The family that helped shape Indian performing arts in Singapore | Timeless - video Dailymotion

AsiaOne

Established in 1952, Bhaskar's Arts Academy has overcome challenges and gained recognition as the forefront of Indian performing arts in Singapore through the decades. Artistic Director Meenakshy Bhaskar gives insight on what it’s like to continue her parents’ legacy in keeping the art alive.   Watch more: https://www.asiaone.com/video

Transcript

00:00I haven't had a practice in the last three years.

00:03For me, the practice is something that's a spiritual connection to the greater world, to the universe.

00:09So it's a very spiritual thing for me.

00:11But I haven't had the opportunity to engage in the art forms or to learn

00:15because I don't have the time to practice.

00:24Hi, I'm Meenakshi Bhaskar, Artistic Director of Bhaskar's Arts Academy.

00:29I am the daughter of Dan's Doyens, Mr. K.P. Bhaskar and Shanta Bhaskar, who started Bhaskar's Arts Academy.

00:37When it first started out in the 1950s, they ran it as a school,

00:41travelling until the mid-60s, practising their art and spreading the art from all over Singapore and Malaysia.

00:47And then when Singapore and Malaysia split up, then we had the problem of going across the causeway.

00:52It made it a little bit more complex, but they continued their classes in JB Kluang and Penang.

00:59Eventually, more teachers began to sprout up there.

01:03People began to migrate and sprout up.

01:04They also pulled back and reduced their classes.

01:07And I think by the 1980s, they stopped going to Malaysia.

01:10They established the school, and they used to perform in the 1960s for Anika Ragam performances,

01:19for political rallies when we were getting separation from the British,

01:24and then again political rallies when we became an independent country,

01:28and really enjoyed that, and from that sprouted a lot of their work.

01:32But the school was established, and they continued to run the school as well.

01:36We used to have a lot of performances in the early days at embassies and at the Istana a lot,

01:43as guests of the Prime Minister and also the President.

01:46Whenever there were foreign dignitaries, we were invited to perform there in the 50s through to mid-80s.

01:53The school then evolved in the 1980s.

01:58We had an organisational shift.

01:59The government, Ministry of Culture, was offering spaces to arts organisations,

02:05and so we had to reorganise ourselves to be able to qualify for one.

02:09Up to then, they were teaching at our home, at a community centre in Katong,

02:15and at the ECA Centre on Northumberland Road.

02:19So they would have these three centres in Singapore, and they would travel to JB.

02:22So to centralise all their classes, they wanted a space,

02:25and when the government was supporting arts groups,

02:28they applied for a space, and it became Nurtia Laya Aesthetic Society.

02:33So that ran for many years, and then we moved from Teluk Kurao to another place,

02:38and then we were the first tenants at Stamford Arts Centre, and it was really great.

02:42We started with one room just for dance class,

02:45and then we ended up taking on another room, and classes started doing well.

02:49We were also doing a lot of performances, even though we were teaching.

02:52That was a very creative time for my mother.

02:54We've been here for 10 years, and we're really grateful.

02:57So that's sort of the brief journey of our school.

03:02My parents were very much sold to the idea of one country, one nation,

03:12living harmoniously amongst each other.

03:15They really loved the multicultural aspect of Singapore.

03:18They invested a lot of time trying to learn Malay culture, Chinese culture,

03:22Malay dance, Malay music, Chinese dance, Chinese music,

03:25and really fostered friendships in the art circle with cross-cultural collaborations they did.

03:33My mum got a little bit involved in the creative aspect of it,

03:35but she just focused on the creative.

03:41Then when my father passed away, my brother stepped in and helped out

03:44as executive director, and he was doing a great job.

03:48He's the one who helped us find the space here at Bras Basar,

03:51and helped the school get further a bit more,

03:53and so that my mum could just focus a lot more on choreography.

03:56Then my brother retired, and my mum started having to wear both hats,

04:01and that was just before COVID.

04:03She told me, I need you to come back home, because I was living abroad.

04:06It was a huge struggle for me, because I started my own school,

04:10and been there for about almost 30 years.

04:12And when I said, sure, and we made a plan that 2020 would be the year

04:17that I would move part-time here and part-time in the US,

04:21and that's when COVID happened.

04:22And then 2022, she passed.

04:25There was no chance to do this gradual transition,

04:28so what happened was I had to end up wearing both hats

04:32of artistic director and executive director as well.

04:34My father had a belief that arts should be for everyone,

04:45and I think keeping it affordable was one of the things

04:48that he wanted to offer the community.

04:51So because of that, I think we have this struggle.

04:53Our teachers are very experienced and quite well-educated in the field.

