LAKME - Temple Dancers (Devadasis)

From the Bel Canto Opera production of Lakme, a clip of the last couple of the dances performed as part of the celebration of the Durga Puja festival in West Bengal, during the time of the British Raj.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Bel
• Canto
• Opera
• Lakme
• Delibes
• temple
• dancers
• dedadasis

[TRUTHEXPANDING]

You see that's were modernism/eurocentricity/progr­ess? goes awry. We love these things due to the pure authentic original images and feelings they evoke. To obscenly dilute the unique ancientness of things that we oh so love, is to far from pay homage to it. To me, and just me, there is nothing remotely charming or atmospheric about this piece. It's disappointing to go looking for Devadasi and come upon this waste of time. Just my opinion.

[hughdrover]

Just your opinion indeed.

[TRUTHEXPANDING]

Well , I geuss I was expecting something exciting and interesting and india related.. Devadasis is an India thing I thought. My mistake. I'm North American.

[hughdrover]

Devadasi vary in different parts of India, from holy ladies to prostitutes, but most commonly, temple dancers, as here. French audiences demanded dancing in their operas and Delibes was a great composer of ballet music, so it was natural that Lakme would contain Indian style festival dancers, and for this he wrote a number of dance pieces - this being just one of them. Whether interesting or exciting or not is open to opinion, but many find them most charming and atmospheric.

[TRUTHEXPANDING]

How ridiculously boring is this?  Music is heavily euro. Isn't this supposed to be Indian? LOL

[hughdrover]

I gather you are from the Indian sub-continent. so perhaps do not realise that LAKME is a 19th century French grand opera. It is set in India, but like Bizet's Pearl Fishers set in Ceylon,now Sri Lanka, it was written over 100 years ago for European audiences. Were you expecting Ravi Shankar?

[girardje70]

beautiful music .

[Divinedancedivas]

Well the music is amazing.