29 Subversive gestures, choreography response 3: padam

We did some free writing about a woman to woman love, and love between teacher and student.  Cynthia  turned hers into a Padam.

We each embodied the first and third stanza's of the padam.

Here are the videos and below is the padam.  All of the passwords are "loop"

Stanza 1: Cyn

29 padam stanza 1 Cyn from Shyamala Moorty on Vimeo.

Stanza 3: Cyn

29 padam stanza 3 cyn from Shyamala Moorty on Vimeo.

Stanza 1: Shy
29 padam stanza 1 Shy from Shyamala Moorty on Vimeo.


Stanza 3: Shy
29 padam stanza 3 Shy from Shyamala Moorty on Vimeo.




PADAM: (Pallavi is "not enough"
We did not perform the greyed out part of stanza 1:


I.
Beloved, I brought you into my body
the ghost of your voice
high tinny reciting bols
your peacock proud chest
your kohl-lined eyes

I lost myself touching your feet
my body soft like a sponge
swimming in unknowing
eyes zero in: your hands moving softly
the breath opening of your chest

my hawk’s eye my vulnerable heart
you were my mirror
the precise tilt of your head
your negotiation of soft and sharp
when you moved i moved
me an imperfect copy
you opening up inside of me
but as much as i tried, i was not enough


II.
i was drawn to you as moth to flame
as a parched traveler to water
but i could not fit in your world
filled with laughing housewives and hilsa and mustard oil
i was not [bengali] enough.


III.
one day you said,
you have become very soft,
cynthia, like a bengali woman.
like you.

but i could not be you
my body would erupt with otherness
the stride too large the eyes too small
the questions unasked

and as much as i loved kathak
its hair-prickling rhythms and mathematical precision
its subtle micromovements and emotional transformation
it was still not enough for me
pishi, kathak was not enough
 
IV.
you did not know how to love me and give me my freedom
how to treasure my devotion without giving into 3rd world greed
you did not know that perhaps I would exceed your imagination
and perhaps, pishi, you were not enough


V.
i imagine us in a room together
just you and i
love an open channel between two hearts
counting bols
dancing like and unlike each other

but there is never just a room
there is always the world outside
and in the end, pishi,
our love was not enough.

29 Subversive Gestures Choreography Assignment 3: Not Enough Padam

This is Cyn's choreographic idea 2:

Judith Butler postulates that hyperfemininity and hypermasculinity can be attributed to a melancholic incorporation by heterosexuals of early childhood homosexual attachments:

“she incorporates them as parts of herself, modes of identification, and this means that they come to survive for her as her own character traits. She incorporates them -- makes them, in a way, into her own body, her own bodily sense and comportment, and this incorporation is precisely the opposite of -- and the consequence of -- unacknowledged loss” (121).

Create a melancholic padam about a lost love, in which the beloved is an Indian woman. Start the padam in hyperfeminine Indian garb and physicality. As the lost love is increasingly acknowledged through poetic mourning, have your body language and physicality shift towards being more androgynous and incorporating the physicality of cultures outside of India.

-----------------

In addition add a Pallavi (repeating phrase) of "not enough"
( based on  earlier assignment idea from the second reading loop)
and maybe play with rhythmic and verbal variations (as in the optional portion of Choreographic Assignment 2)

Theory Assignment 3: Krishnan, Butler, and 29 Subversive Gestures

Here is Theory Assignment 3, due on Jan 6!  

• All read Hari Krishnan's "From Gynemimesis to Hypermasculinity: The Shifting Orientations of Male Performers of South Indian Court Dance," Vasu Reddy's interview of Judith Butler, "Troubling Genders, Subverting Identities," and Butler's writing on drag from Gender Trouble. 
• Write responses.
• Come up with ideas for choreographic assignment based on readings.

