Exhibition Catalogue for the Mohan Khokar Dance Archives of India Tour

Monday, August 29, 2011
I just noticed that the coverage of the Mohan Khokar Dance Collection exhibition at Ashish Mohan Khokar's column on Narthaki.com has been updated with a PDF file of the exhibition catalog and a few pictures from the Dallas exhibit!

The exhibition catalogue has such stunning photographs from the Collection I had to make a post about it.  The photos are in excellent resolution and beautifully displayed on the pages which also identify the photos and offer some brief information about each subject grouping.  The first page on Devadasis is amazing- look at the beautiful photograph of two Devadasis in full regalia on the upper-right hand side.  The gorgeous and rare photographs continue with photos of the Devadasis Bhanumathi and Varalakshmi (who shook up the Music Academy when they performed their dance there around 1931), what looks like Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn, Uday Shankar, Ram Gopal, famous Gurus, Travancore Sisters, Kamala, Vyjayanthimala, and on and on!  It's a relatively short catalog but absolutely worth the view of these rare photos.

A Gorgeous Kathak Dance in Khudito Pashan (1960, Bengali)

Wednesday, August 24, 2011
After watching Roshan Kumari's wonderfully crisp and technical Kathak dance in Satyajit Ray's Jalsaghar, I wondered if there were any other Kathak performances in black-and-white Indian films that could match it!  I've certainly come across lots of mujras, but I've been aching to find another performance aiming for more 'pure dance' style Kathak choreography.

While not quite matching the brilliance of Kumari's dance due to its lack of technical breadth and length, the dance in Tapan Sinha's 1960 film Khudito Pashan is so graceful and mesmerizing that it most certainly belongs in the upper echelons of filmi Kathak performances.  Khudito Pashan (aka Kshudhita Pashan) was a national award-winning film about a man who moves into an old haunted house and falls in love with a dancer he encounters (and who turns out to be a ghost with a past!).  The beautiful music in the dance scene was composed by Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, and the end of the dance, as all the performers fade away as if ghosts, is a nice effect in the film. 

The Mohan Khokar Dance Archives of India - Touring the US!

Tuesday, August 16, 2011
I recently discovered the life's work of the late Mohan Khokar and its continuation by his son Ashish Mohan Khokar after his passing.  These two men, without question, must be the biggest classical/historical Indian dance nerds in the history of dance nerds.  I say this with the utmost admiration, respect, and kudos as a dance nerdesse myself!  I am simply blown away by what these folks have accomplished, how important the work is, and how touched it makes me feel.

Here is why, from the official website of the "Mohan Khokar Dance Archives of India":
"In his lifetime Prof. Mohan Khokar collected every book written on dance, every journal, prospectus, brochure, poster, postage stamp, rpm disc, doll, sculpture, including Chola bronzes, painting, textile, print, postcard – just about everything on dance.  Today, this material, called The Mohan Khokar Dance Collection, is the single largest holding on dance, comprising over 1,00,000 photos, 50,00,000 press clips, 5,000 books and more. [...]  Also in the holding are recordings of all national giants and gurus, dancers and divas which all the national bodies and Academies put together do not possess because they did not know the word documentation, till recently."

A Personal Article on Kamala, "Reminiscenses of a Disciple"

Monday, August 15, 2011
Kumari Kamala (Sruti Magazine)
A few months back I received a comment from Ramaa Bharadvaj (a Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi exponent, classical dance school director/teacher, among many other things), who related that she had studied dance under Kamala in the 70s and toured with her.  To date I’ve dedicated many posts or parts of posts to Kamala and her wonderful film dances from various stages of her life ('baby kamala' dances, rare dances, more rare dances, Konjum Salangai dances, a recent performance and more) when she known as Baby Kamala, Kumari Kamala, Kamala Laksman/Laxman, and now Kamala Narayan or simply Kamala. What a delight to find someone who knew her personally in the flesh!

My Favorite (Black and White) Spectacle Film Dances

Sunday, August 14, 2011
Throughout my classical dances series there have been a few black-and-white dance songs that I've just been dying to include but haven't really fit in my categorizations so far.  Listed below are my favorite dances that can't be considered "classical" but have ornamented costumes, beautiful set design, and wonderful choreography.  In other words they are spectacles!  (Well, I didn't know what else to call them :)).  Some are visually scintillating, others are dramatic dance dramas, and yet others are inspired from classical dances.  Roll the dances!

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