ART FEATURED: Bharatanatyam
ART FORM IN GENERAL:
Bharatanatyam is widely popular in the Indian continent and is practiced by a massive number of people. It is the oldest traditional dance form and it originated from Tamil Nadu and is purely based on Natya Shastra.
THE INTERPRETED ESSENCE OF THE ART:
Prathibha firmly believes that Bharatanatyam is a divine art form and she is immensely passionate about it. She shares that this dance form is a language for her and the soul. She adds that it has a vocabulary that can be used to decipher the deepest of meanings and to convey elaborate stories. This ability to express emotions through dance is what inspires Prathibha to perform more and devote herself to the art. The essence of this dance form lies in expressions, body language, and gestures. She loves telling stories through her eye expressions, moods, and the specific gestures. This art form has been inherent in our culture for ages and learning it is a beautiful task. Prathibha pours in every ounce of her body and soul to extract the best in her. Her performances are versatile and phenomenal always.
THE LEARNING PROCESS:
As we dive deeper into the creation process, Prathibha shares that there’s a systematic process that goes behind. She started training very young and to date, she practices everyday to sharpen her moves. She shares that she reads a lot about the subject matter before creating a piece. To her, learning is a continuous process and it should never stop. She also discusses with people who have valuable insights to share about the art form. As she gathers all of this, she lets the music soak in and starts jotting down the ideas as they hit her mind. Also, she asks for feedback from acquaintances to get the opposite perspective too.
PRATHIBHA’S JOURNEY:
Prathibha Ramaswamy is a Bharatanatyam virtuoso. She is a prime disciple of Prof. M.R. Krishnamurthy. She learned and taught at Kalaksthiti Banglore for 2 decades. Her initial training started at the tender age of 5 and there’s no looking back since then. She has received various milestone achievements in her field of expertise. She credits her mother for her accomplishments as she was the one who gave her the initial push. But as she practiced continuously, it blossomed into her passion.
FOR ALL THE UPCOMING ARTISTS:
Prathibha has a simple yet significant statement for all the budding artists. She emphasizes the importance of hard work. Because only hard work will lead you to success, there’s no shortcut in this journey.
As we come at the end of the section, Prathibha has a quote for her audience, “ There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is nor how valuable nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work. You have to keep yourself open and aware of the urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open. … No artist is pleased. [There is] no satisfaction whatever at any time. There is only a queer divine dissatisfaction, a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive than the others.
MARTHA GRAHAM
AVAILABLE ON: Instagram ( prathibha_ramaswamy )