04:58They've got a diploma, and they've worked maybe in the field

05:02for about 20-plus years, so they're teachers who've been teaching

05:05for at least 10 years.

05:07It's been challenging, but also very rewarding.

05:11So learning how to shift and navigate between these changes

05:17has been the challenge, but it's been very rewarding

05:20coming and working on trying to really create a system

05:23of saving their legacy, because 70 years' work is really quite amazing.

05:28Especially my mother, she was a prolific choreographer,

05:29and not only did she choreograph major dance dramas

05:33and major productions, she was also very actively creating

05:36small repertory pieces for solo performances.

05:41The school is run as a non-profit, so the struggle we have

05:45is with the lease.

05:47We do some in-house productions for the school.

05:50We gain some money from it, but it's still not a lot.

05:53We've always committed to being a low-fee school.

05:57With great difficulty, this year, in April, we raised our fees,

06:00but we've had that same fee for almost 10 to 15 years.

06:04The arts is kind of very limited, and dance is, you know, the bottom feeder,

06:23and Indian dance is literally the bottom feeder of the bottom feeders.

06:26So, you know, it makes it really difficult.

06:29I think it's more what people are willing to buy.

06:36They try to get free classes or the cheapest classes,

06:40or, you know, they'd rather not pay for dance.

06:43They'll pay for almost anything.

06:45They'll pay to go see a lip-sync concert of a pop star.

06:49We pay $150 to go see that.

06:51But when we have a performance of $30, we're unable to pull the crowd.

06:56Even though people who come and watch the show are thoroughly engaged,

07:00and NAC has a 90% satisfaction score,

07:03even though we meet that every time,

07:06we're unable to draw people in to buy the tickets for dance.

07:11The traditional arts tend to be the lowest rung,

07:14and then of the traditional arts, I think Indian arts is pretty low.

07:18Firstly, because we're the smallest community,

07:22and we are so diverse among Indians.

07:24Also, we have the different dance forms.

07:26So, already, you know, divided there.

07:29And then how many of the community would patronize that?

07:33So, it's a very small percentage.

07:34In that way, we're very small.

07:35But it's just a thing of the market.

07:37It's just how the market is.

07:40I do some dancing, but not enough for myself.

07:45I'm hoping to get back to it again someday.

07:48There's just a lot to deal with that I chose not to dance for the last few years.

07:53For me, the practice is something that's a spiritual connection

07:57to the greater world, to the universe.

08:00And if I'm not able to come to my teacher,

08:03and I do have a teacher in the various dance.

08:05My mom used to be my teacher in Bhattana Chim,

08:08but I haven't had the opportunity to engage in the art forms or to learn

08:13because I don't have the time to practice,

08:15and I don't want to disrespect my teacher by not showing up prepared.

08:20Creative process for me is also from a spiritual place.

08:24I find inspiration in many things.

08:27I find inspiration in personal connection, especially human connection.

08:31I like relationships.

08:33I like dissecting relationships and understanding relationships.

08:37I like understanding feelings and emotions

08:40and what are the motivations for people.

08:44I love delving in that.

08:46I like learning something new.

08:48I have to really understand what it is that I want to say in every way in my art.

08:55I have to connect with it in a very, very deep level.

09:00So if I'm given a piece of music to choreograph,

09:03I will probably put that song on repeat and listen to it all day long.

09:07Unlike school where you have your teacher only for one year,

09:11with traditional arts and with dance and music,

09:14your teacher tends to be in your life from the time you start the lesson

09:17until, you know, forever almost.

09:21It's very mixed emotions because I am left with the legacy

09:25and what to do next I feel trepidation about

09:29because I don't want to misstep.

09:31Some days I come into the office thinking I'm going to be doing X, Y, Z,

09:34but I end up doing A to Z.

09:37But it's still very rewarding for me.

09:39I go to bed with a full heart

09:41and with this feeling of responsibility as well.

09:45We are also interested in nurturing the next generation.

09:48It's very hard to reach out to the non-Indian community as adults

09:51unless they are really inspired by dance

09:54and really inspired by what they see in a performance.

09:57And when my mom passed away, we sat down and I said,

10:00do we want to continue?

10:01Is it worth continuing?

10:02And for all of us, it was a yes.

10:04So safeguarding what happened, the history,

10:06and trying to preserve it

10:09so that future generations can look back

10:11and feel some sense of pride

10:13for some Singaporean artists and Singaporean work.

10:16So trying to make sure all of that is preserved

10:19in a way that's meaningful for the future

10:21as something that happened in the history of Singapore.

10:24So that's one of the things that I feel is very important to us.

The family that helped shape Indian performing arts in Singapore | Timeless

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended