遗产 传承 发展 规范——印度古典舞遗产卡塔克的保护与发展之启示

Heritage, Continuity, Progress, and Normalization Clues for Reviving Classical Dance from the Case of Kathak

卡塔克成为印度古典舞的典范,经历了宗教舞蹈、宫廷舞蹈、舞娘舞蹈和舞台艺术舞蹈的发展历程,是民族传统舞蹈文化遗产的世代传承、国家机构的大力支持和推动,以及现代舞蹈家对文化遗产的继承与发展等三方面条件共同作用的结果。本文通过回顾卡塔克成为印度古典舞典范的历程,总结其文化遗产保护与发展的有效途径,旨在为中国古典舞建设提供经验和启示。

Kathak is a major form of classical dance in India. Its evolution from a religious ceremony, a court entertainment, and a nautch dance to a stage art is an evidence of how a traditional dance can evolve into a cultural heritage. It also shows the importance of national institutional support as well as conservative and innovative efforts of modern dancers in this process. Through a review of the history of Kathak and its mainstreaming in Indian classical dance, this paper sums up the successful experience in conserving and developing this cultural heritage, and hence draws clues for the development of Chinese classical dance.The origin of Kathak is traditionally attributed to the traveling bards of ancient northern India known as Kathakars or storytellers who told the story of gods and goddesses through dance, dramas, and music. Its religious tradition offers the theme and main form of Kathak. During the Muslim reign(the Mughal era), Kathak was accepted by the court and nobles and became a form of aristocratic entertainment. Its status as a court dance offered a great opportunity for Kathak to develop superb skills and proved critical for Kathak to become a major classical dance of India. With the spread of colonial British rule in the 19 th-century India, Kathak’s fate changed again. During the British Raj era, due to the disintegration of the feudal dynasty, Kathak continued as a nautch dance. Although this short history as a nautch dance gave a derogatory notion to Kathak, it helped this form of classical dance survive, preserving a precious legacy for the revival of Kathak in modern India.In the 20 th century, Madam Menaka Leila Sokhey was one of the key enablers for the Kathak revival. She managed to delink nautch from eroticism and sexuality, making the dance a cultural hit in India and the rest of the world. Leila Sokhey reshaped nautch by virtue of her accomplishments in both Kathak and modern dance. She created a series of dance dramas using the choreography techniques of Western ballet and Kathak’s body language. Her transformation of Kathak did not only make the dance appeal to the newly emerging middle class, but also lift the dance from a means of livelihood to a stage art. Her new Kathak repertoire represented themes and stories of Sanskrit dramas, which set the tune for Indian dance discussion and creation. This model of choreography has become the standard of the Delhi School of Hindustani Music. After independence, India’s central government became the official patron of culture. The Indian government has played a pivotal role in conserving and promoting cultural heritage. Many central governmentfunded institutions, such as schools of music and performing arts, is committed to the conservation of traditional dances by organizing seminars, holding arts festivals and providing scholarship for dancers. The Indian Council for Cultural Relations(ICCR) has conducted international cultural exchanges via Kathak. The Delhi School of Hindustani Music has managed to standardize the style and movements of Kathak. The Indian government’s efforts to standardize Kathak have given Kathak a predominant position in Indian classical dance, which enables the Kathak community to create an even brighter future for itself.Hence, it can be concluded that a form of classical dance that represents the national identity can revive on three basic conditions. First, there is a profound cultural heritage that has been passed down by dancers through the national history. Cultural heritage is the basis and precondition for the revival of a nation’s classical dance. Second, the cultural heritage enabling the revival of classical dance is identified and normalized under the auspices of government. Third, modern dancers make innovations to the tradition to cater to modern aesthetic tastes. In short, heritage continuity, norms, and progress are the key factors for revival of Indian classical dance, while dancers and the government have played constructive roles in making the three factors work. This offers a paradigm for reviving classical dance in the contemporary world, including Chinese classical dance.Since the 1950 s, Chinese dancers have done a very good job in artistic innovation on the basis of inheritance. Then, why hasn’t China produced something like Kathak? The first reason is that the legacies of Chinese classical dance are mostly static and fragmented and only exist in the form of archaeological relics or historical documents. Rarely any dynamic texts have been completely passed down. Moreover, reviving efforts have left out the mining and survey of the masterpieces of historical significance. The second reason is that, as a symbol of China’s national identity, Chinese classical dance has been put in the hands of dancers while cultural agencies of the government have not played their due role in reviving Chinese classical dance.In summary, the history and success of Kathak in India deserve our attention and offer very good clues for rebuilding Chinese classical dance.