The next nominee introduced for Most Promising Artist Award is Kamini Manikam, predominantly a performer in Indian classical arts of dance. She is currently with the Tanjai Kamalaa Indira Dance School, and also on the subcommittee for the Malaysia Bharatanatyam Dance Association.

Let’s help the readers get to know you a little better. What is it that you do, and how long have you been at it professionally?
Dancing has been part and parcel of my life. It’s my pulse, my heartbeat, my breathing - the rhythm of my life. In essence, I live and breathe dance since I’ve been surrounded by it throughout my life. I had my Shisya Arambam (first initiation to Bharathanatyam) at the tender age of 3. I’ve been pursuing this art for 21 years and the depths of discovery I’ve made about this dance form have only made me fall even deeper in love with dance. It is such a beautiful and amazing art!

When I dance, it frees my sorrows, replenishes my soul and elevates me to a higher realm of spirituality, for want of a better word. I feel it is something that can only be felt when you allow the dance and rhythm to liberate you from conscious thought - dancing from the heart, spirit and mind. Truly an enlightenment!

Tell us a bit about your work.
I have performed in various dance dramas and solo recitals, in Malaysia and abroad such as India, Mauritius and Australia. I have been awarded Natya Kala Vedika (which confers the title Nritya Vilaashini for dancing to my own compositions) and Aadal Nangai (for my commendable performance). Besides dancing, I am very passionate about Carnatic music and Veena.

Dancing has always been the best way to express myself. Some dance dramas that gave me significant room for exploring characters are “Cinderella”, “Ramayana” and “Sivagamiyin Sabatham”. While executing Abhinaya (expression) or performing character roles, it is exciting to bring all the different characteristics, nuances of facial expressions and gestures of people on stage. You can be a princess at one moment and a damsel in distress the very next. It is a world of imagination, where you create the reality for the audience.

Which of your work might we have encountered?
Kalki’s spectacular “Sivagamiyin Sabatham” which was held at Istana Budaya on June 22nd & 23rd, 2007. The production was nominated for Best Costume Design in the Dance category. I took the role of the mystical and passionate Sivagami, who is renowned in the art of dancing.

Her undivided love for her Prince Narasimhavarman was not blessed by the King. War between two kingdoms, Kanchi and Vathapi separates her from her lover. She was disgraced by being asked to perform on the streets of Vathapi, so she vowed her Prince will destroy Vathapi and take her away.

Her vow is fulfilled after nine years of war between both kingdoms but to her dismay, her Prince was already married with two kids. She becomes disappointed and disheartened, and decides to devote her life and talent to “The Lord of Dance”.

How did you end up in the arts? Was it your personal interest? Did your family encourage you in this direction?
It was natural for me to take up Bharathanatyam as my mother is a renowned dance exponent trained under her Guru who came under the heritage of Tanjore Quartette - she learned through the traditional methodology called Gurukulavaasam.

I am very fortunate to have my mum as my dance teacher. She not only taught me the intrinsic movements of Bharathanatyam, but also offered me the stimulation and liberation in my quest for greater knowledge of dance.

Dance is a great gift life has given me. It has shaped me physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. Life is beautiful and I feel so joyous and ecstatic whenever I perform. Dance is like poetry in motion; its message is not merely to the senses but to the soul itself. The stage seems like heaven and lights are like effulgence from the Lord of Dance.

A simple movement can fulfill the function of a volume of words. Such wonderful art can induce adrenaline rush to those who witness the performance. I believe it evokes the power of the spirit within us.

What’s your favorite from your portfolio, and why?
I enjoy all the Padams and Varnams from every repertoire performed. These pieces enable me to give more elaboration of Satvikabhava that refers to portrayal of actual emotions and communication to the audience through rasa (experience) and bhava (expression). I am able to express finer nuances of abhinaya.

My favorite Padam is based on a social theme that describes the inequality and discrimination faced by women in society. I conceptualized this idea, and the song was composed in Tamil language. In addition, another composition of my own, a Bhajan written in Sanskrit dedicated to the Cosmic Dancer, who is worshipped as the primordial energy, whose continues dance maintains rhythm and order in the cosmic.

Jugalbandhi, a fusion of music and dance in a spontaneous manner has always been my all time favorite. The Jugalbandhi was performed with a combination of nattuvangam & mridangam versus dance & thavil. It was a nerve-wrecking experience for me during my Arangetram (dance graduation) because it was a serious test to my knowledge on counts and rhythm. But thankfully, it turned out excellently.

What is your view of fusion in performance culture? Is it necessary, or perhaps unavoidable, that influences from other cultures appear in your work?
I am indeed very fascinated with every aspect of life, diverse people, various religions and different cultures. Bringing various distinct cultures together and amalgamating them into an exceptional breed of performance is a revolution to the art itself. Such revival-effort is what I have always aspired to do because it gives room for exploration.

