A national-level study will soon be conducted on Chavittunatakam, a traditional dance form of the Latin-Catholic community of the state.
This was announced by K V Thomas, Minister of State for Agriculture, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution at Gothuruthu the other day.
As part of the project, 60 artists from Yuvajana Chavittunataka Kalasamithy, Gothuruthu, and three other centres will perform Chavittunatakam at the Sangeet Natak Akademi in Delhi in August before a select audience, including a group of MPs who have taken special interest in the promotion of the little-known dance form.
The Akademi will videograph the three-hour performance and make a documentary film out of it. “All arrangements have been made and the necessary fund of `10 lakh has been sanctioned by the Akademi,” Thomas said.
Akademi deputy secretary and film actress Sajitha Madathil said she, along with other Akademi members, had talked to folkart maestro Thampi Payyapilly and other art promoters like Fr Joy Srambikal and Lenin Konath on it.
Thomas said he would talk to Chief Minister Oommen Chandy about the venture. The Akademi has a few hour-long documentary films on Kathakali and Chakyar Koothu, but there is only a 10-minute film on Chavittunatakam, he said.
Thampi Payyapilly said Chavittunatakam evolved when European missionaries came to Kodungalloor when it was the capital city of Kerala. These missionaries popularised the dance form in the coastal areas stretching from Kodungalloor to Kollam.
According to the Yuvajana Chavittunataka Kalasamithy, there is another legend on how a Tamilian called Chinnathambi Annavi, an expert in Chavittunatakam, came to Kerala before the 3rd century and performed at various places in Kerala, thus making it popular.
The Akademi will also publish a book on Chavittunatakam.