Abstract:
In their huge skirts, high
crowns and mask-like makeup, Kathakali dancers look superhuman before they
take a step--perfect for the mythic dance-dramas they've been presenting
on the southwest coast of India ever since the 17th century.
Indeed, Schoenberg Hall at UCLA
seemed much too small on Saturday to hold the large-scale splendor and
emotion of Kathakali singing, dancing, acting and music-making when the
renowned Kerala Kalamandalam company made its first local appearance in
26 years, sponsored by the Arpana Foundation.
Full Text:
(Copyright, The Times Mirror
Company; Los Angeles Times 1996 all Rights reserved)
In their huge skirts, high crowns
and mask-like makeup, Kathakali dancers look superhuman before they take
a step--perfect for the mythic dance-dramas they've been presenting on
the southwest coast of India ever since the 17th century.
Indeed, Schoenberg Hall at UCLA
seemed much too small on Saturday to hold the large-scale splendor and
emotion of Kathakali singing, dancing, acting and music-making when the
renowned Kerala Kalamandalam company made its first local appearance in
26 years, sponsored by the Arpana Foundation.
Complete with English supertitles
(except for the last two scenes), "Duhssasana Vadham" offered key episodes
from the Hindu epic "Mahabharata," starting with the rigged dice game that
turns two sets of cousins into deadly enemies.
The title refers to the celebrated
moment when the fierce Bhima (M. Krishnakumar) falls on his foe Duhssasana
(P. Ramadas) like a maddened beast and claws him open to drink his blood
and pull out his entrails. Accented with furious drumming, the image is
overwhelmingly graphic: Never has a length of red, tassled rope seemed
so horrifying.
Just as startling in its way
is the "Bhagavad Gita" sequence in which the divine Krishna (M.P.S. Namboodiri)
resolves the doubts of the warrior Arjuna (N. Vijayakumar) and readies
him for battle. Dance-drama is common enough in India as elsewhere. But
this is dance-philosophy, with the participants using gestures, steps and
facial expressions to physicalize one of the greatest ethical debates in
world literature.
Kathakali is an all-male form
and the first thing a foreigner notices about the dancing is probably the
immense weight and force of each barefoot stamp. Rapid shuffle steps (often
seen in Krishna's solos) add speed and intricacy while the hopping entrance
in the "Gita" scene tests the performers' balance and stamina.
Kathakali acting also requires
mastery of a complex vocabulary of hand positions (called mudras) and delightfully
bold use of the eyes and eyebrows, particularly evident in the performance
of M.P. Vasudevan as the evil Duryodhana. Female characters--recognizably
human in appearance and behavior--belong to specialists such as M. Rajasekharan.
Sung in Malayalam by M. Subramanian
Namboodiri and K.K. Sivan, the song-texts create a flowing, sensuous sound-aura
for the giant, glittering nightmare figures who stalk the stage of this
unforgettably rich, strange and profound dance-theater.
Credit: TIMES DANCE CRITIC
Reproduced with permission of
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