BALLET
Uday Shankar and Amala with their Indian Ballet. (Princes Thearre).
ON Tuesday night Uday Shankar and his company carried me a step further in my understanding of Indian dancing. Until then, and probably like the average Western observer, I had mainly appreciated the art for its visual content—its flowing movement, strange and sensitive use of feet, head and hands, and its voluptuousness of costume. Of course, these attractions in themselves had -made each of my visits worth while, but at the same time it was tantalising to know that there was so much more to Indian dancing, and that, for the most part, it was just beyond reach.
Uday Shankar is the acknowledged " father " of the Indian touring company ; the founder of the research centre for ancient dances in India, as well as the most distinguished male exponent of this art. Apart from the quality of the actual dancing, his productions have always been noted for their artistic integrity and lack of showiness. Shankar's great simplicity and modesty have become more and more apparent with each visit, and his productions are now so stripped of all by the most essential theatrical artifices that, as in a clear pool, one can see through to their very depths.
On Tuesday then, for the first time, I was able to feel how the quiet philosophy of the Eastern people inspires and is embodied in its dancing ; how, simply through the innately rhythmic walk of Atnala, comes the belief in both the importance and unimportance of this life—the unhurried, unflurried and quietly amused acceptance that it is, after all, but one short span and that, instead of struggling against its forces, it is wiser to float on its tide and fearlessly become part of it. And it is this complete identification with nature and life which radiates through Shankar's Indra. The Lord of the Heavens, the Stars, the Clouds, the Thunder, Lightning, and Rains is initiating the lesser Gods into the "perfect art of the dance." Shankar, shedding his human personality and soaring to untold heights with magnificent undulating movements, rises like an avenging angel or like a monster eagle sweeping the skies.
LILLIAN BROWSE.
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