THE NINE MOVEMENTS OF THE EYELID
A creative documentary by Rajele Jain. Portugal 2008. 98 min. Produced by Francisco Camacho (EIRA) and Rajele Jain.
Premiere: Pärnu Film Festival 2008.
Gisela-Bonn-Award from ICCR (Indian Council for Cultural Relations) in 2012		  
     
 

"While traditional thought conceptualizes the human body
as a unique centre, a centre of the universe, expanding
outwards into the cosmos, industrial society converts the
body into the prime target of attack: as citizen, attacked
by the political system; as consumer, attacked by the
economic system; as individual, bombarded by the media,
denied contact with nature, incapable of self-renewal,
suffocated by poisons in air and water, isolated and
deprived of directions for change.

The question then arises: What role can dance play in
such a society? Can it recuperate energies? Can it
initiate a living flow between individual and community?
Can it integrate human perspectives? Can it infuse
people with joy for life, radical optimism, hope, courage,
and vision to negate all that is ugly, unjust, and hurtful?
If our life is alienated, can our dances and arts help
to transcend that alienation?"

(Chandralekha in: new directions in Indian dance,
ed. by Sunil Kothari, Marg Publications 2003)

  
     
  A dança clássica do Sul da Índia chama-se Bharatanatyam e foi descrita há mais de 2000 anos, num texto sagrado, denominado “Natya-Shastra”. O Bharatanatyam tem dois ramificações: a dança pura, ritmo e movimento; a história contada pela dança. Pode ser considerada como um idioma, uma linguagem própria.

O Bharatanatyam, como forma de dança, requer um enorme controlo do corpo, mas acima disso, a sua aprendizagem e estudo, exigem, o conhecimento essencial da música clássica indiana, filosofia, sânscrito, antiga literatura indiana e mais... Dançar Bharatanatyam é mais do que dominar uma técnica, é uma decisão pessoal e uma aproximação e identificação específica com a vida. Integra um amplo conhecimento da Vida, do Humano, da Sociedade e da Dramaturgia da Comunicação.

Este filme não pretende apenas explicar a dança em si. Mostra várias mulheres, muito diferentes em idade, experiência, origem, abordagem de vida, educação, mulheres essas que estudaram a dança e a vivem em si. As respostas como isso tem influenciado as suas vidas, como a bailarina interage com a sua arte e a vida contemporânea, revelarão as principais particularidades e características do Bharatanatyam.

As entrevistas filmadas, incluem só profissionais e bailarinas famosas;  entre elas a lendária coreógrafa Chandralekha, que influenciou muitas bailarinas ocidentais tais como: Pina Bausch, Susanne Linke, a “Raínha de Abhinaya” Kalanidhi Natarayan, o mais importante crítico de dança o indiano Sunil Khotari, a coreógrafa contemporânea Anita Ratnam.

Com: ANITA RATNAM, ANJALI SRIRAM, PROF. C. V. CHANDRASEKHAR, CHANDRALEKHA, CHITRA VISWESWARAN, CLARA GAMES, DEBARATI NATARAJAN, S. GIRISH, SRI GOPALAKRISHNA PILLAI, INDU VARMA, KALANIDHI NARAYANAN, KALPANA RAGHURAMAN, KAMAKSHI JARAYAMAN, MADHAVI MANDIRA, MANJARI CHANDRASEKHAR, MEENAKSHI CHITHARANJAN, NALINI CHETTUR, PRASANNA OOMMEN, RANI OTTERMANN, SHYAMALA, SUNIL KOTHARI, TARIKAVALLI		  
     
  SYNOPSIS
The classical dance from South-East India is called Bharatanatyam and was first described more than 2000 years ago in a scripture called “Natya-Shastra”.
This dance consists mainly of two parts – the pure dance (rhythm and movement) and the storytelling dance. It can be considered as a language, and spectators who understand its code can follow the performed story. It is mainly performed by women (eventhough not necessarily) and has still a high reputation in Indian society.

Bharatanatyam as a dance form requires an enormous body control. But moreover the study of it implicates the learning of the fundamentals in Indian classical music, Indian philosophy, Sanskrit, ancient Indian literature and more. Dancing Bharatanatyam is more than mastering a technique, it is a personal decision and a specific way of approaching life, it delivers an ample knowledge about life, human, society and dramaturgy in communication.
This film does not intend to solely explain the dance itself. It is portraying several women, very different by age, experience, origin, life approach, education etc., who have studied and performed this dance. The answers to how this is influencing their lifes, how the dancer can relate their art to modern life, will reveal the main particularities and characteristics of Bharatanatyam.
Some of the women are Indians and living a very specific life in Indian society by being a female artist. The implications of Indian philosophy and culture for the performing of this dance, the role of women in the Indian society, the coexistence of ancient and modern values are explored.

The filmed interviews include only professional and highly acclaimed dancers, among them the legendary choreographer Chandralekha who influenced many important Western dancers such as Pina Bausch and Susanna Linke, the queen of Abhinaya (face expression), Kalanidhi Natarayan, India’s main dance critic Sunil Kothari, or contemporary choreographer Anita Ratnam, founder of the “The Other Festival” in Chennai, India. Moreover, the films shows dance scenes which were specially designed for this film.

With: ANITA RATNAM, ANJALI SRIRAM, PROF. C. V. CHANDRASEKHAR, CHANDRALEKHA, CHITRA VISWESWARAN, CLARA GAMES, DEBARATI NATARAJAN, S. GIRISH, SRI GOPALAKRISHNA PILLAI, INDU VARMA, KALANIDHI NARAYANAN, KALPANA RAGHURAMAN, KAMAKSHI JARAYAMAN, MADHAVI MANDIRA, MANJARI CHANDRASEKHAR, MEENAKSHI CHITHARANJAN, NALINI CHETTUR, PRASANNA OOMMEN, RANI OTTERMANN, SHYAMALA, SUNIL KOTHARI, TARIKAVALLI		  
  Film Stills: