I See, But...

Had a chance to work on my solo a little bit more. I was starting to feel happy with the latest version performed in Wisconsin, but the Uma section still wasn't as strong as I would like it to be. Here I improvised putting more cloth into it. It's a bit messy, but I'd like some feedback to know if I should work to solidify this before perfecting it.

I See, But... (post tour rehearsal) from Shyamala Moorty on Vimeo.

password: Sunoh!

Questions for feedback:

1. How is the use of the cloth in the Uma section and in the shame section?


2. How is the trajectory of build of the piece? Are their places it needs to build more?


3. The overall tone of this rehearsal is a bit heavier then previous versions. Do you prefer one tone over the other?


3. Other feedback or ideas?

PLEASE GIVE FEEDBACK BY JUNE 5

Premiere: Sunoh at the Miles Playhouse!

If you saw the show please leave feedback in the comments below!

New Video documentation is thanks to Carol McDowell and photos are thanks to Amish Desai


password "voice"

1. Preshow:
Sandra's shadow on back wall
bollywood clips on small scrim
Shy collecting cliches/stereotypes from audience about themselves and Cynthia putting them into live feed on big scrim.




2. Cyber Chat 1 on big scrim
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSY5o4P_-vI&feature=player_embedded




3. Mixed Bag


Password: "Miles"


Mixed Bag from Shyamala Moorty on Vimeo.

4. Wall of cliches stay up as Cyn sadly cleans up the stage

5. Learning to Walk Like Radha



password "oh krishna"
footage from Feb Highways performance
6. cliche wall stays up on main screen with Sad courtesan on back wall

7. Cyber Chat 2 on small scrim
http://www.vimeo.com/21902064


Cyber Chat 2 from Shyamala Moorty on Vimeo.


8. Shy's letter

Password: "Miles"
http://www.vimeo.com/21967391


I see, but from Shyamala Moorty on Vimeo.


Intermission-----------------------


1. Sandra's Skype call on small scrim

password: interlude


Sunoh Interlude from Sandra Chatterjee on Vimeo.


2. The Thorn the Leaf and the Butterfly
password "Uma"

3. Anj's skype/blog response
skype on little scrim
dance video on big scrim

4. Ranri
http://vimeo.com/21967464
password: "Miles"


Ranri from Shyamala Moorty on Vimeo.


5. Marks
http://www.vimeo.com/21968225
password: "Miles"

Marks, Miles from Shyamala Moorty on Vimeo.


BOW:


Our collaborators left to right: Ravi Deo, Cynthia Ling Lee, Shyamala Moorty, Loren Nerell, and Sangita Shresthova. Not pictured: Carole Kim, Mona Heinze, Kedar Lawrence and the rest of the Post Natyam Collective -Anjali Tata and Sandra Chatterjee!

Response to Uma

I was moved by Uma's story and chose to translate Uma’s story through my own personal experience. I think of how the young boisterous me used to be so free spirited and loud, but over time, being silenced by my superiors affected my ability to speak up. Growing up, Bharata Natyam allowed me to express myself more fully than I could with my voice. Embodying bhava through dance still continues to be my fondest way to let out my feelings.
Password "tonsils"

Tonsils_02 from Anjali Tata on Vimeo.

Tonsils_01 from Anjali Tata on Vimeo.

The Thorn, the Leaf, and the Butterfly (Bootleg)

Footage from The Thorn, the Leaf, and the Butterfly as performed at Bootleg Dance Festival on Mar 5, 2011.

password "Uma"

Modular Show!

MULTIMEDIA
In the morning, we worked with Carole on multimedia. Mona and Sangita were present and gave lovely feedback.

Uma^3
We started by piecing together all the Uma material into a single piece: Shy's face dance + Shy's SUNOH abhinaya phrase + I didn't say a word + My Silent Cry. We were interested in how this structure could highlight the supportive friend (the sakhi), the sense of a community of support and sharing stories present at SAN.

password "SAN"

Uma x 3 from Cynthia Ling Lee 3 on Vimeo.

skin remix
(video coming...)

CYN SKYPES SANDRA/HIDDEN TAMARIND

Cyn also had a new idea for introducing the courtesan in her full performative glory (rather than as an abject victim of abuse), while also acknowledging Cyn's positionality and her scholarly relationship with Sandra. Here's a super rough mock-up of the first portion:

password "skype"

Skype with Sandra: writing subaltern courtesan histories from Cynthia Ling Lee 2 on Vimeo.
I envisioned that this could be a real SKYPE call during the show, with me sitting onstage with my computer live, and my computer desktop projected onto the scrim. I couldn't test this with Sandra, so I pretended here using a screenshot -- which is pretty funny and could perhaps be a back-up if a theater doesn't have wireless.

