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.
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.
first observation is, that since I don't know the padam, and have to read it separately, instead of with the movement, and since the content is crucial... I realize how little sense abhinaya makes without text, or at least knowing the story and characters!
ReplyDeletecomparing Cyn's and Shy's embodiment of the stanza I realize Cyn's is closer to familiar abhinaya conventions, hence I have clues to understanding even without reading the text at the same time.
a interesting element of Shy's is how her neck and upper body are engaged and involved differently, and for example, I get information from her exhale, or even a swallowing motion in a different way than from Cyn's.
In the third stanza the difference between Shy and Cyn's are not as big in regards to their relationship to "classical" abhinaya. The two interpretations are very rich. And particularly the variation, which I could really see next to each other.
My questions are about how to integrate that into the solo piece?
Also, is there any sense of switching characters (Shah article)
Also, how could the critical nature of the text be highlighted in the movement? THere seems to be more tension in the text than in the movement. maybe that can be evoked in one or two movement elements repeated as "not enough" -- something that is jarring to the flow of the other parts of each stanza.
PS:
I really enjoy the words!
Thanks Babli! I think your comment that abhinaya doesn't make sense without text - or without embodying familiar characters/stories - is very astute. I think this is really important to keep in mind as we try to choreograph gendered subversions: namely, that if we try to choreograph possibilities outside of familiar stories/characters and use abhinaya as methodology, then the results may not be readable or visible unless we give the audience text. I do think this relates to Phelan's ideas of being unmarked/invisible, and Butler's stance that you can only parody a socially given gendered script - you can't create a completely new one out of nothing. I do think that for this padam, it would probably make sense to have someone read the text or have a sound score providing information.
DeleteI also agree about creating more tension and criticality in the movement. Originally (because of Butler's theorization about melancholic incorporation of the lost love object) I thought the movement would become increasingly less classical as the padam progressed, which would probably have created some rupture, but somehow this did not happen when we choreographed the stanzas. I like your ideas about micro-repetition and creating jarring interruptions as more subtle possibilities of how to create tension.