Indian dance virtuoso Alarmel Valli: ‘We forget that art can be humanly and spiritually correct’

Alarmel Valli began is on a mission to revive a forgotten aspect of an ancient Indian dance.

Alarmel Valli and Madhavi Mudgal as part of the event Shakti. Courtesy Ductac

The Pandanallur-style of the Indian dance Bharatnatyam comes from a small village in the state of Tamil Nadu and goes back hundreds of years. But until virtuoso Alarmel Valli began travelling around the world in the 90s to present the lyrically charged and geometrically correct form, it was at a risk of being consigned to the history books. She is on a mission to revive the art form she describes as “more cake than icing.” The 59-year-old danseuse, who was one of the youngest dancers to receive a Padma Bhushan (third highest civilian honour by the government of India) in 2004, will be performing a duet piece with 64-year-old award-winning Oddisi dance performer Madhavi Mudgal at the Shakti concert this weekend at Ductac. The show in celebration of International Women’s Day this month, will also feature Kathak dancer Aditi Bhagwat in an opening act.

This will be only your second time performing in the Emirates after eight years? Was there an audience for classical dance back then? 

I remember I had a very short performance, perhaps an hour, and the people who came were not used to such performances. So there was an honesty and innocence in the way they responded and it touched me. Classical arts can speak to diverse audiences and communicate with them and I don’t believe in dumbing down a performance. We need to communicate and not patronise them. Some audience members came up to me and said they didn’t know that classical arts could be so interesting and joyful.

This performance is in celebration of Women’s Day. How would you say classical dance has portrayed women over the years?

Dance is a language where there is nothing you cannot say through it. But I think we have a misconception today that all forms of art have to become a social comment. We forget that art can be humanly and spiritually correct before it is socially or politically correct. Women are the bedrock on which our society rests. Classical arts have a spiritual and human and emotional relevance for all time. In a world with violence, and one that is splintered, arts speak for harmony and for bringing together. Therefore, I think it really embodies what women stand for. This art form cements and harmonises, and that way I think women stand for strength, women can bind together. I strongly believe that the feminine power is very strong but it is not a confrontational or aggressive approach, the feminine energy is nurturing and fostering, as a mother or a wife and dance has a nurturing and fostering dimension to it.

Can you explain the piece Samanvaya that you will be performing with Odissi dancer Madhavi Mudgal?

Samanvaya is a Sanskrit word which means coming together in harmony. It is a work in progress which we began 20 years ago. Madhavi and I have a similar aesthetic vision- we both like finesse, subtlety as opposed to over dramatisation, and favour lyrical approach to dance. It’s not the usual jugalbandi (duet) because each dance form has a different technique but they aesthetically and artistically come together like two halves of a whole. The piece combines the two streams of Hindustani and Carnatic music and is composed by Madhup Mudgal and Prema Ramamurthy.

You specialised in the Pandanallur- style of Bharatnatyam? What differentiates it from other classical forms?

Pandanallur is like a gharana (method), taught by a lineage of masters that go back hundreds of years. The original teachers came from a village called Pandanallur, famous for its art and music. This village was very known for the traditional dancers. It is a style that has more cake than icing; it has a very rich vocabulary. It is lyrical and not reduced to overly-dramatic presentations. The linear purity is very pronounced and geometry of the dance comes through. But dance is more than geometry and that is what these dancers taught me. These masters were aiming for a style that had a seamless quality that combined fluidity with power and line, but also one that evolved.

What is the status of Bharatnatyam in an age of contemporary dance?

It has a very vitally relevant place today. There are different forms of dance, but this is essentially dance which uplifts. For me, when I dance, I am poet, a painter and a singer. and am singing this visual music. It can be a totally physical experience for some — it is physical beauty and rhythmic excitement. Good dance and music speaks to the soul. Whenever I have travelled for shows, people who didn’t know anything about the form have come up to me saying they never realised that the Indian culture has such transcendental beauty. It’s wonderful to see the effect it has on people who don’t know anything about it.

• Shakti will be staged at Ductac Mall of the Emirates on Friday (March 4) from 7.30pm. Tickets are from Dh50 on www.ductac.org