The Soorya Foundation’s motto is: “Preserve, Protect, Propagate Indian Performing Arts.” And they are. Through the teachings of music, singing, and dancing the Indian Classical Arts are alive and well, especially in the next generations up and coming in the Southland. The founder/secretary of the Soorya Foundation is Guru Sushma Mohan. She is also the artistic director of the Soorya Arts Academy and served as the curator for the Dance Festival.
This was not an international dance festival as I had at first believed. It was a school recital with an invited guest. This in itself was not a bad thing, but one wishes to know what one is in for when asked to attend an event as a critic. The show began with “an inauguration” consisting of a welcome and then the obligatory admonition to put cell phones away and turn off pagers, etc. Then Sushma Mohan received an award from Congressman Brad Sherman. I have no doubt that the award was well-earned and deserved. However, I was taking in the show and noticing certain aspects which made viewing difficult. The Taxco Theatre stage is one room with folding chairs set up in aisles. This is fine for up close viewing, especially if no one goes to the floor. There was a video camera and cameraman set up in the second row center, obscuring the view of centerstage for anyone unlucky enough to be seated behind him as I was. The video crews are usually set up in the back of the house on a platform to see over the audience and therefore not a problem for the public viewing.
Sushma Mohan – Photo courtesy of the artist.
There were many families and children running in and out of the theater on various errands during the entirety of the show. I would expect this in a more relaxed atmosphere such as an openair venue or park, or even a theater had it been called a recital. The program was two groups of very young children singers, then Soorya Arts Academy (young children dancers), a slightly older female soloist, then Ramya Ranganathan, the invited guest (an accomplished dancer who was quite good) then the Kathak Kala Academy (more child dancers) – It was at this point that most of the fathers in the audience stood up at their seats to video their daughters in the dance. This in spite of the announcement to “put away all cell phones”. They all held their phones aloft and totally obscured my view of the stage and dancers. I asked a man to move so that I could see and another quickly took his place. It was at this point that my presence as critic became moot and so I left.
I suggest for the future that Sushma Mohan become acquainted with a more professional attitude towards producing her shows and I personally would look forward to seeing one of them in its entirety if she could control the audience to the degree where the stage and dancers or whatever is happening onstage is actually visible and thereby worthy of positive feedback.
For more information about the Soorya Foundation, please visit their website.
Featured image: Sushma Mohan – Photo courtesy of the artist.
