Columnist
The Music Academy Dance Festival Dominant impressions

I
asked a long-time member of
the Music Academy’s dance
selection committee why the
same artists were featured year
after year, with just a few new
additions? The reply was: “When
Sanjay Subrahmanyan is featured
in a concert one year, would you
say there is no need to feature him
the next year? Dancers who have
reached the top should be seen
every year. What is wrong?”
The answer has merit barring the
fact that unlike music, dance has
fewer programme slots; and going
by the Academy’s policy of oftpresented star artists taking up
a large part of the performance
space, the waiting game may
prove to be too long for some
highly talented dancers who could
then totally miss the bus. So also
as you wonder when several
dancers present the same set of
items they have presented before
(in a jaded manner), would the
member’s response be: “Would
you object if a musician who has
sung a raga beautifully repeats it
the next year?”