CHENNAI: Dance is a universal language which allows you to express yourself without words.”
In a world so heavily dependent on scripted words, it is all the more imperative that we do not let the light of other means of expression ever dim. International Dance Day on April 29, created in 1982 to honour Jean-Georges Noverre, considered the founder of modern ballet, is a celebration of the language of dance and its role in our lives.
With dance having barely left any tangible evidence of its existence in history, it is art that has documented it from ancient times. Dance has crept into primitive cave walls, canvases and stones as artworks, immortalising eras and bearing testimony to the fact that all human civilisations included dance in their culture. Here are some of the interesting stories these artworks tell us.
THE SHADOWS OF BALLET
French artist Edgar Degas, who dedicated most of his career to the subject of dance, captured the movement of ballet dancers like no other artist before him ever had. His fascination with dance was not surprising as he was born to a family of music lovers. From 1860, he created almost 1500 paintings of ballet dancers, turning his interest into an obsession. It wasn’t just the allure of the dance form that absorbed him. He was also drawn to the politics behind these performances.
Most of the young ballet dancers came from poor backgrounds and worked gruelling hours to train and perform. The horror of it all was that they were also expected to ‘entertain’ wealthy men who propositioned them backstage. It was only through this culture of sex work that the dancers could ensure a rich patron to support them on their path to success and freedom from poverty. The painting, L’etoile or The Star from 1878, brilliantly depicts this grim reality with the ballerina standing in the forefront under the spotlights, enjoying her moment of radiant glory while a well dressed man stands in the background, probably controlling her life.
DANCE AT THE MERCY OF THE COLONISTS
European colonisation had a huge impact on most dance forms of the colonised. When Haiti was occupied by the French, the enslaved population were made to amuse their white masters with their native dances. However, with the slave revolt breaking class barriers and leading to inter-racial marriages, a new race with French and African parentage emerged. Called Affranchi, they incorporated their traditional dance with European poise, creating the Affranchi folk dance.
Similarly, when the British established their rule in the Indian subcontinent, they found it hard to accept the classical dance forms in practice and thereby banned many of them, terming them vulgar and seductive. In 1891 when Manipur was annexed, the Manipuri dance was regarded as immoral and banned too. The cultural backwardness caused by the British to most Indian dance forms could only be corrected after independence, thanks to the dedicated efforts of those who believed in reviving and preserving them.
DANCE MANIA
In today’s age of dance parties, this may seem like the grandest of them all. The Dancing Plague of 1518 remains one of the most mysterious events to have affected mankind in history. It all started when one woman, known as Frau Troffea ran out into the streets of France in July 1518 and started dancing uncontrollably. Exhausted by the end of a week, she succumbed but by then, the town had slowly joined her, one after the other. By August, hundreds were on the streets dancing, unable to stop themselves until they collapsed, many fatally with bloodied feet and heart attacks.
This strange phenomenon ended only in September and though it may sound like a perfect Hollywood horror script and a figment of ripe imaginations, it has been well recorded in many artworks of the time. This dance mania broke out in different parts of the world constantly until the 17th century. Although theories abound of why and how hundreds of people danced themselves to death for months, the dancing epidemic has continued to defy all explanations!
THE DANCE OF DEATH
A funeral procession with frenzied dancers leading the way is a common sight for most of us in this country. It is believed that dance would make the last journey of the departed, a joyous one. During the late Middle Ages however, a bizarre tradition called Danse Macabre emerged where artists started depicting people dancing with corpses and skeletons. What led to this complete shift from the earlier paintings of death as a peaceful state?
When several calamities hit the world in the 14th century, death suddenly became a constant surprise visitor, snatching lives unexpectedly. Famines, diseases and war changed humanity’s perception of death and this was soon reflected in art. The dead and the living, regardless of their social status were shown as dancing together perhaps as a symbolic representation that death spares none. The theme slowly became very popular and countless artworks were produced of this dance of death.
Transcending time and boundaries
Dance continues to evolve, blending styles and embracing all forms of movement. With the mushrooming of dance institutes everywhere, it has become accessible to all. In the words of dance choreographer Sathish who runs the successful dance studio Groovs, “Contemporary dance has pushed boundaries.
There exists a rhythm within all humans. How we channelise it is a matter of personal preference. Some dance to perform, some to release stress and some, for the joy of dancing. Some may never dance outwardly but the rhythm will live on in them.” Dancing is the manifestation of your inner experience. It does not matter if you can do it in perfection, for in the end, your heart and soul will dance to their dreams.