Poetry With Feet (by Proma Bhattacharjee)

 “Dancing is poetry with feet” ..I had come across this proverb many years ago but as a child I thought I could not quite comprehend it… ‘how can anyone create poetry with feet? Surely one is not supposed to hold a pen with their toes and write’. But my sub conscience had probably already understood the meaning.

I remember being smitten by a Bharatnatyam performance on the television - the movements, the impeccable synchronization, the expression, the costumes..it had held me spellbound. I had seen poetry in the making. Even as a child, not fully four years old I knew I wanted to learn the magic.

And today decades later after endless hours of lessons and performances I know that it is probably the best way that this art form is defined.

Poetry is the best expression of human emotions and dance joins our mind and body in an invisible connection.

Dancing with joy is not just a metaphorical expression; it is an ultimate expression of joy.

Even those  who have never taken any formal dance lessons or even have two left feet have sometime or the other have felt  this inescapable urge to let go and let the feet and body do the talking.

Whenever we are joyous we want to dance , ofcourse contrary to what our bollywood films preach we can’t possibly start dancing on the street whenever we feel like unless we are ready for public spanking and a trip to lunatic asylum .

But parties, functions, socials are all incomplete without a dance floor. The increasing number of dance schools and discos are live proofs of its increasing popularity.

The history of dance dates back to time immemorial. The ancient Hindu scriptures describe our universe and the entire creation as a cosmic dance of God in form of Nataraj-the ultimate dancer.

Nature itself portrays the omnipresence of dance in its every movement- the flow of rivers, waves of the ocean, leaves and flowers, fluttering and dancing in the breeze in the joy of creation.

Dance as a form of art has evolved for centuries. Thousands different kinds cultures and societies have patronized different kinds of dance forms each unique in its style, presentation, music and costume. Some of these forms have survived and have been incorporated into the mainstream dance forms where as others have become obscure and obsolete. India itself with its multi cultural demography is the birth place of hundreds of such dance forms which have carved a niche in the world panorama of performing arts.

And here in this column I intend to explore these various genres of dance , some of which are very familiar and some which are not and the various aspects of it because whether as  an expression of joy or art for art’s sake or simply a medium of fitness, this art form is unparalleled.