| ART IN EDUCATION CONFERENCE OF
N Y STATE EDUCATION DEPT (1976)
In 1976, an education
delegation from New York State visited India. After visiting Kalakshetra,
they came to Bharata Kalanjali and saw the small lec/dem that they presented.
A couple of months later, in March 1976, they were invited by the NY State
Education Dept to undertake an educational tour of NY State, a great honour
because among many institutions in India that were screened for the purpose,
the Dhananjayans were chosen for the educative quality of their presentation.
They were invited
to participate in the �Towards Harmonising Education� annual conference
of New York State University, a rare privilege extended only to top dancers
and co-sponsored by the Education Dept of UNESCO and Indian Council for
Cultural Relations. The 3-day conference attracted around 3000
delegates from all over the State including educationists and artists.
In addition to discussions, lec/dems on Indian dance and regular dance
performances formed part of the conference. Though there were other representatives
from India, the Dhananjayans represented Indian dance at the conference.
Dhananjayan got a standing ovation for retaining his Indian identity by
wearing his customary white dhoti and kurta and the red tilak on his forehead.
It was a 4-month
tour of the New York State education centres from elementary schools to
university level. The hectic schedule of 4 sessions every day included
Bharatanaatyam and Kathakali styles. Musicians of both styles accompanied
the Dhananjayans.
After the 1976
visit, the Dhananjayans have visited America twice or thrice every year
till today. They were initially invited by universities, later by Indian
organizations based there. The frequent visits created a lot of affinity
towards both cultures culminating in their big collaborative work Jungle
Book.
�I don�t shun wearing my tilakam, or my Indian clothes wherever I
go in the world. I am proud to retain my identity as an Indian.�
�When we went in 1976, Americans did not know much about India or
Indian culture. The names of maybe Balasaraswathi and Ravi Shankar would
have been familiar in the university circuits. The children still had visions
of Indians wearing feathers or travelling on elephant backs! This education
tour was the first breakthrough for American students to learn about Indian
culture and traditional values at such close quarters. It made us feel
proud that we had contributed in exposing the beauty of Bharatanaatyam,
about which the Americans did not know much then.�
ART IN EDUCATION CONFERENCE OF
N Y STATE EDUCATION DEPT - Reviews |
