Can one modernise classical dance forms?
Tradition always changes – sometime minimally, sometimes noticeably. Traditional Indian classical dance has changed. We are not performing dance as it was done a hundred years ago. But the core, which is the collective memory, does not change. The symbolism and metaphor are the same at all times and in all cultures. For example, the characteristics of Krishna and the significance of the flute are universal and timeless. What the dancer interprets becomes modern. For example, in the epics, Krishna dances over the serpent which was poisoning river Yamuna. Krishna conquered it and ordered it to move to the ocean. That is a metaphor. When I dance the number I imagine the pollution in Ganges. So a dancer makes a traditional item modern through her imagination and interpretation. Classical Indian dance forms remain primarily devotional. The devotion depicted in Indian classical dance is not about any particular god. It is devotion to what you believe in. Whatever we do, if we do it with our
