Thursday, March 14, 2013

Sangita Shresthova celebrates Bollywood song and dance

The author of "Is It All About Hips?Around the World with Bollywood Dance", in the article "Dancing to an Indian Beat:"Dola" Goes my Diasporic Heart" has a four page description of 'Dola re Dola' from (republished in "Global Bollywood: Travels of Hindi Song and Dance"):
"The lyrics play an important role in determining the meaning of the dance. During the recurring refrain, the two women execute a series of movements in unison to the lyrics: "Hey dola re dola re dola re dola" (Hey, I swayed, I swayed, I swayed), "Haai dola dil dola mann dola re dola" (Oh, my heart swayed, my spirit swayed).The movements incorporating a gentle sway of the hips from side to side, with one arm behind the head and a look off to the diagonal, stress the sway of women's hearts, caused by their love for Devdas, is the pretext for the performance.. Their movements are echoed by female dancers in foreground and male dancers in the background as the "dola" or "sway" of the hear motivates their dance. The recurring movement establishes unity between the two women as they compare the depth of their affection for Devdas.
....
Leading to the climax, Paro and Chandramukhi repeat a variation of Chandramukhi's entrance. With the right leg straight and raised slightly off the ground and their arms to the sides, they walk side by side. Then they repeat the step to the other side, this time keeping one arm bent at chest level with palms flexed and facing up, as if to stop some one from advancing.With their finger on their shoulder and their arms raised, they shift their weight between their hips pausing briefly on the fourth beat. In this way, they summarize their shared experience and assert their space."
She then goes on to describe the variations of the dance in functions of Indian diaspora. Some of the description reminded me of dance in an obscure film 'Two Moon Junction' by Sherilynn Fenn and Kristie McNichol.

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