In the live version, I imagined that when Sandra answered the phone, she would be in the middle of undressing from a classical Kuchipudi costume, including taking off a fake braid to reference my Logomotion solo. I might also bring in the same books and kurta that I wear during Cyber Chat.

After finishing up the call, I would invite an audience member to join me as my patron, as shown in the video. During this time the set-up would shift to a similar one as Shy's face dance, with the frames and one live feed camera upstage, and N. Indian light classical music would start floating in. I'm imagining the central arch could look like a lattice work window. The stage crew and/or other performers set up cushions and a rug upstage behind the scrim and escort my patron to his privileged viewing position upstage of the scrim behind the live feed camera. The rest of the audience would peer at our live bodies through the lattice work while also seeing my face/body doing "hidden tamarind." Here's the original video for reference (password "cynthiabai"):

MODULAR SHOW
At lunchtime we met with Sandra on Skype, where we discussed Shy's proposal for how to approach the show in a modular way:
1. There are 8-9 anchoring pieces. We each have two: one being ourselves, and one relating to the courtesan's and/or the SAN women and/or to each other. When there's technical ability we can always end with skin as the 9th anchor. Then, depending on who's in a particular show, those pieces become the main material. So, if the show is a trio, there are 6 anchors and peripheral material. If the show is a duet there are 4 anchoring pieces and supporting material.

2. I like the idea of each piece having others as support (listeners/chorus/peripheral characters), or integral parts (otherwise why is the title "SUNOH! Tell Me, Sister?" and why are we doing a group show?).

3. Rather than connect all the minor pieces to each other, we can choose connecting material based on what will support or frame or contextualize the main material. Whenever possible, the minor pieces also address the long distance process.

After our SKYPE meeting, Shy, Anj, and Cyn brainstormed what a show with the three of us would look like. We mapped out our anchor pieces and considered possible connections to supporting material:

In the end, we came up with the following anchor pieces:
Skype-Shy Letter
Tonsil-Voice story
Ranri
Learning to Walk Like Radha (Logomotion duet)
Uma Stories
skin remix

And the following supporting material:
SUNOH phrase material
I listen - I take you into my body
Sandra Skype Call-hidden tamarind

SUNOH PHRASE MATERIAL

Cyn wrote a rhythmic script combining Anj's phrase material with one of the Skype call rhythms.

Possible Prelude: Someone rushes on, says, “I have something to tell you!” Whispers in others’ ears. This leads into this following rhythmic interaction, combined with Anj’s Sunoh material (abhinaya, BN, contemporary)...

What? Wait – no, really?

-- -- -- You know

that one? -- --

I think I do... -- --

No! -- -- --the

same problem? -- -- What a

(click teeth) God will it ever get

better? -- Such a (slap hand) Hm

will it ever get better? -- If you

(sigh) wait maybe it’ll get

bet -- ter....

repeat 3x

Shyamala's response to August Assignment

I thought a lot about Uma's story living through 30 years with an abusive husband while I was listening over and over again to the music that Loren created from her recorded voice. I knew I wanted to explore the white fabric and was also thinking a lot about a Window Between World's workshop for domestic violence survivors called Journey Butterflies.

During the process I discovered a way to use the cloth that reminded me of Anj's Aprill 2009 study and of the sculptures of Simeen Ishaque Farhatfeel. I actually feel like I am one of her sculptures come to life: http://www.simeen.net/

After I made it, while watching it on video, I did feel the need to have one other kind of music at the end, so I added in an excerpt of a track by Deuter.

My first audience was the support group, I shared it with them yesterday and was really amazed by all their interpretations and the connections they made to their own experiences.

I look forward to hearing responses from those that have not shared her experience as well. So please comment!

PASSWORD: Uma


Silent Cry from Shyamala Moorty on Vimeo.



Questions:
1. What do you see and experience?
2. Are there images or movements that you think could be explored more?
3. Is there anything that distracts you from being in the experience?
4. Do the breath and/or laughter sounds I make towards the end distract from or enhance the experience? Perhaps they could be developed a bit rhythmically?
5. Do you want to hear more of Uma's actual story or do you like it more abstract?
6. Any other comments, questions, thoughts?

August Creative Assignment "Inhaling all the fragrance"

"…When I grow the roses I go and admire and I put my face on top of them and smell and inhaling all the fragrance….life is like that, I thought in the beginning. But it’s not always….I want to smell the rose I want to feel the dew…all those small, small details I enjoy it, but I didn’t have it.” -Uma

Loren is creating a piece of music using audio excerpts of my interview with Uma, one of women from SAN's AWAZ domestic violence survivor support group. He will be sending everyone the music by Sunday or Monday evening. Using Loren’s music and referencing my interview notes, make a dance for the stage (we have so much video material that I am challenging us to think of the live audience again). The piece should be one that is both artistic and humane, and is based on some seed or essence of Uma’s story that interests you. Whatever you make, have an awareness of the other material we have been creating for the show.

