AN INTERVIEW WITH DANSEUSE URMILLA SATYANARAYANAN

Urmila Sathyanarayanan had her arangetram in 1976, under Padmasri K N Dandayadhapani Pillai. She then continued her training with Kalaimamani K J Sarasa for 15 years. In 1996, she started 'Natya Sankalpaa' with her colleague A Lakshman, who continues to fine tune her learning, performance and planning. For specialised training in abhinaya, she sought the able guidance of Padmabhushan Kalanidhi Narayanan. She has been awarded the Tamil Nadu State Government title of 'Kalaimamani', 'Nadanamamani' by Karthik Fine Arts, 'Yuva Kala Bharati' by Bharath Kalachar and the 'Kala Kiran Puraskar' of the Sangeet Kala Kendra at Mumbai by the Governor P C Alexander. Urmila was also awarded a scholarship and later a grant for the production of 'Bharathi's Dream of An Independent India'. She is also in the list of Bharatanatyam artists empanelled by the I.C.C.R, New Delhi.

I was about three years old. I started learning the veena before I started dancing; I was Veena Gayatri's first student. I first started learning at Saraswathi Gana Nilayam and then went to Dandayadhapani Pillai for further training. I learnt a lot there. It was a very homely atmosphere. We used to have dance classes three times a week and theory classes on Sundays. Unfortunately, master passed away and due to lack of teachers I had to discontinue. Subsequently, I joined K J Sarasa who is his niece.

I was under her guidance for twenty years. I had a wonderful time there. She is an extremely committed and dedicated teacher. Our classes used to begin early in the morning. I used to travel all the way from Kilpauk where I stay,  to Mandaveli for dance classes. Her classes were thoroughly enjoyable. We used to discuss everything. She was a very friendly person.  She used to spend a lot of time with us. Normally teachers would welcome respite from their daily classes but Sarasa would feel restless if there were no classes. Especially during summer, she would personally call us up and ask if we could come for the class.

I learnt almost everything from her. I owe my success as a performing artiste to her. She opened my eyes as an artiste, as a dancer. She taught us how to project ourselves on stage. She laid a lot of importance to stage personality and appearance. She would tell us individually which angle suits us best for a dance pose or for a dance picture.

She taught us about postures and grace. Even dance choreography was incorporated to suit each artiste individually. What was taught to me was not necessarily taught to my colleague. She would choose only those movements that suited us individually.

I think the fare that is being offered to the audience, is becoming more varied and appealing.  Contemporary themes have come to stay. But that does not mean that the traditional dance repertoire of Allaripu, Jathiswaram, Varnam and Tillana is fading away.

I personally prefer doing traditional margams. They can never fade away, whereas modern themes after a while tend to get stagnated. There is so much variety in the traditional repertoire. One can express a range of emotions.

 I recently did a theme production titled 'Netru Indru Nalai' (Past, Present and Future) -a special feature on the status of women in Indian Society. I classified the past into two categories, mythology and history. I chose Savithri from mythology and Rani of Jhansi from history and portrayed their characters.

For the Present, I showed a successful women working in a multinational company as well as successfully looking after the home front. I also talked about the downtrodden women of today who are the sole breadwinners looking after their drunk and violent husbands. For the Future, however I talked about an ideal scenario where the women who is a picture of beauty and compassion equipped with knowledge leads her family and thereby the world into a bright future.

Another interesting themetic production I worked on was 'Panchali Sapatham'. Lalgudi G Jayaraman set the music. This piece was a challenge to me, as I had to portray various negative emotions. I like to present traditional pieces in a different manner; something that appeals to the audience yet adheres to the basic emotion. I like experimenting.

Yes, I do think so. One can earn well if one starts a dance school. There are a lot of opportunities available for today's youngsters. Of course, to be a performing artiste, one has to spend in the initial stages of the career with regard to paying the musicians, travel, costume etc. In that respect it is an expensive art.

Yes, I do think so. They boost the confidence level of the young dancer tremendously. It motivates them to do better.

Yes, I do I run a school called 'Natya Sankalpa'. I started the school in 1996. My colleague Swamimalai S K Suresh, who is a talented vocalist and a Nattuvanar helps me run the school in my absence. He also contributes in all my choreographic endeavours.

Chennai is the hotbed for dance. Dancers from all over the country want to be seen and appreciated during the December music and dance season here. 

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