Malaysia is known for its various cultures from different ethnic segments, so incorporating them into dance performances should be encouraged, but to a suggestive and acceptable point. In the context of Bharathanatyam, you can bring innovations to the style of dancing to an acceptable degree without breaching the fundamental rules of dance.

Creativity and innovation can be shown in costumes, stage presentation, lighting, music etc. The dance performance can be glorified with unconventional music compositions using musical instruments from different cultures.

What changes would you like to see in the arts industry in the future?
Encouragement and support is what every artiste seeks. The established artistes should be appreciated for the sacrifices and challenges they have faced in propagating the art, whereas artistes who are very capable but are financially unstable should be given fiscal aids to ease the cost of production. More organizations should come forward to give support.

Furthermore, the people must take the initiative to attend shows by the local artistes. Sage Bharatha, who compiled the text Natyashstra treatises in the fourth century, BC said, “The dance is occasioned by no specific need. It has come into use because it creates beauty. As dance is naturally loved by the people, it is praised as auspicious!”.

People must no longer look at Bharatanatyam as a traditional dance performed in temples. It is not confined to those who understand the language. Bharathanatyam is for all. Art is abstract and dance is purely love! So come, watch the dance, and you will be mesmerised!

What do you feel about the involvement of youth in the local arts scene?
I reckon the involvement of youth is getting better nowadays. Appreciation should go to all established artistes regardless of their field, to the media, as well as NGOs’, who have motivated today’s youths whether directly or indirectly to get themselves involved in the local arts scene.

Parents are also encouraging their children to take up classes to learn their culture, and to prevent them from ill-advised activities. You can find many young dance aficionados nowadays, regardless of ethnicity, who are very interested in studying the art whether theoretically or practically.

Did any other arts production in 2007 catch your eye?
I was able to watch a Bharathanatyam performance by Vyjayanthimala Bali in India. Her age? 71 years old! Yet she danced with no sign of fatigue. She may not be physically young but through her dance I could feel her vibrant and youthful self. That was when I realized that the body is just a vehicle but it’s the passion for dance that gives the fuel.

There’s no limit for age when it comes to dance, it’s for eternity when you have so much passion for the art. You can dance anywhere, even if it’s only in your heart !

What can expect from you in the near future? Anything we should watch out for?
Doing things differently has always been my style. I would like to explore this art further by experimenting with aspects of fusion. To discover with certainty by experimentation on dance takes a panorama of thoughts and emotion. Usually a birth of an extraordinary piece is through a gestation of imagination woven with emotions in culmination.

Dancing to my own compositions of instrumental fusions and performance on social themes are some of the fondest ideas I always had. I have to a certain extent conceptualised a new idea recently, so lets see what would take place in my future performances.

Besides performing, I would like to teach as well. Some people ask, “What can you get from arts related professions?” Every artistic director would tell you this profession is not to become a millionaire, but it’s a noble profession that enables you to create millions of aspiring dancers, who would pass down the love for art from generation to generation.

It’s an abstract love and the ultimate satisfaction one gets from this profession which needs dedication and altruism. However, to become an erudite artistic director, one needs to take lots of effort to study the theory in breadth.

I live by this principle, “the good, the truth and the real wins in the end”. In any endeavour you pursue, if you are sincere and genuine, you will be bestowed with success. I choose to exhibit this dance through the ways it had touched me. Dance is love and it can be used as a way to help the needy. I would like to canalize the love I have found from dance to reach the needy - all funds from the events will be channeled to a Trust Fund set up to not only help the needy but also talented dancers who are financially unstable.

This would help the other generations to come. I hope that some private organization would come forward to render aid.

How do you feel about this nomination?
When I heard about the nomination, my first thoughts were “Oh my God…Responsibility! To my cognizance, I should do justice to this divine art and bring it to greater heights. I feel truly honored that the dance I believe in, have faith in and love is being appreciated by the people, and I consider this a shared success with all the Bharathanatyam dancers in Malaysia.

I always believe that the more successful one becomes in art, the more humble he or she should become, because it is a divine art and it should never be exploited with egoism. The people will support you as long as you bring meaning to this art. Constructive comments should be accepted, as a way to improve the skills in art .Yet people must do justification to their comments, before raising it in order to help the artiste improve for the better and not in order to tarnish their image. Support the art!

Dance with love…Dance with joy….Dance for life!

Kamini Manikam has a Youtube account you can keep an eye on. A video is available of her bharatanatyam performance in Sivagamiyin Sabadham, as the mystical dancer Sivagami:

The next videos are a 2-part Thillana performance , this is Part 1:

and Part 2:

You can also watch the trailer for the Sivagamiyin Sabadham production here, or read up about it from The Star (A Classic Story of Eternal Love).

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 2nd, 2008 at 7:34 pm and is filed under Posts related to 6th BCAA Nominees. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.