Stand-Up Natyam sees classical dancers from Bengaluru take on stand up, marrying these two distinct art forms in a brand new way!

When  we first heard of Stand-Up Natyam, we thought the organisers were joking. Not because we couldn’t imagine it, but just because we’d never heard of it! A brainchild of Kavya Ganesh and Shambhavi Soirées at The Finer Side, this weekend will see the first such performance in the city featuring dancers Shruti Gopal, Shubhamani Chandrashekar and Indu Venu. We catch up with Kavya Ganesh, Shruti Gopal and Indu Venu to find out all you need to know about this absolutely interesting event!

How long has this amazing idea been in the making?

Kavya Ganesh: I had been thinking a lot about the relationship between humour and dance for a while and how it acts as a beautiful bridge, especially to uninitiated audiences. The name for the event Stand-Up Natyam struck me one day as I was thinking of curatorial ideas and since I had seen so much exploration with dance and comedy by different dancers, I decided to host an entire evening around the theme.

Shruti Gopal: Comic elements have always been part of my dance journey but they would be specific to a character or restricted to a small part of the show. The idea of using a stand up format with dance elements in it has been brewing for a while now in my circle of friends. I think it also came from the art of stand up comedy becoming such a success. I am thankful to Shambhavi Soirées and Kavya for pushing us otherwise this would have stayed just as an idea.

Indu Venu: Personally, I love humour and believe that it is one of the most effective ways of communicating ideas and messages, of bringing people together and in many ways it is also a leveller and an ice breaker too. We should not take ourselves too seriously after all, should we? I have always loved incorporating humour in natyam performances. It has been in the back of my mind to also weave an entire natyam performance on humour, seamlessly blending it with the idea of a stand up performance. Some of my initial attempts like story telling by connecting the different uses of a hasthas in a humorous way seemed to appeal to people across age groups and when Kavya spoke to me about this curation, I was overjoyed to be a part of it.

Do classical dance and stand up go hand in hand easily? What can we expect at the show?

Kavya: Humour has been an integral element of bharatanatyam with even a lot of traditional pieces incorporating it in the literature canon. Storytelling through abhinaya, or facial expressions, is simply a form of narrating stories which is one of the main components of bharatanatyam and these stories are as diverse as they come. We are of course, pushing the edges of these boundaries to bring stories that are perhaps more current and moulding the performance sets in a way that are accessible to a wide range of audiences. Not only can you expect comedic storytelling but we have taken inspiration from stand up comedy to bring you sets that involve interactive crowd work, improv and a host of other things as well!

Shruti: I think most art forms irrespective of folk or classical has the storytelling quality which is a basic requirement in stand up. Of course it’s tricky, we don’t have a clear cut template to follow but as classical dancers we have the tools and I want to believe that as people we have that funny bone in us. We have put together some sketches, lots of vachika (spoken word), some improv and hopefully lots of laughter!

Indu: I think natyam has always had compositions, contexts and narratives based on humour. Ranging from nindastutis, the idea of clowning in various dance dramas, and so many humorous abhinaya compositions. Even the most profound of concepts have sometimes been presented with a tinge of humour to make it accessible for everyone! How cool is that? So, natyam is definitely a versatile medium that can collab with the stand up format to create interesting work. We are trying to bring satires, sketches, improvs, mythology tinged with humour and newer/current narratives through the medium of natyam.

Most classical dancers perceive themselves with a sense of aloofness or superiority — or at least that’s what the world thinks — you are breaking that image and how! How has this whole process been?

Kavya: Your question is one of the main reasons why I was determined to put this event together! In my opinion, it is high time we break the notion that, “classical dance is for the classes and not the masses.” The art form has the capacity to reach so many more people and I believe we as artistes need to find ways to evolve with the times and become more accessible. In fact, this whole aura of aloofness does not even hold true for so many young dancers today and it is an image the world sees, as you rightly said, which needs to be demystified. If we want the art form to sustain we need to bring newer audiences into the fold and this is a small attempt towards that. Stand up comedy often garners widespread audiences and sees houseful shows and has become a very successful form of entertainment. By adding a classical dance twist, we hope to show audiences that our form too can be deeply versatile and create experiences that can resonate with anyone, not just the usual clique of dance audiences. After all, nothing brings people together like laughter!

Shruti: I think  the field of classical dance is a mix of people just like any other profession. Some fit the stereotype and some don’t, but I do agree there is a stereotype (we have a sketch on that too!). The process has been a lot of fun, joy and laughter mixed with a pinch of fear. Fear because that little voice in your head goes, what if they don’t laugh? Shutting that voice up and putting myself out there has been perhaps the most difficult part of that process.

Indu: I think this is a myth that needs to be busted. Hope more such shows will help! Jokes apart, as focused and disciplined as we may be with our training and riyaaz, we are equally fun (also crazy) people! These days, yes with social media, I think the myth that we are aloof is getting busted. Like I mentioned in the start, humour is such a unifying force. The ability to laugh at ourselves is probably a great check on our own ego as well, thus making us strive to be better artistes and human beings.

INR 500 onwards. July 28, 6 pm onwards. At The Finer Side, Kanakapura Road.

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