Detail from a Kuchipudi Program
Dallas Event Videos Celebrate Indian Dance Traditions
As producers of Dallas Event Videos, LeniCam Video Productions has the honor of participating in important milestones. Weddings, award ceremonies, anniversaries, birthdays and recitals fill our calendar. Through these events we’ve learned to appreciate the value diversity brings to our culture.
Several years ago, when someone first asked us about recording an arangetram, we were not familiar with this beautiful form of dance. We’d seen performances of Indian dance, but were not acquainted with the history or training behind what we saw. That first arangetram video led to another, which led to a kuchipudi, which led to another and now we sometimes record multiple arangetrams and kuchipudis on the same day.
Detail from Srutilaya School of Dance Program
What We’ve Learned
It would be difficult to overstate the diligence and perseverance represented by one of these events. One of the gurus tells us mothers sign up their daughters for lessons before the girls are even born. To stay in the classes until a student has earned the right to perform the classic milestone of a graduation recital, called rangapravesam or bharatanatya, demonstrates discipline few people could duplicate.
Most of the dancers we’ve worked with are just finishing high school. The diligence, perseverance and discipline these ladies devote to dance, from their very earliest years, spills out into the rest of their lives. They excel at school, participate in sports, pursue a variety of artistic endeavors, devote time to charitable interests and win multiple awards. Some compete in and win beauty contests. They are always at the head of their class in the very best schools and go on to top universities to become doctors and lawyers or enter other prestigious careers.
To call the bharanatya arangetram or kuchipudi rangapravesam a graduation recital is not a perfect translation, but it is close as we can get. The ceremonial recitals do indicate the dancer has reached a certain level of proficiency, but it doesn’t mean they are finished. In fact, the celebration is understood to be a beginning, not an end. Guru Smt Padma Sonti, of Kuchipudi Kalashetra School of Dance, one of the top teachers in our area, is described as a “perpetual student” by her dancers.
Another thing we’ve learned is the terms used in the tradition are merely transliterations from the original languages, so trying to capture the right spelling is difficult. We also realize this is primarily an oral tradition, handed down from the guru to student, and that we are by no means experts. We’re just glad for the opportunity to participate in these events and help in documenting their beauty.
Whatever your upcoming event will be, contact LeniCam Video Productions, for a Dallas Event Video to preserve the memories of your special day.