarambam) or start other important endeavors – and to recommit ourselves to the path of learning, knowledge and wisdom. This is traditionally for study of the arts and book knowledge – what about our cultural and societal knowledge and understanding?
I’ve been thinking about this a lot, but ever more so in recent weeks and months with the tenor of discourse in the United States in general, with all of the awful stories that have come forward with #metoo, and with the tone deaf responses from many that should be willing to listen.
What if we all take this Vijayadasami day with a different tack – to recommit ourselves to learning by opening our eyes to what is truly around us, listening to the voices that are trying to be heard, and understanding the issues that face us today?
This includes opening our eyes to the real issues of #metoo, #metooindia, #carnaticmetoo and the other forms this is taking.
This includes actually LISTENING to what is being said and what is going not, not looking to respond to or immediately dispel what is being said because you don’t agree with the messenger or the message.
This includes opening our eyes to the MANY forms of #privilege, not just racial or gender or financial – and using whatever privilege we may have in a constructive way to start breaking this down.
This includes learning from what was “accepted” in the past as societal norms but is it just not right, and changing our behavior going forward.
This includes using our moral compass when it comes to how we treat other human beings, not in how we shape political policy or opinions.
This includes remembering that we should be informed – about all sides, not just the one we identify with or feel sympathy or compassion toward.
I usually spend my Vijayadasami day thinking about the past, all of my teachers and other whom I’ve had the good fortune to cross paths with during my life who have taught me about the arts, book knowledge and facilitated spiritual growth, and how these things have given me a foundation for the future. I started my day this way, and will finish it this way with a celebration of arts and learning with all of my students at Kala Vandanam. But I spend much of Vijayadasami 2018 thinking about making this a new beginning for other sorts of knowledge – to help me grow into being a better member of society.
I look forward to LISTENING to you on what this day means to you.
By Suchitra Sairam
Though I try not to spend too much time wondering “what if” or “if only” in my life, one thing that I do always wish (and have for many years) is that I had more opportunities to immerse myself in the arts and culture I love, and to learn and share more holistically. Dance, music, yoga, language, literature, architecture, history – the list goes on. I had a couple of short term opportunities for this in my late teens, but realities and practicalities of life found a way to take priority as years have gone on. No regrets, as the other experiences I had in their place have been enriching in an entirely different way.
But this idea of an immersive experience has stayed with me, and as I became a Bharatanatyam teacher, it is an opportunity I wanted to create for my students. After a long time thinking and dreaming about it, it finally came to fruition in 2018 – and Natya Gurukulam for Bharatanatyam students was born. For this first go round, I was happy to open it to Bharatanatyam students from around Minnesota, not just my students, and also happy to get support from the Minnesota State Arts Board through a Folk and Traditional Arts grant award to make a it a reality.
It is only with the wholehearted support and expertise of Sheejith Krishna (Bharatanatyam and theory), Jyothishmathi Sheejith (Carnatic music), and Vaishalee Ballolla (yoga) teaching along with me that the holistic curriculum I envisioned could actually come to life. They each will always have my deep gratitude for this experience. We had 18 young dancers from the Twin Cities area, who train under 3 different teachers, attend the camp – each at a different stage of their learning, and each in a different place regarding mental and physical readiness for the rigor of holistic, immersive learning.
With an immersive experience, in nature at the beautiful Koinonia Retreat Center in South Haven (the most WONDERFUL setting for this experience, with such an amazing staff), the master instructors and the students had the opportunity to explore and learn together, with the inspiration of beautiful lakes and trails around. We were together for 6 days.
The goal was to have each of the camp attendees leave with an evolved view of the art and how they should continue to pursue it as students, and also leave with a more mature set of values regarding the art and their studies.
With the curriculum of yoga practice, adavu class, theory class, music class, repertory class, discussion and viewing class, and personal reflection, the attendees found the days full. Perhaps at times too full. Tiring. Perhaps at first too tiring. But as the week went on, it was a “good tired” and the minds being “pleasantly full.” Being away from home and having to adhere to the “no calling or texting” camp rules was difficult for some. But it was in place to help create focus and discipline around pursuing the art – to experience the immersion. Even simple disciplines around neatly arranging footwear outside the classroom and leaving things more neat than the way you found them were important – these were some of the values we wanted camp attendees to leave with so they can enrich their onward journey.
We closed the week with an informal showcase featuring presentations by all the camp attendees with vocal music and dance, and presentations by the master instructors. Nervousness was replaced by excitement was replaced by relief was replaced by pride when the camp attendees demonstrated to their families what they had learned in their 6 day immersion. Most importantly, they generally showed great enthusiasm about their experiences, and what they wanted to do with their art next.
It’s a relief when a big first time initiative like this is overwhelmingly positive, and you are left afterward needing to make tweaks rather than have to overhaul. But when the vast majority of students were excited to come back again, it gives you the energy and motivation needed to make it happen again.
Now, to check dates for 2019….
By Suchitra Sairam
Based on my email inbox over the last several months, it is clearly Bharatanatyam Arangetram season in the United States (and perhaps in other places in the Indian diaspora around the world). Countless invitations from excited parents of young aspirants, with links to beautifully crafted websites to boot. But my first question when I see the photographs included – is their dancing going to be as meticulously crafted as the invitation and website? Is the responsibility of the artistic tradition they have been bequeathed understood as much as the dinner menu? Is the attention to selection of items in the maargam and the music done with as much interest as the selection of costume colors and jewelry? Do they actually want to be doing this, and do they actually view this as a new launching point in their journey rather than a completion?
