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THE 1990s brought together artists, gurus, and arts scholars in conjunction with a unique series of classical Indian dance and music festivals that changed the perception that non-Indian practitioners of these arts could be regarded as artists and not simply students... We experienced the performances of artists who learned their art forms after spending their formative years in another culture. How are they drawn to the tradition? How do they enter into the tradition? How does any student in modern times enter? In the first year’s seminar, Pt. Ravi Shankar related the story of his guru’s reaction to hearing about the first flight to moon, "so many miles up," he had asked, "but how far down have we gone into the sea? Though we haven’t gone as far down as we’ve gone high, it is much more difficult to go deep." We all are trying to go deep. Success depends on so many factors: inherent talent and ability, hard work and good fortune in finding the right guru, an environment and living conditions that allows one to concentrate on the art, interact with colleagues, audiences and connoisseurs to name a few. It is fascinating to examine how arts and artists survive and flourish under varied circumstances. Side by side it is important to thoughtfully consider how we all can responsibly further the arts using our Indian and collective capacities.
Opportunities for foreigners are limited more by restricted entry into the world of performance patronage than by lack of artistic skill. As more non-Indians have been drawn to Indian classical dance in recent years, the standard has been improving. Just as many of the top Western classical ballet and modern dancers are from Asia, traditional Indian classical dance forms are becoming international as boundaries fall between borders and art. I’d fielded the public’s recurrent doubt that, while there could be one or two rare exceptions to the "foreigner as student but never artist" assumption, there could hardly be enough videshis (foreigners) to sustain an entire festival. *** The various genres of
classical dance and music of India are rooted in spiriual
consciousness. This nurtures a context inspiring an artist to reach
toward creative artistic and spiritual goals, both in study and
performance. For those willing to take up the challenge, whether born
in the village of the art form’s origin or hundreds, even thousands
of milies away, we should respect the courage and dedication of their
effort and applaud the results when sincerely merited. The heartfelt,
generous transmission of art from teacher to student and performing
artist to audience demands a sadhana that bears fruit for
everyone involved in the process.
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An artist knows no
barriers of race, geography or language. The creative impulse
overrides all constraints and creates its own space. The Performing
Arts of India, Development & Spread Across the Globe, edited
by Sharon Lowen, a classical dancer of repute, mirrors the journey of
foreigners who are totally at home in the world of classical Indian
dance. Excerpts . . .
Artists are drawn to a
particular aesthetic genre because of inner resonance with the form,
which crosses boundaries of region and even nationality. The sadhana
(devotion to work or practice as a means toward self-perfection)
of an artist is inherently difficult and success of a performer
uncertain, more so for those born outside the tradition who leave the
security of their home culture to devote years of their lives to their
chosen art.