Response to Choreographic assignment 2: 29 subversive gestures: sound

1.  Below is our response to the Sound part of the assignment, where we assigned sound consequences to the feminine movement gesture sequence from assignment 1.

password: loop

fem gestures n consequences sounds from Shyamala Moorty on Vimeo.

FEEDBACK QUESTIONS:
a) How do these sounds shift your understanding of and feeling about the original phrase?
b) What do you think the consequences are?
c) Which parts do you find compelling; which parts confusing?

2. Below is the gendered script for the morphing sequence from Assignment 1.
We noticed that Babli didn't see the parallel intersecting stories of the masculine and feminine characters previously, and so we investigated this more fully here.  Our intention is to subvert conventional abhinaya practice by having the same character switch genders rather than one performer showing two different gendered characters interacting.   This script more or less follows the previous video, except we imagined some clarified transitions and removed the section with the mirror and lipstick so we could have a clearer narrative.

But first, here is the video of the gender morphing story, hopefully clarified now that we've written the script more clearly with intentions for transitions etc.  Watch before reading. We just added this on 1/12/13 so the first two comments below are referring to part 1 above, not to this. 
 password: loop
  Gender morphing study take 2 from Shyamala Moorty on Vimeo.


S/he
The mature, beautiful and rich courtesan (who is well established in her field) emerges languorously from her bath, her skin still moist as servants wave peacock fans at her.  S(he) braids her luxuriously thick, black, long, wavy tresses.

And then s(he) strokes her well groomed beard. (blurred)
and braids her hair and strokes her beard.
braids and strokes, strokes and braids
and strokes

(s)he puts on his yellow silk dhoti and assuredly wraps his princely turban around his well shaped head.

A melodious ghazal drifts in through the window and fills his body with longing. (S)he melts
and s(he) wonders “is my beloved out there, singing to me?” 

“But wait, my beloved thinks I’m a man.”
transition f to m: “I must be a man, I must be a real man.  There must be no doubt about it.”

(s)he: “I am ready!  I will go forth into the world.  Where is he? Ah! Come here my little baklava.”

transition m to f: “here you are, I forgot how beautiful you are!  I can’t look at you, I feel my whole being dissolve into a river of desire.”

s(he): “What? you would like to play a game of dice?  
(s)he: “This is my specialty!”

“What!  I lost? What will you have? An earring? I will give you a small one.”
 S(he) takes off her earring.

S(he): “Is it my turn? I’ve never played dice before. Do you shake it like this?

Transition f to m: “ooh it feels good! harder, faster!  
(s)he “I won!”

s(he): “So, maybe we should go up to my place now?”

Transition back and forth: “oh shit, he thinks I have a penis! how should I act?  What will I do?  Should I act female or male?  I don’t know what to do! etc...” fade out

Choreographic Assignment 2: Subversive Gestures, Sound and Rhythm

Following Meduri's identification of the 3 important elements involved in the improvisation of a Padam -gesture, sound, and rhythm- I have given and assignment for each. Both Meduri and Burt emphasize how the element of vocal sound is important, so I thought it would be a good opportunity to play with some sound possibilities. The gesture will help clarify the work we did in the last assignment even more. The rhythm aspect is optional.

Sound: Inspired by Burt’s interpretation of the war sounds as consequences for the effeminate transgressions, make a list of “consequences” for being “not enough” Create a sound score that somehow reflects the consequences through sounds instead of words. Superimpose over the feminine Kathak sequence that we made in choreographic study 1.

Gesture: Following Babli's idea of scripting gender, we will script out the morphing sequence from study number 1 to clarify the development as we understood it. We will will then work on exaggerating the genders as well as the transitions since not all the different types of transition were visible previously as reflected in Babli's feedback.

Rhythm: Make rhythmic variations on "not good enough" (I am envisioning foot rhythms, and we may do some vocal explorations too. I am imagining expanding "not good enough" in the way that Cynthia expanded "She's a good girl" while sitting in the chair in the Highways version.

Due Thursday Jan 3