New themes, old technique

EXPERIMENTS WITH BHARATA NATYAM. AN EXAMPLE.

The last decades have shown an increase in experiments with
the classical Indian dance form Bharata Natyam, both by Indian
and non-Indian dancers and choreographers. Recently Annemette
P. Karpen has choreographed the poem Erotocritos employing the
technique of Bharata Natyam. Dr Karpen is employed at Lund
University. Her main field of interest is Indian performing
arts, especially Indian dance and drama. Besides this, she
herself is considered one of the finest and most innovative of
the new generation of Bharata Natyam dancers performing in
Europe and the United States. 

By Netty Bonouvri‚

Nearly four centuries have passed since Vitsentzos Kornaros
composed his poetic romance Erotocritos, the best known and
most admired work of Cretan Renaissance literature. The poem
recounts a tale of innocent love between a princess and a
commoner, and the trials and tribulations they must undergo
before being happily joined in marriage. More than just a
charming and entertaining love story set in the age of
chivalry, it is the author's intention to convey social and
moral messages about the nobility of spirit and about
prejudice - subjects that are as apposite and meaningful to
modern audiences as they were in Kornaros' day.

EROTOCRITOS - THE POEM
The story takes place in Athens during some indefinite time in
antiquity. After many years of childlessness, King Heracles of
Athens and his queen, Arthemis, have a daughter, Aretousa. As
she grows up, Aretousa is often in the company of the young
Erotocritos, the son of the King's counsellor, Pezostratos.
Erotocritos falls in love with the princess and confides in
his friend Polydoros. He serenades Aretousa without revealing
his identity and, with Polydoros' help, fights 10 of the
king's men sent to capture him, killing two of them. Aretousa
begins to pine for the unknown singer, while Erotocritos, at
the instigation of Polydoros, journeys to Egripos to try to
forget his passion. During his absence Aretousa pays a visit
to Erotocritos' sick father; in the course of her visit she
finds conclusive evidence that Erotocritos is her secret
admirer. On his reurn Erotocritos finds that his love poems
and painting of Aretousa are missing from his room. Since only
she had entered, he knows that his secret is out. Fearful of
the consequences he stays away from the palace and puts it
about that he is ill. Aretousa sends him a gift of apples and,
with this encouragement, he then resumes his visits to the
palace. Far from being angry - as he had feared - Aretousa
appears to reciprocate his affection revealed in her covert
glances.
A tournament is organized by King Heracles with the aim of
providing entertainment for his daughter and, at the same
time, finding her a suitable husband. Princes and noblemen
come from many lands to take part, but it is Erotocritos who
is victorious and is crowned by Aretousa.
Their love now becomes more daring; they meet secretly at
night and talk through a barred window. At Aretousa's
instigation, Erotocritos asks his father to approach the King
and seek his daughter's hand in marriage. The King's reaction
is savage and arrogant:  marriage with a commoner is totally
unacceptable and Erotocritos is punished by being sent into
exile. After a passionate farewell, in which Erotocritos
receives a ring from Aretousa and they swear eternal love,
Erotocritos leaves Athens.
Suspecting Aretousa's complicity in the affair, King Heracles
determines to marry her to the prince of Byzantium. When she
refuses, he throws her and her nurse, Phrosyne, into a
dungeon. After three years in exile, Erotocritos learns that
war has broken out with Vlachia and that Athens is under
siege. Disguised as a black man, he makes several raids on the
enemy, inflicting heavy casualties. In one foray he saves King
Heracles' life, and is offered half his kingdom as a reward.
Later he successfully fights a duel with the Vlachian
champion, Aristos, and thus saves the kingdom of Athens from
its enemies.
Erotocritos is gravely wounded in the duel and lies at death's
door, but he slowly recovers his health. King Heracles shows
his gratitude by offering Erotocritos (who is still disguised)
all his realms, but the latter asks only for the King's
daughter's hand in marriage. At first, Aretousa does not
recognize him and rejects his advances, but finally, convinced
of her fidelity, he reveals himself to her and then to the
King. Heracles consents to the marriage and Erotocritos and
Aretousa reign happily for many years.

THE PERFORMANCE
The dance medium in which this adaptation has been
choreographed is the classical Indian dance form Bharata
Natyam, a solo dance style in which one performer portrays all
the characters. Traditional Bharata Natyam, performed in
colourful and elaborate costume, is characterized by a highly
developed vocabulary of hand gestures, facial expressions, and
body positions inspired by the temple scultures of Southern
India.
For the scenic realization Annemette Karpen has chosen to keep
as close as possible to Bharata Natyam. Erotocritos has been
created as a solo dance drama, utilizing the costume,
jewellery and make-up of a Bharata Natyam dancer. 
For the purposes of realizing Erotocritos as a dance drama,
the original verse structure of the poem has been adapted into
an English-language prose narrative accompanied by North
Indian classical flute. The text has been created with
non-native English speakers in mind and, together with the
illustrative dance, should be readily understandable. 

If you are interested in this performance, please contact
Annemette P. Karpen
Kastrupvej 98A
2300 Copenhagen S
Denmark

SOURCES:
A.P. Karpen. Brochure Erotocritos
A.P. Karpen. 'New Themes for Bharata Natyam, the Classical
Dance Drama of Tamil Nadu'. Paper read at the 13th European
Conference on Modern South Asia Studies, Toulouse (France),
August 30 - September 3 1994.