Below is a list of all 34 practice numbers I can think of in Indian films where the purpose of the song or scene is not "performance" but rather informal "practice" overall. It's interesting how many of them are from the 80s and 90s, the seeming "golden era" of this type of classical performance in film. The videos below are listed in rough order of awesomeness, favorites first. If you can make it all the way to the end, consider yourself a classical dance nerd like me! (Or maybe it's just list-making nerd?) Enjoy!
Classical Dance Practice Scenes/Songs in Indian Films
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Below is a list of all 34 practice numbers I can think of in Indian films where the purpose of the song or scene is not "performance" but rather informal "practice" overall. It's interesting how many of them are from the 80s and 90s, the seeming "golden era" of this type of classical performance in film. The videos below are listed in rough order of awesomeness, favorites first. If you can make it all the way to the end, consider yourself a classical dance nerd like me! (Or maybe it's just list-making nerd?) Enjoy!
My First "Custom VCD" from AnyTamil.com: Melnaatu Marumagal
Monday, October 11, 2010
I'm happy to report that I finally got brave enough and purchased a "custom VCD" from AnyTamil.com (Update: This site and business closed in 2011)-- and it's been a success! Yay!
AnyTamil has a great selection of old and obscure South Indian films, but quite a few of them are only available in "Custom VCDs." When I first saw this option, I was perplexed. There was no image of the VCD available and the whole thing looked sorta shady. I figured they probably just transferred an old VHS tape onto a VCD with home recording equipment and wrote the title with a sharpie or something. I felt nominally better when I read this (typo-laden) piece from their FAQ section: "Q 15. What is Custom VCD? All VCd's are not commercially released. We can Custom Make Commercially unavailable VCd's by Trnsferring from VHs Casette by Original Copy Right Holders.These VCd's would play only on PC/ VCD Players/DVD Players which Read CD R. Customers are asked to verify this from their DVd Player Catalogue"
Tandav Dances in Indian Cinema
Sunday, October 10, 2010
One of my favorite forms of dance in Indian films is the Tandav dance. When I first saw the dance form, I was amazed by the passion and energy displayed despite the choreography appearing simplistic at first glance.
The dance's origin comes from Hindu mythology, a subject which I am so pitifully unknowledgeable about that I'm going to borrow a few sentences from Wikipedia to help me out: "Tandava or Tandava Nrtya, the divine art form, is a dance performed by the Hindu god Shiva. According to Hindu mythology, Shiva’s Tandava is a vigorous dance that is the source of the cycle of creation, preservation and dissolution. While the Rudra Tandava depicts his violent nature, first as the creator and later as the destroyer of the universe, even of death itself; the Ananda Tandava depicts him as the enjoyer of his creation - the universe. Shiva as Nataraja (lit. "Lord of dance") is considered the supreme lord of dance. [...] No doubt the root idea behind all of these dances is more or less one and the same, the manifestation of primal rhythmic energy."
My Favorite "Twin" Dances in Classic Indian Cinema
Sunday, October 3, 2010
As I've been watching more and more classic Indian films I've noticed the "twin" dance, a dance featuring two young women (or one superimposed twice) who perform the same dance movements, was a popular presentation style. In my opinion, the best "twin" dances are those based on South Indian classical dance forms because the crisp moves look stunning when seen in parallel. I suppose I could call these dances "dancing duos" or something similar, but since they have the specific characteristic of each dancer following similar movements close to each other, I'll stick with "twin dances."
