Discipline is Key | Hashna Siva | iDenti-Tea with Praveena | Season 1 | Episode 2 

Thank you for addressing your thoughts. I am referring to the training discipline in different dance styles. This point I made about the lack of discipline in Kuthu was purely to highlight the absence of general training for this style. Kuthu is a folk style and is informal/has no structure. The moves aren’t referred to by names, there is no physical restriction and is generally a free dance style that flows with Gaana music/Kuthu percussion. I wouldn’t consider rehearsing a Kuthu piece for a show/event (which is quite popular amongst the Tamil university dance scene) as training, it’s just preparation for a performance. I feel like Kuthu has become commercialised in the mainstream Tamil dance scene. What we see now is very different to the roots/origins. Cinema is one of the influences and there are many other factors contributing to this. We also don’t really have any foundation/beginner classes or a set way to train Kuthu in the UK - as far as I am aware. Majority of the other styles requires discipline from a dancer as they’d attend classes where you are being taught foundations, the roots of the styles, names/variations of moves, beats and rhythmic patterns… Some styles are even graded and have syllabuses to ensure that the dance style is being taught/spread and practiced accurately. As much as we do it for fun, dancers need to respect the origins, guidelines and respective rules of different styles. As much as I hope to see some of these techniques or any other suitable methods to be implemented in training for the overall growth of Kuthu, I wanted to highlight how you can’t expect to learn another style of dance the way one would have “learnt” Kuthu. Most of the dancers these days, who start dancing through Kuthu seem to disregard the “discipline” needed in other styles and don’t learn the foundations properly and immediately jump into choreography. A few even push further to teaching choreography in styles they aren’t trained in, which is disrespectful to the style and other artists. Yes I do agree that the energy in Afro dance styles is very similar to Kuthu as they are very high energy, releasing and cultural/folk styles. You mentioned the mix-up of cultures and limited foundations in Afro styles, but there is a limited number of foundations in majority of the styles we see today - they’re just mere building blocks, which are then used to create larger structures. Afro styles is an umbrella term for different styles from Africa - they all have been named and categorised, it’s not just mixed bag of moves from different African countries. Culture is a part of history and you can always try to research, track backwards and clarify the “mix-ups”. I am not a Kuthu dancer and am not aware of teachers who teach the raw form. I haven’t recommended any spaces to train this style when I am not familiar with it and I also can’t tell who will be able to do this in our community - I’m not a fortune teller haha. It’s not about comparing the prominence of styles (Kuthu or Bharathanatyam) in the UK. Each style is unique and have different essences that they bring out. Please research the history of Bharathanatyam and the style’s growth across the world, you would be able to understand that it has a very interesting and long history in the UK. I was brought into the world of dance through my mother and I can tell you that there are many generations of past and active classical dancers here in the UK. I understand that not all classical dancers in the UK are well-trained, but please don’t generalise and state that “the level and discipline is not there”. Yes, not all of the dance teachers/institutionsare doing their best when it comes to passing on the art form correctly to their students but corruption exists in every field. It is up to one to carefully select their Guru, respect the art form and practice it honestly. I hope this helped to clarify the points. Thanks, Hashna

@@HashnaSiva Thanks a lot for your thorough reply. Kuthu is a free free-flowing folk form with not a lot of written history, zero foundation and no well-known gurujis as well I agree, why does it matter how such an art is taken on in any setting? Surely this art form is meant to change according to the masses. Cinema in India is what people globally use to entertain themselves so it is what is influencing the style. The dance style could completely change in 100 years or even die out, very likely as well. People who learn Kuthu and jump into choreography can be disrespecting the art? Hashna, dance is a visual art form. When someone does not have the foundations, it can be seen. Disrespect or not, you can’t fake the foundation of any dance style with a structure and history. Foundations are hard. It can only work for so long. And If one takes solace in doing a dance style and they can do those foundations big props. Like that’s huge talent. In Palestine, there is an organisation called Camp Breakers. They have been teaching breaking for 20 years in Gaza. Some of the kids might have only gone once or they learn from their friends which is very likely in a war. Is it them disrespecting if they are practising breaking by themself and showing it to their families? I do apologise I do not mean any disrespect. I agree Bharatnatyam has a long history here in the UK, it has also influenced Jazz dance according to a research article. I am mainly known for my breaking, but I am new to the classical dance Odissi. The group I train with does performances for the army, Nehru Centre, parliament and South Bank Centre. It’s just an observation of this art form. Sure, it’s not as prominent as Kathak and Bharatnatyam, just an extrapolation from it if that makes sense.