Tango the night away

A long time ago, Ashok and I had decided that we should go to the theatre (not the movies) often and try and catch at least 4 shows a year. This resolution was after we saw a great Beethoven show in February this year.

Yesterday morning, as we were lazily sipping our coffee, Ashok reminded me of this decision and said we were falling way behind and there were only 2 months left in the year. So we quickly googled (yeah, its a verb now and where have you been??) and I was shocked to see that there were 140 different events happening in Munich that day. After a quick perusal, we decided on the Tanguera and were glad to see that there were still tickets available.

The show was for 80 minutes and to my surprise, without a break. It was more or less like a musical with a storyline and all emotions - love, anger, passion, anguish - were expressed solely by tango dance moves. Although it was an age old tragic love story (boy loves girl at first sight, girl works for a cruel club owner, club owner beats up boy, girl sold as a call girl, boy rescues her, they have a brief moment of happiness, club owner kills them both), the execution was amazing. The music, the costumes, the lighting (that totally fit the mood), the scene settings (which were changed at a lightning speed) and above all the dancers from Buenos Aires were all brilliant.

What was interesting to note was when the story began with people coming from Spain to Argentina, there was a dance piece where they celebrate their life in a new land and the dance had tapping steps similar to Flamenco clearly showing (what I considered) the Spanish influence in Tango Argentino.

The cabaret performances when the girl is stuck as a ''show girl'' were a tad monotonous and lacked variety but I guess not many people will complain when the long legged girls tango in skimpy costumes. This is the only part that makes me retract one star from the otherwise 5-star performance.

If you are even remotely interested in Tango, you would enjoy it immensely. But be aware that this is a show for adults and not for the whole family.

Picture Copyright: BB Promotion GmbH

Flamenco or Bharathanatyam ?

I was smitten ever since I first saw the gypsies perform Flamenco in Sacromento in Granada. After I saw the second show in Madrid, I decided to look up beginner courses in Munich and came across a 3-hour sunday workshop and in a fit, Ashok and I signed up for it last month.

The friday before the workshop, I had written an email with a list of questions to the instructor asking about the kind of shoes and clothes that one had to wear to be fit-for-purpose (I learnt this the hard way after showing up in a tap class with rubber soled Nike shoes ! In my defense, I had assumed they would have spare shoes)! On Sunday, I was a little nervous. Given that I enjoyed dancing immensely and I was reasonably good at it (even if I say so myself), I was surprised at this reaction. Then it dawned on me…although I have coaxed (read, asking him with eyes that would water any minute…devil emoticon :D) Ashok to dance with me a number of times at home, we had never danced together ‘’officially’’ in a class.

The workshop started right on time and my nervousness ended up being unfounded since Flamenco can have a man and a woman dancing very independently without the former leading the latter. The first few warm-up steps were really easy and while I was slowly getting confident the instructor started on wrist movements, just like in Bharathanatyam. There are two main differences – one, there are only a select few movements in Flamenco when compared to Bharathanatyam and second, the hand and leg movements do not follow the same tempo in Flamenco. To me this was the frustrating part, you move your legs in a really fast rhythm while your hands should move in a slow fluid motion and this seemed simply impossible.

My frustration lessened when I noticed that others were having the same trouble (human nature!) and I even brightened up a little when I realized that I was the second best student in the class (the first being a girl with some experience in Flamenco).

The instructor gave us some history on Flamenco and how it was developed by the Gypsies (who actually migrated from India) and a crash course on how to identify the different kinds of Flamenco music and different forms that either evolve with families or as separate styles. We dealt with Seguiriyas and Tangos.

Basically the dancer is in-charge of letting the singer know that he/she (I am going to use ‘’she’’ for convenience) is ready to begin or she is going to do a special piece. However when the singer gets creative, the dancer should obviously cope with it and just like in Bharathanatyam the dancer can get away with an elegant pose even if she is not prepared.

Although the instructor was well versed, she had not planned the workshop too well. It was a little haphazard and everyone had a tough time catching up with her.

The posture, the rhythm (can be extremely different like different thalams) all reminded me time and again of Bharathanatyam and at the end of the workshop I came to the same decision that I took with Bharathanatyam – it is a great form of art I love and admire, requires time, due diligence and discipline to learn and hence is not suitable for someone like me just looking to have a little fun (with) dancing!

Ashok (more than happily) agreed with my decision (read vitta podhum :D)! He was comfortable with the session and was good at it too ! It gives me one more reason to cajole him into ballroom dancing ;)

Flaming Flamenco

There is almost nothing more Spanish than watching Flamenco in the most authentic region, Granada. Flamenco, music and dance, traces its origins to Gypsy, Arabic and Spanish music. The Gypsies of Granada are considered the true practitioners of this art. My surprise at how some of the Gypsies looked almost desi was answered by Ashok - they apparently migrated from India to Europe almost a thousand years ago.

