Posted:
Originally posted by: Samanalyse
Nope, you nailed it with these bits of your response. These are exactly my problems with the dance, compounded considerably by the fact that the judges didn't have a clue. I have never given Madhuri much credit for knowing anything about dance (I remember a while back during the first or second season of KBC she was a star contestant and she actually froze on the question who is Nataraja? The options were four variations on "god of ___." She actually used 50/50! 😲 I remember this all too clearly). She just dances, and in her case that is more than enough because she is so gosh darn good at it naturally, but not when she is a judge and the supposed classically trained on at that. And I certainly expected more knowledge from Remo!
And you were spot on about this being some sort of warrior dance, which is simply mistaking the meaning of the word tandav. Tandav, if it is angry, is not a dance that is fighting for something. It is a dance of fury that there is nothing to fight for.
I loved your idea of making it a duet by including Shakti more clearly. But that would have implied having a concept, god forbid.
Mostly, I am mad at the makers of the show ideologically because they are disrespecting the culture and definitions of certain art forms, trying to generalise and seem diverse in the process. I am so disappointed by that attitude!
Bold: I am sorry for yelling but...YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!! 🤣...Was it the first question she was asked as a contestant? So she froze, but I hope she had the grace to look embarrassed after her response? Lord Nataraja! Help!
Her comments are so 'unexpert-like'. Her judgement is more like a 'feel good' sort of response. If she enjoyed it for whatever reason, it was a great dance. If she didn't, it was not. 😕
And what's this obsession with lifts? The audience on the sets too seems to go bonkers every time there's a lift. I guess, that's another reason for including them willy-nilly in the acts.
I think it was DID, where one episode was all about classical dance. And they had Sonal Mansingh as a guest judge. I think JDJ can borrow this idea and restrict Indian classical forms to one episode and even if they don't bring someone of Sonal's stature (who would no doubt be screaming inside or turning violent watching a Sanath or a Susheel), they could bring someone who knows the intricacies. In one episode of DID, Geeta Kapoor choreographed a Mohini attam piece based on Indian mythology - Mohini (Vishnu)'s competition with Bhasmasura. In the choreography, Mohini vanquishes Bhasmasura and is then shown folding her hands and bowing before Lord Vishnu!😲 Sonal Mansingh immediately caught it and schooled Geeta on it. It was so embarrassing for Geeta even though she gracefully accepted her error.
I just mentioned the above example because I too am offended when they corrupt and abuse the ancient art forms in this fashion without getting fully apprised of the context. In another piece, one contestant danced Bharatnatyam to a funky music piece. While I have nothing against dance fusion, the result in this instance was horrendous in that it made no sense first of all, and second of all, the funky music was fast, the dancer couldn't complete her steps in time. I was going- Did anyone hold a gun to your head to do this?
Anyway, it is a pity that with the kind of reach these shows have, what they are resorting to in the name of entertainment.
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