BackBharatnatyam at Salzburg
Dancer Alarmel Valli on her new work, premiering at the 95th edition of the annual Austrian festival
PremiumOTHERS :
The Alps that flank the Austrian city of Salzburg will soon be alive, yet again, with the sound of music. Salzburg, birthplace of the prodigious musician Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, where the film Sound Of Music was shot, will be hosting the 95th edition of its famous annual drama and music festival, from Saturday.
Since 2012, the festival has begun with an Ouverture spirituelle, a five-day opening session for the 44-day-long festival in which the sacred music of composers like Bach, Mozart and Beethoven meets the music of other religions. Each year, the festival focuses on one religion; past iterations have focused on Buddhism, Judaism and Islam. This year, the focus is on Hinduism.
There will be several performances, such as a Koodiyattam performance by Margi Madhu Chakyar, who runs the Nepathya Centre for Excellence in Koodiyattam in Kerala. Uday Bhawalkar and Prassanna Vishwanathan will perform a recital in dhrupad raga which was originally sung at temples as a form of prayer. The Injikudi brothers, E.M. Subramanian and E.M. Mariyappan, will perform a mallari on the nadaswaram, played when the presiding deity of a temple reaches its entrance. Chennai-based Bharatanatyam exponent Alarmel Valli will perform with her troupe, and take part in a symposium on dance.
“Salzburg holds for Western music connoisseurs what Thiruvaiyaru holds for us," says Valli, a recipient of the Padma Shri, Sangeet Natak Akademi Award and Padma Bhushan, and a leading exponent of the Pandanallur school of dance, known for the richness of its vocabulary, purity of lines, and focus on suggestive lyricism.
The 58-year-old will be accompanied by singer Nisha Rajagopal and Carnatic violinist Hemalatha Rangarajan. Edited excerpts from an interview:
Your performance at the Ouverture spirituelle is rooted in classical dance. Tell us a bit about this.
For me, music and dance are inseparably linked. Dance is the most beautiful manifestation of the rhythms of the universe. When I studied music under T. Muktha of the legendary Veena Dhanammal Bani, or style, it helped shape my approach to dance as visual music—where, ideally speaking, you can see the dance and hear the music. So, when I dance at Salzburg, you could say, I will also be singing with my body.
You will also speak at a symposium on Hinduism at the festival. What will the discussion
be about?
There are distinguished scholars talking at this symposium, including Prof. Bettina Bäumer of the University of Vienna, a Sanskrit scholar and Indologist. My presentation is called The Moving Temple: Dance And The Divine. This notion of the body as a temple finds expression not only in Bhakti poetry, the Tantras and ancient Sanskrit texts, but also in Christianity. When I dance, I feel I am at once a poet, a painter and a singer. But ultimately, for me, it is a prayer with my entire being—not a formal, austere ritual, but a transforming experience, a joyous celebration of life, and the divine. In dance, all that is best in me is crystallized.
Tell us about the world you studied your art in. How did it influence you?
My mother was a student of literature and she introduced me to the magical world of books. I grew up in a rambling, colonial house set in sprawling grounds and would often sit for hours, reading under a tamarind or mango tree. You could relive Kipling there. Back then, my pocket money was ₹ 10 a month. A paperback cost just ₹ 2 and I would buy five of them.
Mine was a happy, mellow childhood, full of colour, music, dance and books. I spent long holidays in Kodaikanal, walking around the lake and listening to stories. The Kodai Club library was a treasure trove—I discovered some gems there, Gerald Durrell, Baroness Orczy, Rafael Sabatini. We visited Harikathas, dance performances, music concerts—as a child, you would tag along everywhere your parents went. There was so much enrichment and transmission of knowledge taking place, you only had to be open to receive and absorb.
You have performed all over the world starting from the age of 16. Tell us about your first performance at the Theatre de la Ville in Paris in 1973?
It was the first Indian festival at the famous Théâtre de la Ville in Paris. What a gathering of stars it was—Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, Pt Birju Maharaj, Pt Shivkumar Sharma, Aloka Panikkar, the Dhananjayans. At 16, I was the baby of the group, and, as I was told by the then director, Jean Mercure, the youngest dancer to perform at this historic theatre. I ended up missing my exams and losing a year of college, but it proved to be a crucial turning point in my life.
It was my first exposure to the world of international professional theatre and I found it fascinating. We were all visiting the West for the first time and it was a novel, sometimes bewildering experience—weathering freezing temperatures in skimpy cottons and chiffons, descending escalators, going without Indian food. Europe didn’t have this vast NRI (non-resident Indian) circuit back then; many people had probably not even seen sari-clad women before. But the theatre was packed to capacity on all 10 days; people came because they were genuinely interested. It was a life-changing experience.
The festival will be held from 18 July-30 August at multiple venues across Salzburg.
Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed – it's all here, just a click away! Login Now!
