On Jan 14, 2008 11:24 AM, shiv sastry <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Yes I think dance and music are both respected and there are professionals as > well as part timers and there are patrons/sponsors. Amateur dance and music > are widely prevalent and have a following that is getting bigger with more > local TV channels.
How much innovation is happening in dance and music? Is it like western classical music where there are rigorous requirements on how to do it "right" with years of practice required to get to the point where you are "expressing yourself" rather than "doing it wrong?" I've heard a lot of amateur performances of western classical pieces that were an exercise in being polite rather than enjoyable in their own right. On the other hand, there is also both dance and music that, while it respects classical tradition, is lively and innovative. I'm thinking of dancers like Mark Morris who have huge respect for classical music, and classical dance traditions but at the same time are both "modern" (in the sense of "modern dance") and are accessible to people not trained in classical dance (though there's a lot more depth to his work if you do understand the idioms of both modern and classical dance.) Are there Indian equivalents of composers like John Cage, Terry Riley or Steve Reich, who starting from a classical education have taken music in wholly new directions? (I'm a huge fan of Steve Reich for example.) I guess what I'm asking is who should I listen to or watch to see Indian music as a living medium? (I have a relatively large collection of western classical music, played on original instruments - and I love that music too, so I would also love advice on what I should listen to as "Indian Classical Music 101.") > Patronage for the arts in India never died out. The wealthy have always > patronized art and this is only increasing with corporate patronage. Then I'm confused, if patronage has never died out I don't understand your statements "There is no money in creativity in India. If creativity brings in the moolah, the artists will come in." What do you mean? You said something else that maybe I misunderstood "That Indian art died with the Islamic invasions , but was revived as Indo-Islamic art and architecture. All died with the British." If patronage never died out then what died with the British? I'm not trying to be confrontational - I don't understand what you meant. > I still think a lot of Indians have a Hindu core that will make them take up > open source after retirement when they consider, deep inside their hearts > that their children are settled and their life's work is done. Many of our > friends on Silk might fall into this category, but they are not old enough > yet. Oh I don't know. I think there may be a few of us old farts on the list. I feel like I've done everything I need to do, but I don't think I'll do much opensource work when I retire. More likely I'll do art. :) > Old codgers have a special role in all skilled systems, and Information > technology does not have enough old codgers yet. Interesting. I feel like I know a fair number of old codgers in computer science, enough that some of the ones I respect the most are dying out. Some people probably consider *me* an "old codger." Still I agree we could use more. -- Charles