Sacremonte, in Granada, is where all the famous flamenco shows are held. The hotel in Granada itself will have suggestions but we had friends who recommended a few shows for us, one of them being Las Cueves de Los Tarantos. A flamenco show typically starts around 11 pm and lasts for an hour.

Our tour started at 9 where we were picked up from the hotel, taken for a small tour in the Albayzin area which provides a perfect view to the Alhambra and houses the largest Mosque in Granada (the Alhambra deserves a separate post)! As we walked through the extremely narrow streets, our guide in what she called the ''Gypsy english'' explained about hammams, the arabic baths (Hamam soap has its origin in this arabic word) and showed us the path in the streets where the spent water from the baths was allowed to flow.

After enjoying the view of the Alhambra and the city itself, we proceeded to the cave, where the show was to be held. The traditional drink served would be Sangria, a kind of wine with fruit pieces in it (another reason why these shows have a pick-up service; no drunken driving) but there are obviously other non alcoholic choices one can opt for.

As we were waiting, we saw a middle aged stout man, a younger man, a guitarist and 2 dancers walk to the stage in the frilly falmenco skirts. The guitarist began with a very familiar gypsy track and suddenly there was a really high pitched voice through the air and I was totally surprised by how much breath control the stout man had (reminded me of SPB) and as he went on with something like an alapanai, one of the girls began tapping. Slowly both the music and dance gained momentum until they reached a fiery pace and when the girl finally finished, the applause reverberated in that small cave and this was just a beginning....

This was followed by a very passionate and slow number by another girl that completely moved me and then the 2 girls joined together for another feverish number. All along, the young man, completely dressed in black, did nothing but clap and while I was thinking that he had the easiest job, he started tapping. Now is the time to confess that I have taken a few tap dancing lessons and I know how difficult it can be to tap and turn and do everything at a fast pace. He did it all and by the time he was done, he was red and completely drenched in sweat and everyone was left open mouthed. The three of them finally did a peppy number highlighting the flamenco guitar - its exciting and extremely accurate rhythm, before they took a bow and had a standing ovation.

I was now confused, the show was for 1 hr and only 30 min had gone by and then it dawned on me that there was going to be another group. I was a little disappointed when I saw 5 elderly people walking towards the stage. I assumed that they were probably founders of this establishment and still insisted on performing but their age would definitely not cooperate with the energy the dance required. I was right about the former but bang wrong about the latter! If anything, there were leaps and bounds (literally!) better than the first group. The highlight of the show was the eldest lady of the group (she looked frail and would be atleast 60), who not only tapped with her feet but also with her hands using finger cymbals (something like the jalrah we use)...muy bien !!

The second time I got a chance to see the flamenco was in Madrid. Google search or the hotel you stay in will tell you the top places in the city that boasts of a flamenco show in every corner. We went to the ''Cafe de Chinitas'' and were glad we went there. While the show in Granada was simple and raw, the one in Madrid was grand and polished (I would compare the former to carnatic music and the latter to light music).Similar to the group in Granada, this one had both young and old dancers. While the younger ones danced with passion, the older ones sang and clapped with equal enthusiasm. The act was also funny at times and they included a ''Happy B'day'' for one of our little guests who had his b'day that night. There were 2 female dancers (one reminded me of Actress Sukanya) who tapped with such fervour that it was impossible to take one's eyes off it and another man, dressed as a matador who did equally well !

Amigos, If you are ever in Southern Spain, go watch the Flamenco, its completely worth the 20 euro you spend.

Señor/Señora, If you are ever in Spain, go watch the Flamenco, its completely worth watching it even if its not in its most authentic form.

¡que lo pases bien! Adiós!

Nachle Madhuri

While I was watching ''Aaja Nachle'' for the third time yesterday night (yeah, yeah, I was vetti :D), I realised that I should pour out my thoughts in a post. Before you read ahead, if you like dance, in general and Madhuri's dance, in particular, you will totally enjoy the movie. I saw the movie just to see if Madhuri's comeback was worth all the hype and was pleasantly surprised by how good the movie was.

Plot: A very simple one; the Govt. decides to build a mall after demolishing an open-air theatre in a village called Shamli and its upto Madhuri to save the theatre by proving that the people need music and dance in their lives. This is complicated by the fact that the villagers hate her since she fell in love and ran away the day before her wedding and is now back in town after years, divorced and with a daughter.

What I totally totally loved was Madhuri, Madhuri and Madhuri. She was absolutely brilliant not only because this is a dance based movie but also because she acted her age, a woman in her thirties (and she did look like it since she has lost a lot of weight and the only time you miss the bubbly ek dho theen girl is when you see a really tight close up). I do not think any other actress can match her in the elegance, style, expressions and agility of her dance. A good example would be the Dola Re song from Devdas where Aishwarya literally struggles to keep up with the maestro.

The movie would have never worked without the brilliant portrayal of the laila majnu musical; I wonder why they are not making it an international show like Bombay dreams. The laila maju cast was so perfect; like the villagers, the audience is left surprised at how the simple looking people suddenly transform into ace performers.

