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Dancers from India Explore U.S., Meet American Counterparts

Classes introduce visitors to hip-hop moves, tribal dance, ballet

When a select group of dancers from India arrived in the United States as part of the U.S. State Department's Cultural Visitors program, they embarked on a whirlwind schedule of master classes and exchanges with U.S. choreographers and dance students and formed vivid impressions of two major U.S. cities.

These young artists, trained to execute the stylized moves of Indian classical dance, are being shepherded through their two-week program in Washington (April 22-28) and Los Angeles (April 29-May 6) by renowned actress/dancer/choreographer Debbie Allen, who rose to prominence in the movie Fame and also starred in a television series based on the film. Allen, appointed as a U.S. cultural ambassador by the State Department, is a participant in the Cultural Visitors program and an enthusiastic supporter of international cultural exchange.

At an April 28 press briefing at Washington's John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Allen and the eight Indian dancers joined officials from the State Department and the Kennedy Center to highlight the importance of exchange programs that nurture the arts. Such programs serve as a venue for communication, said Allen, because even in parts of the world where the United States does not maintain an official diplomatic presence, "we will always speak in the language of art and culture" to one another.

Allen recalled her first trip as a U.S. cultural ambassador, which took her to China. "I learned so much, [and] what I taught them in China was how to show joy, how to express emotion" through dance, she said.

Her second trip as cultural ambassador was to India. "In India, I got a sense of history and poetry" that illuminated the complex traditions of a vast country, she said, "and I was saturated with [Indian] musical styles, dance and food" while touring the subcontinent. "I went to India with eight masters" from U.S. dance companies, "and now I've brought eight Indian dance masters to the United States," she added.

After a busy agenda in Washington, the Indian dancers will have an equally demanding schedule in Los Angeles, Allen said. In California, they will "go to museums, go to see my star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, attend dance classes [and] salsa classes," she said. During the dancers' off-hours, Allen said, she plans to take them to a trendy club for a glimpse of the city's celebrated nightlife.

Quite apart from introducing the dancers to new environments and experiences, "the [program's] mission is to uplift young people's lives with the arts," Allen told reporters. "This is global community service. You reach out when you see a need."

THE COMMON LANGUAGE OF DANCE

Asked to describe the highlights of their weeklong stay in Washington, the dancers stressed their sense of connection with U.S. dancers whom they met in the course of their activities.

"There's a strong undercurrent that we share as artists," said one young woman. She also marveled at the resources available to dancers and other artists in the United States. "There's so much support for artists here" at the community level, in the school system and through other forms of art-related infrastructure, she said. The situation is very different in India, she observed, where artists often must struggle to continue their training and to attain recognition as professionals.

"I was impressed by the community outreach programs, which we don't have in India," she said. She urged educators to offer scholarship programs for aspiring dancers, vowing that if scholarships are available, "we will definitely see that [India sends] its best talent" to participate.

Several dancers expressed excitement at the opportunity to learn different dance styles from dance students and their teachers in Washington. "We had an amazing syllabus" at Washington-area schools, said another young woman, Dipti Patel. "We learned Jamaican hip-hop dance at Howard University's dance studio, and [African] tribal dances. We took advanced ballet classes. We learned Afro-American styles of dancing. We love dancing in all forms."

Patel added that she and her fellow dancers received a warm welcome from their American hosts, and she cited the friendliness of U.S. dance students who were eager to learn about India. "I love the people here; they're fabulous," she said.

Another Indian dancer, John Britto, offered his own reflections on what he has learned about the arts infrastructure of the United States. In Washington, the dancers were taught about "the entire system of how arts are organized and supported here," he said. "With the Kennedy Center, it's been such an enriching experience [to learn about arts management and administration]. It's been a huge revelation for us; as artists, we want to connect with the community," and arts-oriented institutions can facilitate that.

Elaborating on the same theme, Patel said "the concept of having a dance degree at the university level" has not yet materialized in India. But the dance students they met at Washington's Howard University "are all dance majors," she said, and U.S. universities routinely offer degree programs in the performing arts - including dance.

Britto agreed, adding: "In India, you can't study dancing [in the university system]. All [dance] studios in India are self-sufficient; community outreach and community partnerships don't exist in India."

"I would like to see India establish a system so that dance can be studied [in school], can be respected, can be a viable career option," said Patel.

Asked about the possibility of integrating new dance moves they had learned from U.S. counterparts into their own choreographed routines, the Indian dancers expressed a willingness to push the parameters of their classical dance traditions.

"We recently had teachers from Brazil who taught us samba, and others who taught us tango and lambada," said Britto. Those Latin dance forms - as well as hip-hop dance, African tribal dance, and ballet - are likely to influence the development of Indian dancers and choreographers, he suggested.

The increasingly global nature of popular culture is almost certain to affect the interpretation (or reinterpretation) of classical art forms, the dancers indicated. For example, said Patel, "there's a lot of interest in hip-hop in India."

Allen also emphasized the need to continue energetic fund-raising campaigns on behalf of the arts. Even in wealthy industrialized nations, the world of dance "is vulnerable," she said. "Dance is certainly the gypsy of all art forms in America.

Young dancers, said Allen, need to interact with their peers in other countries, and such contact helps the arts to thrive. The U.S. State Department's Cultural Visitors program ensures that artists can freely exchange ideas and hone their talents, "so let's keep the party going," she said.

Source: U.S. Department of State