'Unfair to expect classical dance to be as popular as B'wood'

With classical dance catering to a niche audience, Malaysian Odissi dancer Datuk Ramli Ibrahim says it was unfair to expect the dance form to be as popular as Bollywood dance which is aimed at entertaining the masses.
"Indian classical dance is never going to be as popular as Bollywood just as ballet is never going to be able to compete with Hollywood. It will not be fair to compare them together. One is a niche art and the other popular," Ibrahim told PTI.
However, Ibrahim, who has been a dancer for over 30 years now, says it was also important for classical dance to evolve and be relevant to the changing times.

"Indian classical dance should not rest on its laurels of 'purity' and 'classicism' and remain unchanged. The classical dance forms have to continue to be relevant and changed (albeit, positively) with the times," he says.
The artiste is in the Capital for a contemporary Odissi dance-drama performance that will be held at Shriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra here tomorrow.
Titled "Amorous Delight: A Case of Possession by Love", the performance, he says, is one of the most challenging performances of his career.

It derives inspiration from 'Amarushataka', the ninth century anthology of hundred Sanskrit couplets, which had been illustrated by Indian chitrakars (traditional painters) over centuries from different parts of India.

"Transforming the still images by traditional painters into dance movements was one of the major challenges. Two dimensional movements with accented profiles were created wherever possible, retaining the deflection of the rib cage and bhangi of Odissi," says Ibrahim.
A cultural icon in Malaysia, the 62-year-old Ibrahim has learnt Malay folk dances and ballet, but his love for Odissi is unmatched.
"I started with traditional Malay dances and then trained in western modern dance and ballet when I was in Australia. When I heard a song by Pandit Raghunath Panigrahi for the first time, I fell in love with Odissi music.

"My dancer-friend, Chandrabhanu who was a Bharatanataym dancer, had also discovered Odissi. When I saw Odissi, having heard the music, I knew this was the dance for me," he says.
The artiste insists that the 'Guru-Shishya parampara' in the Indian classical dance form is "paramount" to continue the dance traditions.
"Guru-Shishya parampara is paramount in the sustenance and continuity of the classical dance traditions. Somehow, a classical dance form can be popularised through its teachings in universities, institutions and videos, but no great artiste will ever be cultivated, without direct contact with his/her Guru.
"Perhaps, this is why there are only few dancers as great as Balasaraswati, Birju Maharaj and Sanjukta Panigrahi," he says.

Influenced by film directors like Satyajit Ray and Mira Nair, Ibrahim says he has been an admirer of the "timeless" world that these filmmakers have created.
Although he does not deny enjoying the glamorous side of Bollywood, but says he has never been seriously drawn towards it.
"The film world created by directors like Satyajit Ray and Mira Nair is timeless. I also liked the opulence of movies like 'Bajirao Mastani', 'Jodha Akbar' or 'Devdas'. I also enjoy the glamorous diva phenomenon in Bollywood, but I am never seriously drawn into it.
"However, if given an opportunity to work with a sympathetic director I think I can be a good Bollywood choreographer," he says.