When I think of the Indian dance form Bharatanatyam and the people who consume it, I picture an extremely dignified crowd speaking in hush tones analysing the intricate movements. The energy in the room, I would imagine, would be completely opposite to a standup show, where people are slapping their knees in laughter, conjuring up noises from the depths of their being. But during my chat with Bharatanatyam dancer Kavya Ganesh these notions were broken.
The classical dancer conceptualised the fusion show Stand-Up Natyam which, as the name suggests, is a Bharatanatyam show that incorporates standup comedy elements such as crowd work and physical comedy. Kavya, who has been dancing since age six, curated the show that will take place at Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre in Mumbai tomorrow (13 February) and in Pune on 14 February.
These shows also serve as a special experiment in which Kavya and her troupe ( consisting of dancers Shruti Gopal, Indu Venu, Preethi Bharadwaj) will be joined by Marathi-rapper Shreyas Sagvekar, adding one more layer of fusion. We caught up with the dancer to know more about the show, what are certain stereotypes about classical dancers that she is trying to break with these shows and her relationship with standup comedy.
First off, could you tell us how a typical show of ‘Stand-Up Natyam’ would look like?
Stand-Up Natyam is essentially, as the name suggests, the coming together of standup comedy and Bharatanatyam. A typical show involves a lot of dance theatre sets that also incorporate spoken word. We also have some standup sets where a dancer is talking into a mic, addressing the audience as a standup comedian would, but the performance also includes the essence of a dancer. This means they rely a lot of gestures and expressions, almost making it sort of mime-like.
We have crowd work too, but through dance. Similar to a crowd work set where the comic interacts with the audience, we do the same thing but without speaking. We go around the audience while we’re dancing and we’re conversing with them through dance.
In a nutshell, dance theatre, miming, spoken word of different sorts, acting, crowd work, I think these are the different kinds of sets that make up one show of Stand-Up Natyam. So it’s truly multi-genre in that sense, and you can’t really classify it into any specific box, but I feel like it brings out the best of what both these worlds have to offer and marries them in interesting ways.
How and when did you come up with the idea?
So this idea was actually born out of me seeing a lot of Bharatanatyam dancers doing work that was centred around comedy. In Bharatanatyam, we have the Navarasas or the nine emotions of which Haasyam, which literally means laughter and joy, is one of them. There are even a lot of traditional pieces that explore this emotion of Haasyam. So I thought packaging this concept in Bharatanatyam using the standup comedy elements to make it more accessible.
My vision and my aim with a lot of my work is to expand the reach of Bharatanatyam amongst a wider audience base, and to foster experimental and innovative work. So this idea essentially stemmed from wanting to tap into this space of comedy in Bharatanatyam, but to also do it in a way that makes it more relatable to wider audiences especially the younger generation.
How easy or difficult is it to incorporate the irreverence and levity of standup with the poise and grace of Bharatanatyam?
To answer this, I’ll have to give some context about the theory behind Bharatanatyam. The art form consists of Abhinaya which includes the emotive part and Nritya which refers to the physical movements. Within Abhinaya we have different approaches. One relies on stylistic and dramatic displays. Another is very realistic, closest to human emotion. It’s almost like acting. This kind of performance is similar to what standup comedians do in terms of texture and tone, which is, being very human and connecting to the lived aspect.
So while most people would associate poise and grace with the dance form—and they won’t be wrong in doing so—I never felt like we were bringing in two incompatible things together. In fact, it felt like both the forms were asking for this all along. Where it was like, they fit so beautifully together, and they actually lend so much to one another, right? Because it’s like doing a normal standup set, but adding in the expressive quality that is very particular to Indian classical dancers.
I also see that rap music is going to be a part of these upcoming shows in Mumbai and Pune. How will that work?
Yes! This is the first time we’re also incorporating rap into our performance. Every time I put up Stand-Up Natyam, I like to collaborate with artists from a completely different genre. I feel like they add a very fresh perspective. And that’s what we’re trying to do with this show. For the Mumbai show, we’re teaming up with Marathi rapper Shreyas Sagvekar. His song Taambdi Chaamdi recently went viral. I was particularly drawn towards lyrics when I did a deep dive into his work. He always highlights specific issues that are pressing.
