Dance Through The Lens-Eye Kamalini Dutt

Dance in TV presumes an audience. Viewers while watching a dance performance on TV are aware of the fact that it has been recorded on an earlier date unless it is a direct telecast. Even if it is a direct telecast the performer is aware of an (invisible) audience much larger than the one present in front of him. Thus the performer and the audience do not share the same space and time. This major difference in real time and real space between the performer and the audience adds a new dimension to this age old performing art.

TV technology has come to us from West. Along with it came the techniques of making programmes. In West many choreographers have explored the relationship between the dance and video and have brought out some of the best works for the small screen to create another kind of dance experience.

Western classical dance or even modern dance is very different from Indian classical dance. Our classical dance forms are interpretative, instinctive and inward looking in nature. The symbolism weaves a fabric of mythological and religious motifs alongwith the literary hues. It draws heavily from other art forms like-sculpting, painting, architecture and theatre. It is a syncretic art. Music is its integral component. Its image structuring is parallel to linguistic structure of a language. It looks apparently structured but is basically improvisational in nature. It is “performing art” in its true sense.

This unique aspect of our dance makes it very challenging for camera which requires considerable amount of pre-planning. But television compared to film comes closer to dance and is able to preserve this uniqueness because of its multi camera on line edit technique.

TV is not one person’s work. It is an idea visualised with the help of many people and many gadgets. Therefore, to bring this improvisational quality of dances across on TV without losing its spontaneity and original charm a TV Producer has to thoroughly know the idiom of the particular style, should have closely studied the personal performing style of the dancer and while directing the show, should be able to work with a sense of anticipation. This amounts to almost simultaneously improvising with the dancer. The items which are designed for proscenium have to be re-arranged. Choreography is to be readapted to the different demands of working space and angles.

When dance moved to large theatres, it underwent a lot of change. The distance between the dancer and audience widened. To reach the last row in a theatre the movements had to be reworked. Even abhinaya became bolder, relying more on angika or body language. Subtle nuances exploring inner space were sacrificed. Camera has restored them. Even the slightest quivering of lips and fluttering of eye lashes, the subtle change in the look is truly captured by the camera. Close ups are very challenging for an artiste but makes a world of difference in the visual aesthetics.

Indian classical dances offer a variety of shots which could be effectively used to make a performance enjoyable. Unlike the Western Classical dance where the whole structure is uniformly important, Indian Classical Dances shifts emphasis from one aspect to another during the course of performance. The basic challenge of recording a dance for video is in exploiting the quality of time and space this technical art has to offer.

Modern aestheticisms have called Television as a “committee art”, while employing other’s arts to our aesthetic goals we should assume greater responsibility. In such a “committee art” the director/producer should be able to clearly spell out the aesthetic objectives. The members of the team should thus work towards a singular aesthetic goal.

The factors which influence this are the basic aesthetic media factors – light, space, time-motion and sound. These factors work differently in stage and on TV. For instance, in stage, the use of light is to make visible the performer. Whereas, on TV it is the most important factor. Similarly so for space. On stage the space and angles are limited on TV, the floating cameras offer much more space.

If all the aspects of light, colour, space and sound are worked out in advance involving the technical crew a dance production for the small screen in bound to be very enriching and enjoyable but different from a theatre experience.

Kamalini Nagarajan Dutt, a post-graduate in Hindi Literature, University of Delhi, has undergone training courses in India and abroad in colour technology, on television. She is well-versed in Bharatnatyam into which she was initiated at a tender age of 4, Kuchipudi and Kathak. She joined Doordarshan to discover the new vistas of creativity in the electronic art, and has produced over a thousand programmes in 23 years and gained appreciation from artists and media experts for her high artistic merit and aesthetic standards. She is presently the Director of the Central Production Centre of Delhi Doordarshan.

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