Artistes can Thrive with a Little More Support and Respect from the Society
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An article by SULAGNA RAY BHATTACHARJEE
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THIS ARTICLE GIVES AN OUTSPOKEN, YET SENSITIVE, OVERVIEW OF TODAY’S PERFORMING ARTS SCENARO –EXPLORING INSIGHTFULLY BOTH THE FAULT LINES AND THE LIKELY SOLUTIONS.
[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]EDITOR’S NOTE: Sulagna Ray Bhattacharjee is one of today’s most accomplished performers of Odissi, an Indian classical dance form that originated from the temples of Odisha. She has had the opportunity to perform in various prestigious dance and music festivals across India and other countries like the USA, Brazil, China, Fiji, Singapore and Bangladesh.
An empaneled artiste with the Government of India’s Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), Sulagna is an ‘A’ graded artiste of both Doordarshan and the Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre (EZCC), an organization under the Indian Government’s Ministry of Culture; and a Gold Medalist from the Pracheen Kala Kendra and Prayag Sangeet Samity. Her passion for Odissi and dance itself has extended into a passion for teaching her beloved art form to share the knowledge, love and enriching the dance experience that she was entrusted by her guru Smt. Poushali Mukerjee. Her institution, Sulagna Academy Trust, is a destination where dance lovers learn from each other every day and bond as a family. It is also a home for stray animals and abandoned pets who need love, care and a shelter.
Sprish, the fashion label she founded, gives Sulagna a platform for her love for playing and creating with fabrics, colors and shapes. Sprish is a statement against unethically sourced products that deprive the laborers of their wages; and materials, fabrics and dyes which are toxic to us as well as the environment. Being opposed to fast fashion, Sprish is a medium for her to reach out and create customer awareness. Through Sprish, she focuses on creating clothes which are made from natural, harmless and environment friendly materials, and which are made by people who use traditional methods and who are artists of their own accord.[/vc_column_text][vc_separator css=”.vc_custom_1624010429324{padding-top: 3% !important;padding-bottom: 1% !important;}”][vc_column_text]
THE ARTICLE
Dance, or any other creative forms of art for that matter, is a reflection of our inner soul. It has been a powerful medium of expression. It has also been a tremendously effective way of evoking thoughts. Dance has been playing a vital part in our mental, physical and spiritual health as well.
Art is a way of sharing a perspective, through a visual medium, and one that can last forever. Performing artists are enriched with the bliss of experiencing more than one personality along with the time and emotions that person is projected to … as we often try to get into the mind of other characters that we are portraying.
We, as artists who perform traditional art forms, have the responsibility of preserving our culture to its purest form. Every ethnicity has its own form of performing arts that documents its lives, work culture, social construct and beliefs – all carefully woven into folklores, songs, dance pieces, and poetries, among others – for the future generations to come home to. That is how supreme and liable our work is.
The Other Side of the Glamor
This may sound glamorous but in reality we are struggling, especially in India. It is alarming how most of the society can turn a blind eye to the problems artists are facing. Till the pandemic hit us, most of our problems were restricted to underpayment or no payment at all, even worse, paying to perform, prejudice of Indian society towards dance, education system putting performing arts as a “co-curricular activity” thus asserting arts can be a great hobby but not really a profession. Few are brave enough to go for it, but most have to choose academic courses over performing arts to ensure a “safe” career option. Confusing and wrong depiction of Indian classical dance in commercial “reality shows”, movies, and more currently, on social media, has instilled a liking for a commercialized, fused, western influenced “classical” dance, among the audience.
It is extremely sad that pure classical dance shows find it very difficult to have a full house while a song from a movie becomes instant hit even if it is performed by an untrained dancer or the choreography and the ensemble is a fusion of 3-4 Indian classical dance forms, lending no loyalty to any one whatsoever. Thus, during a live show, the audience … most of them not knowing which is which, wants to see the “more entertaining one” where there is no room for any thought, or no need to go deep into the gravity of the performance.
Rightly said by Joseph Beuys:
“Art that cannot shape society and therefore also cannot penetrate the heart questions of society, and in the end influence the question of capital, is no art.”
Thus, either we have to compromise with the authenticity due to the “public demand” (the term used by organizers), or there are not enough paid performances to make our ends meet, if we solely rely on performances as our profession.
As if this was not enough, the pandemic hit us in the worst way possible. Apart from the question of mortality, we were left with no paying jobs. No live performances, no students, no events. Then comes the endless opportunities of the online world. Suddenly, it sprang to life… online performances, online classes, online everything. We almost started to believe everything is all good now. People who have cameras, proper light and stage set ups, great internet connectivity and a great technical knowledge of how to put these to good use are thriving. The others? Not so much… But we are surviving. We will survive. We have to survive.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]
SULAGNA SELECT DANCE VIDEOS
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Abhogi Pallavi
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Ami Chitrangada
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Odissi – Mia Malhar
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row enable_arrows_animation=”no”][vc_column][vc_column_text]How can Arts and Artistes Thrive
Each and every work has its own struggle… and that’s what makes it worth everything. A little more support and respect from the society, ethical payment for performances (even for budding artists), choreographers need to be more responsible in maintaining uniqueness of each of our carefully perfected and developed age old traditional form of performing arts, lending a hand of support to help our senior artists who are struggling to keep up with the swift advances of new technologies… and we will be stronger than ever. Our dedication and love towards our form of art should not be affected by these external causes… but these surely do discourage most of the art enthusiasts and students. [/vc_column_text][vc_row_inner css=”.vc_custom_1624012669427{padding-top: 3% !important;}”][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_gallery interval=”5″ images=”11879,11878,11880,11881,11882,11883,11889,11888,11887,11886,11885,11884″ img_size=”360×450″ onclick=”” css_animation=”fadeIn”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]
I am extremely thankful to Indian Sounds & Steps’ Tarang newsletter for this great initiative and support they are providing to the artists. We need more awareness of and support for artists who are in need. “An artist is not paid for his labour, but for his vision. – James Whistler.
It is important to understand that helping an artist to continue practicing his / her form of art will eventually help in the preservation of a part of the ancient history and culture it is originated from. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_separator css=”.vc_custom_1624011263768{padding-top: 3% !important;padding-bottom: 3% !important;}”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row enable_arrows_animation=”no” css=”.vc_custom_1474355814165{padding-bottom: 10px !important;}”][vc_column][vc_column_text]
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