Also, through our discussions we realised that both art forms—Bharatanatyam and rap—are subject to certain preconceived notions by the audience. People think we as classical performers are extremely idealistic and averse to having fun. On the other hand people think rappers only have fun and party. So during the first half of our show we are questioning these stereotypes and breaking them down.
What is the group’s energy like going into these shows? You guys will be making your debut in Pune. How are the nerves before that?
The group is definitely very excited. It’s always a joy and a treat to perform at the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre. And honestly, the audience in Mumbai is always so wonderful and appreciative and encouraging. I think we’re even more excited because it’s the first time we’re going to be performing live with Shreyas [Sagvekar] and it is an experiment. So, you know, we have no clue how it’s going to go, but we’re looking forward to sharing this labour of love with audiences and to see how they respond and interact with us.
So, it’s not just our debut in Pune, but it’s a debut of this entire new edition where we’re bringing in rap with us as dancers and trying that whole thing out. No one has any clue how it’s going to go because we’re all just in this experiment together and hoping that people take something back from it. We hope the audiences enjoy it as much as we enjoyed the process of creating this.
What’s your relationship with standup comedy? Do you consume it regularly? Who are some of your favourite comics?
Standup comedy is something that I absolutely love. It’s obviously incredibly entertaining and I have a great time and it makes me laugh but I think what fascinates me more about the art form is the skill and the talent and the wit. I think comedy very often, because of its pursuit of laughter, is thought of as being a frivolous. Especially in the dance field, you know, if there are dancers are doing a lot of pieces that are comedic, a lot of pieces that evoke laughter, the immediate judgment that is made is it lacks depth. But if you actually look at it, comedy is the most difficult thing to crack. It’s so specific. So what I’m most fascinated by is the craft of it. Their observation skills are so brilliant.
Recently, because of my shows, I’ve also been watching a lot of standup to study it. Two comedians who I absolutely love are Nirmal Pillai and Abishek Kumar. Their show First Move is such a blast. Vir Das is of course, an all time favourite. I think he manages to really leave you with something to think about while also making you laugh.
We have always seen certain patrons try and gate keep various art forms. What would you say to certain purists who might see this fusion of the arts as an adulterated outcome?
I’m sure there are people who feel like the work we are doing is unacceptable. It is adulterating the form. It is not keeping with tradition. But I feel like tradition is a word that I’ve always had a problem with. Mainly because I feel like tradition is extremely fluid. When you see art forms today compared to the same art form centuries ago, nothing will be practiced in the same way. And I think that is a natural outcome of art evolving and responding to society evolving.
I think what is important to note with our collaborations is that these are not random fusions. These are studied collaborations, right? We are not bringing in Shreyas because he’s popular. The reason we are bringing him in is because we have an entry point into rap, and the meaning behind rap and how rap really evolved as an art form.
So I think it’s been, and always has been with all of our collaborations, a very studied one. It’s not just a random fusion project because he’s famous and his song is viral. And I think that will hopefully reflect in the quality of the work that we do and the content that is produced.
What is your goal with these shows? Do you have any interesting shows coming up this year?
My end goal with the show is mainly just to reach as many people as we can. I think as classical dancers, we have a very limited audience in India, to be very honest, and that is improving slowly but surely. I think comedy and laughter are such wonderful ways to reach out to more people. As a viewer, if you smile or you laugh at something, you’re immediately interested in what is going on. And I think that this show would be a great entry point for so many people who have a certain assumption of what Bharatanatyam is. Who feel like it is too traditional, it is too boring. I think this show really shows what all the dance form can be.
So I think that is my biggest dream with this show—to reach as many people as we can. We want to perform in alternative spaces where you typically don’t see Bharatanatyam, right? We don’t want to just be performing in these confined places that have been allocated as classical dance spaces. We want to break out and come to the mainstream. I think standup comedians have gotten such a diverse and wide range of audiences watching them, right? So I think it would be wonderful to just collaborate with them, get their take on things, how do they approach their content. That’s largely what I intend to do with the show.
You can get your tickets for Stand-Up Natyam here.
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