The postures and expressions in the photos speak volumes on all of these questions – and then I go down the dark rabbit hole of the “why Arangetrams” conversation.
At the outset, I have to say – I am not anti-Arangetram at all. There is a distinct beauty to this tradition, a formal debut presenting a dancer as a qualified performer with an artistic future ahead. That first moment when a dancer enters the stage, to that moment when that dancer touches their guru’s nattuvangam talam and does namaskaram to appreciate blessings for the past and to request them for the future; all filled with promise. It takes a lot of courage for a dancer, regardless of age, to get up on stage and perform a full-length concert. It’s a humbling experience, and a great responsibility, to lead a student through that process – one I hope to continue, eager to do justice to the process and the work.
But what has happened to our responsibility to the art, and to the blood, sweat and tears all of the great artists who came before us?
What has happened to the journey?
Why does this continue to be a “checklist” item for a college application?
I ask myself – why do young dancers and their parents (and sometimes their teachers) think that just because you have learned Bharatanatyam for 8 or 10 or 12 years that you are owed an Arangetram? Why are artistic, physical and emotional readiness, and mental commitment not always given their respective due?
I ask myself – does every student of ballet, Western voice, violin or piano do a full-fledged solo concert? Unequivocally, no. Only those who have truly shown a level of achievement and expertise, and are committed to taking their art onward and upward, present solo concerts. Bharatanatyam students who also study one of these mentioned art forms, or something similar, would NEVER dream of doing a half-baked job with a solo debut concert in that field – so why does it continue to happen in Bharatanatyam?
I ask myself – why does this matter? Why does my blood pressure go up when I go down this rabbit hole? Because I care… about the art, about doing justice to my gurus’ teaching and work, the role I play in teaching, about my students, about what we are saying about our own work ethic and care about our art and culture in the larger communities in which we live. And yes, my blood pressure goes up because I have opinions about the topic, and not all will agree with my thoughts – that is perfectly ok. But, shouldn’t all of us in these roles be asking these questions?
I do feel we should always give encouragement to any young artist who does their Arangetram – it takes a great deal of fortitude to prepare and get up on stage to perform for 2+ hours as a soloist. I also feel strongly that we must separate this encouragement of the person from objectively viewing and constructively critiquing their art. Part of the training as an artist should include being able to take constructive, honest feedback to not only recognize and appreciate what was good, but acknowledge and commit to improving that which needs work. Flowery platitudes before or after the fact don’t help anyone involved.
I was scolded by someone sitting near me (a stranger, mind you) at an Arangetram I attended recently that I didn’t join in giving a standing ovation to the young dancer. I thought standing ovations were given by choice, not expected. I also thought we were supposed to outgrow peer pressure, groupthink and mindlessly following the herd at some point in our lives.
As a teacher, I thought I was pretty stingy about allowing students to do their Arangetrams, but find myself getting stingier about Arangetrams with each passing year. I want to ensure that my students and, equally important, their parents, are able to understand the values I aspire to bring to this milestone, and the responsibility we have to the art, to my gurus and their gurus, and to ourselves.
Even with 20-ish years of teaching experience and eight Arangetrams behind me, I keep asking myself – what is “Arangetram ready?” I’m still learning and understanding what this is and what this means. Looking back and reflecting objectively, there is no doubt in my mind that some of my students could have used more time prior to their Arangetrams to enhance their skills and presentation, even though every last one of them made great strides in their respective journeys. But I’m trying to take those observations as learning experiences to shape the future – no regrets about the past.
In the meantime, the 2018 “Arangetram Season” in the U.S. will come to a close in the coming weeks – and news of the 2019 “Arangetram Season” will start rolling in. Will it be “Wash – Rinse – Repeat”?
By Suchitra Sairam
Gurur Brahma Gurur Vishnu Gurur Devo Maheshwaraha
Gurur Sakshaat Parabrahmaam Tasmai Sri Gurave Namah
The spirit of Guru Purnima is so simple, yet so weighty. We honor and remember those who have taught us, journeyed alongside us, as we evolve into more complete human beings. It’s the big things, the small things, and everything in between that they bring into our lives. They:
In essence, they lead us on a journey of discovery to become better versions of ourselves. We would be lost without their encouragement and support, without them knowing when to hold our hands and let them go just at the right times.
My love and namaskarams to my gurus on this Guru Purnima day.
Ritu – Beyond the Seasons
/in Blog /by Suchitra SairamBy Devi Vijayakumar
On Jan 28th, 2017, as I watched Ritu-The Seasons come to life in its full glory at the Anne Simley Theater in St. Paul, little did I expect that the Pinnal Kolattam would end up being an edge-of-the-seat thriller. The applause at the end of the piece was a testimony to the meticulous choreography and execution.
But, that’s just what the audience saw on stage.
Not many would have known that there were absolutely no helpers backstage to assist with the costume and jewelry changes, or with makeup and food needs during the show. This is just one of the many examples of how the girls, aged 12-15, learnt, took ownership, and executed their responsibilities fearlessly and smoothly because an environment for them to learn, take ownership, and execute, was carefully planned and nurtured over many months. I sincerely believe that the impacts of this experience will go much beyond the magnificent display of seasons that we saw that day.
Devi Vijayakumar is a software product management professional, an art lover, passionate and supportive Bharatanatyam mom, mother of twins, and one of the most organized people you will ever meet.