Tracing dance’s roots

The Nalanda Dance Research Centre completes 25 years as a recognised research institution by the Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India. This institution based in Mumbai has struggled for long to convey the fact to commoners that dance is actually a science form.

Dr Kanak Lele, the founder and the director of the Nalanda Dance Research Centre, says, “My extensive research has made me reach the conclusion that all the seven classical dances that we perform today are just about 70 years old.” She explains, “The roots of these dances are very old but just like every new artiste adds a little to the dance form, dance tends to lose touch with its age-old techniques and practices.”

In the tryst to master Mohiniyattam (a dance form from Kerala), Kanak has been doing extensive research to reach its roots and this gradually led to research of other Indian classical dances and old Sanskrit texts written on performing arts, especially dance.
Kanak recalls, “When I started concentrating on Mohiniyattam, there were few who focused on this dance form. I went to Kerala in 1970 and recorded the dance style of the stalwarts of this dance who were renowned dancers back in 1920 and 1930.” She continues, “These exponents were old and living in penury but I shot films, studied the Sanskrit shastras concerned with dance dating back to 4th century BC and analysed these dance forms and started work on it.”

Kanak also explains that even Bharatanatyam was performed by the courtesans in olden days and there was a certain crudeness in their style but has become sophisticated since then. This has been part of the research done by the institute.