| Dancing to a different tune
 Alarmel Valli is a many-splendoured
dancer, whose innovative and impassioned commitment to her art should be seen on stage and experienced to the exclusion of everything else around you, to be fully admired. In fact, when she dances nothing else matters. I had that ethereal feeling when the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan’s spotlights recently chased her lithe and nimble footwork across the stage from one spot to the other, when she delineated select verses from the ancient Tamil Sangam literature. The Sangam classics are not familiar to many. Valli knew that and therefore took pains to explain the inner meaning of each verse in English, briefly but powerfully before she danced that number.
It was not at all necessary. Her body language spoke eloquently, demonstrating each line in supple subtlety through mesmerising limb movements, eye contact and facial expressions. It was Sangam poetry in pure motion. Who cared if the verses were in one language (Tamil) and the explanations in another (English)? Her art transcended language and explanations that magical evening which lasted a mere hour-and-a-half. It was one of the most brilliant expositions of classical Bharatanatyam of the entire season. She takes care not to dance too many times during the season to avoid staleness.
When I met her at her residence in Kilpauk days before she was selected for the Padma Bhushan Award this year, she looked so different. I could not believe this was the Alarmel Valli that set the stage on fire with her unmatched artistic excellence that evening at the Bhavan. The settings were different of course. Even then, I did not bargain for the schoolgirl appearance from one who was hailed August last at a grand function in Chennai as an ‘era’ in herself. That felicitation function was organised to commemorate the exemplore’s legendary services to the art for more than four decades. Paeans of unadulterated praise were heaped on her by eminent connoisseurs - “The grammar of dance, the immortal legend, an epoch that will ever be remembered…”
 It is pertinent to record here that Valli had her arangetram in 1966. Since then, she has enchanted her audience, national and international, thousands of times, conservatively speaking. Valli has her own inimitable views on dance. She has different, revolutionary insights on the subject. That was why she chose particularly to interpret through her Bharatanatyam recitals the ‘Aham’ genre, dating back two millennia. Significantly, these ancient poems dwell picturesquely on love’s isolation, desolation, desertion, rejection, union, et al. When I asked her whether that was not an equivalent to the boring repetition of modern Varnam portrayals in Bharatanatyam, she politely smiled, without offering any comment.
In one particular Sangam poem, the heroine is harassed by a handsome young man who clutches her hand when she offers him water to quench his thirst. Shocked by this effrontery, she shouts for help. Suddenly she realises that this naughty young man is the same childhood imp who used to harass her years ago by pulling her hair and indulging in so many other such pranks. Surprisingly, she is drawn to this stranger and when her mother wants to know why she called for help, she covers up for him cleverly instead. This delightful episode was very graphically presented by
Valli.
Valli feels that Bharatanatyam should be constantly reviewed and renewed. The dancer must recreate the poetry of motion without violating established norms. “Dance is not merely a construction of lines or grammatical rules. The artiste must develop her own original style, a fresh framework and subtle techniques. Both the teacher and her disciple should constantly redefine fundamental skills and breathe invigorating air into the art. In short, dance should be a commitment through which the artiste must bare her soul strikingly.”
To a question whether Bharatanatyam dance is no longer contemporary and has therefore become obsolete, she pointed out that it had inherent and immense potential, which gave plenty of scope for a variety of expressions depending on the performer. She added that the dancer should be a poet creating her own dance-poems.
Alarmel Valli is undeniably an epoch in herself, a silent rebel not cowed down by mere tradition, which of course she respects. That is why she continues to be a respected, highly admired danseuse the world over.
R Srinivasan
33-A (Old number 18-A),
Fourth Main Road,
R.A.Puram,
Chennai - 600 028.
Phone: 24355576.
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