DUE: AUG. 30th

Interview of survivor from SAN support group

I interviewed one of the women from SAN’s (South Asian Network) AWAZ support group for survivors of domestic violence. Uma is currently separating from her husband and she and I spent over two hours with her story that spans 30 years of marriage. Below are several excerpts of the interview that struck me as interesting and how I feel they connect into Post Natyam’s current work:

"…One day he called me and say come here I want to talk to you…'tell me how much you love me. Tell me how much you love me, how much, how much, how much you love me?' I kept quiet and quiet. 'Tell me how much you love me.' Inside of my heart saying: 'you’re not worth it, you’re not worth it, you’re not worth it.' I could ask him the same question: How much do you love me? Did you honor that love that I gave it to you.? Did you give me that respect? Did you give me that honor?...Where is the dignity?... I didn’t say that I love him, he beat me up. He kicked me, I fell down on the floor, he kicked me up. Because I didn’t tell him I love him." - Uma

In the quotes above I am struck by Uma’s resilience and belief in her own dignity even in the face of a beating. Similarly, Veena Oldenburg’s fieldwork in her article “Lifestyle as Resistance: The case of the courtesans of Lucknow, India,” documents the story of a young widow is ill-treated by her in-laws but still finds ways to resist:

"I had no recourse to the laws, or to lawyers, only to my wits sharpened by adversity. I first tried to get back at them with sly acts of sabotage. I did the washing up indifferently, leaving a dull film on the metal platters and the pots. For this my mother-in-law thrashed me. I would sneak into the kitchen when my sister-in-law had finish-ed cooking and add a heavy dose of salt to the lentils and vegetables. I would hide my smile when I heard the yells and abuse heaped on her by the menfolk. She caught me one day and thrashed me soundly until I howled with pain."


Another connection I found in the interview was a desire for beauty and sensuality through the imagery of a flower. I am coincidentally exploring a similar idea in the end of a new piece I am working on “Tell me, Sister” based on the same story from the Oldenburg article.

"…When I grow the roses I go and admire and I put my face on top of them and smell and inhaling all the fragrance….life is like that, I thought in the beginning. But it’s not always….I want to smell the rose I want to feel the dew…all those small, small details I enjoy it, but I didn’t have it." -Uma

Here is a work in progress of “Tell me, Sister.” Since I first performed it in Post Natyam Unveiled, Cynthia and I have been working on creating the final section (after the projections). In this last section, the character explores her own flowering from within. The lovely sarengi music in the final section will replaced with a new composition by Loren.

PASSWORD: Tell me


Tell me, Sister (work in progress) from Shyamala Moorty on Vimeo.


Finally, I was surprised in the interview that Uma's fury was more about his infidelity then for his violence:

“If he is worth it, I would put up with anything, torturing, kicking, or even pricking a needle on my fingers. I will put up with it, but he is not worth it. If he has only alcohol habit…I could put up with it, but going with the different women and coming back, isn’t worth it.” -Uma

Here is a Padam (poem that was often sung and danced to) from the Telugu courtesan repertoire that deals with infidelity from a book Post Natyam has used material from in previous creative assignments: “When God Is a Customer” Edited and translated by A.K. Ramanujan, Velcheru Narayana Rao, and David Schulman.

A Woman to Her Friend

Friend, I didn’t say a word.
It would be a shame
if others were to hear.

He came with a glisten of mascara
still on his lips.
When I said it hurt me,
he made a scene.

When my friends asked me
what had happened,
I laughed it off,
covered it up.

I didn’t say a word

He wasn’t afraid to come home
with the red lac from her feet
on his forehead.
Still, he had the nerve
to ask for a hug.

I was furious
but, hiding it,
I protested gently.
I said it wasn’t right.
He raised his voice and,
fearing where it might lead,
I gave in.

As in the saying
about the thorn and the banana leaf,
it’s always the leaf that gets torn.

I didn’t say a word
Friend, he came here
with her betel juice
staining his neck
yet asked m for a kiss.
It seemed improper
to hurt a man
who had come to me.

But when he made love to me
as well as ever,
I felt obliged, and

I didn’t say a word

-Ksetrayya


The Pallavi or repeating refrain “I didn’t say a word,” is reminiscent of one other moment in the interview:

"…That was my silent cry. I was silently crying inside, but nobody knows outside. But now I'm not crying I'm speaking…I want to be me. I’m bold I have strength, I want to keep my head up and live with dignity!"-Uma