Bharatanatyam and Hinduism, old art and new art

I had never heard of bharatanatyam until we did a TV show about it, which I subsequently turned into a DVD.  Yes, I HAD heard of Indian classical dance, and learned that there was an excellent academy of Indian classical dance in Berkeley (in the San Francisco Bay Area).

When I contacted them to inquire about doing a television program with them, I learned they taught bharatanatyam.

Bharatanatyam dancers.

 SO--I learned.  I learned that bharatanatyam is southern Indian classical dance.  I also learned that it used to be the temple dancing performed in Hindu temples.  The dancers and musicians were attached to the temples, and being a dancer, or musician, was hereditary.  If your mother was a temple dancer and you were a girl, you would also be a temple dancer.  It was not a question of choice.

I could continue on with a deep discussion of the whys, the hows, and the historical aspects but will spare you.  Enough to know that as India modernized, bharatanatyam left the temples and, after nearly dying out completely, was saved by the efforts of a few key people.  It is now performed in the name of beauty and cultural heritage, although since the dances are a form of sign language and tell stories or sing the praises of the Hindu deities, it still has strong ties to Hinduism.

A Hindu temple in California.

 An artist friend once told me (actually, told me several times) that someone has figured out there's nothing new under the sun.  Well, whether or not that's true, what is wrong with seeing something that's been dealt with before?  If you are a ballet fan, do you walk out of a world-class performance of Swan Lake?  If you love Bob Dylan, do you refuse to listen to "It's a Hard Rain's Gonna Fall" just because you've heard it before?

Bharatanatyam repeats dances (and music) that have been performed for centuries.  It tells stories that most Hindus are already well acquainted with.

Being new is not the point.  The point is the skill and the sentiment.  And that's what art is all about, right?

P.S.  Our DVD on the subject features the advanced students of the academy, Kalanjali:  Dances of India, along with musicians and a soloist brought over from India.  It's called Of Beauty & Deities and here is it's web site:  LINK

Our singer and musicians were brought over from India.

And just to be sure you know where India is located...