The undercurrent of subtle romance throughout the movie be it between Laila and Majnu, the house owner and his wife, or the one-sided track with Mohan is handled so well that neither do they digress from the storyline nor are they cheesy. When noone seems to be on Madhuri's side, Mohan, the chaiwalla, the groom she left standing at the altar when she ran away comes to her and says ''mein hoon, chai bhi apki, mein bhi apka''....I was so moved, is one of the most beautiful scenes in the movie.

If you ignore some flaws in logic, like who is paying for the extravagant sets and costumes of the musical or where the other performers in the musical come from (we never ask these questions about people who dance with Shahrukh and Salman, right ? Same logic) and simply watch the movie, you can definitely enjoy it.

Dance your troubles away...I do !

''Music was born before Language'' - Music definitely made more sense to the primitive man than all those signs and carvings on the wall and what not ! Music definitely did evolve before langauges since music by itself was a language everyone could understand. Classic example: Starting from Sadhana Sargam to my father, there are numerous people who can sing in a language they totally dont understand !

hmmm...if I push the same argument for dance....well, Isadora Duncan, the American dancer (and apparently the mother of modern dance) replied to a question as to when she started dancing as ''my mother's womb''....tapping the tiny tiny feet (and making the mom-to-be totally crazed with happiness) is dancing too :)

I cannot remember how many times I have caught toddlers jumping up and down or simply moving to the rhythm they enjoy....its definitely a wonderful way of expression....! And somewhere along the way, when one grows up and becomes self-conscious, this form of expression is pushed to the back and probably takes a front seat only when one is in love or India wins the world cup :D

I do not know if was born that way or the soceity made me that way....I can never stop ''dancing'' anytime I hear a good number.....dancing as in tapping the feet, rocking the head and everything possible that the situation permits ! That being said, Bharathanatyam was always one of my desires...fuelled by the fact that I lived right next door to a natyalaya which Balamurlikrishna frequented. Time and moneywise, it never worked but that dint stop me form learning mudras and some basic steps from friends who did attend classes and thanks to my school annual day and arts club functions that one year I was performing Manipuri in a how-do-you-manage-with-this-ring costume and another year tamil folk in a sungudi sari. Ofcourse there were always the bollywood numbers one peforms in a wedding or a get-together and the less-approved-but-maximum-fun thappankuthu with friends ;) :D

Leaving India basically made me miss out on a lot of things and dancing was one of them. It took me a while to realise that I should be using this opportunity to maybe attend dance classes (the first ones in my life) and learn the western or more so the European dance. I still remember how weird (good weird) it felt when I signed up for tap dancing lessons at the university.

The first time I wore those shoes with those metal fastenings (that create the ‘tap’), I was bursting with excitement and thinking about all kinds of figures and poses….and guess what I learnt in the first class – how to walk !!! True, there is a posture, an elegance that has to accompany a normal walk and still make sure there is but one ‘unified’ tap sound at any moment, irrespective of the number of dancers…and boy ! Germans do like to be perfect. At the end of the class, I was left with confused feelings; jubiliation that I had taken the plunge and disappointment that I had learnt really little in an hr ! At the end of the course, I had learnt a few interesting steps and above all had thoroughly enjoyed the experience that I made a mental note that I was going to this regularly. Well…time decided otherwise….I graduated and could no longer take part in the student courses and this was followed my moving to another city for my job. All this waiting was at times annoying…but the wait was well worth it since I found a great dance school and during my first lesson I knew that it was the best place to be!

Lead and let lead

What I hadn’t counted on was how the whole concept of ballroom dancing depended on ‘the man leads and the woman follows’ ! I was used to our very own desi dancing where the girl has her own feminine steps with her flowing skirt, colorful bangles, henna hands….and even if there is a pair dancing they have similar and/or complementary steps and the only thing they care about is rhythm. But in ballroom dancing, the man decides what steps to do and when. This means how a pair of dancers look totally depend on when and how he makes the girl aware of his intentions (dancing intentions, that is !), in short, you need a good leader more than a good dancer !

Needless to say, my first unofficial ballroom dance lesson was a catastrophe. I was so psysched not only because of the hitherto-not-used-to-physical-contact but with the whole concept of how I had to follow directions to dance.....dance that meant only expression and independence to me, dance that only meant ''shake to the rhythm''....! So distracted was I with these that I had trouble even getting the basic steps right, steps I had done before scores of times seeing the TV. I was disappointed and embarassed. This actually made me sign up with a dance school with a vengeance and from then on, I have never looked back !! I definitely have to sit down and jot down the stories of my ballroom dancing...someday....

One thing that has remained unchanged all along is how a bit of dancing (or simply jumping around in the pretext of dancing :D) always cheers me up and brightens my day (irrespective of how dull and grey it may be outside).....so dont let the dancer in you sleep....let him/her stay awake, jump and enjoy all there is to life :)