Interview with Amanda Geroy, Times of India

(Times of India, January, 2011)

Q: Can you give your brief bio-data including qualifications and details of your Guru?

A: I have an undergraduate degree in Theater from Northwestern University in Chicago, USA. I began learning Odissi in 2000 with Guru Jyoti Rout in San Francisco. I am now continuing my study of Odissi in Bhubaneswar, Orissa at Srjan under the guidance of Smt. Sujata Mohapatra with whom I have been learning since 2006.

Q: How do you know about Odissi and what inspired you to learn the classical dance?

A: I am originally from New Mexico, and that is where I first heard about the Odissi dancer Jyoti Rout who had been invited to perform there by some members of the Neem Karoli Baba Ashram in Taos. My mother is herself a devotee of Neem Karoli Baba and I had been exposed to Indian philosophy and culture since my childhood. After completing my degree in theater, I was interested in learning Indian classical dance because I felt a natural affinity with the movements and was also eager to express my devotion by means of a performing art. Because Taos was a small town with no scope to learn Indian dance, I went to San Francisco. It was there that I came in contact with Guru Jyoti Rout and began studying with her. After seven years under her guidance, I wanted to take the next step forward by continuing my training in Orissa. When I attended a workshop with Smt. Sujata Mohapatra in San Francisco I knew that I could learn a lot from her. I have been lucky enough to be able to stay in Orissa since then and train directly under her guidance.

Q: Do you think learning in the east and performing in the western countries will help in abridging the cultural diversity between nations?

A: I certainly feel that all nations and people can learn a lot from one another. I appreciate the depth in Indian philosophy and in the Indian classical performing arts. These ideas and forms have been refined over many centuries. I hope that by performing and teaching Odissi in the west I will expose audience members and students to some of the ideas inherent in Indian philosophy. Dance and theater are a wonderful means for spreading ideas through stories which everyone can relate to. When the dancer has perfected the dance technique and achieved clarity of expression, everyone can appreciate the beauty and the universal meaning in the dance.

Q: As far as your international and national performances are concerned, how do you get exposed to other classical dances and learn from them?

A: I always learn a lot when I see other classical dance styles performed. I love to watch other artists. I am very lucky that I have had the opportunity to see some of the great Indian classical musicians and dancers of today onstage. I thank my teacher for providing me opportunities to watch and learn a lot.

Q: Odissi mostly goes to the mythological aspects wherein feelings, emotions, different body postures, etc. make huge sense along with local language narration for audiences’ better understanding. How do you make a balance of all these?

A: My teacher always says that dance is a language of the body. When I was studying theater, we learned many techniques for expressing different characters. Whereas in drama, we have the ability to express character and emotion through our voice, in dance we have only our body language, language of gestures and facial expressions. The lyrics of the song and familiar content of the mythological stories help the audience to understand when the audience knows the language. This of course does not help those who do not understand Sanskrit or Oriya or who are not familiar with Indian mythology. That is why there is an added challenge for dancers and audience members who are not born and brought up in Orissa. As dancers it is our responsibility to be very familiar with the meaning of the lyrics, with the mythological context of the story and with the body language and emotions of the characters. We also need enough command over the dance technique to express what we want to with clarity. The more clearly the dancer can visualize and depict the scenario, the more strongly the audience will experience the rasa in the dance.

Q: Staying away from home and learning the classical dance under the direct tutelage of your Guru(s), do you face obstacles in your way? If so, how do you handle such situations?

A: In one sense I am lucky to be learning dance away from home. I know that I have come here only for dance and I can focus on that completely. Of course, if I didn't have the total support of my family members back home, it would not be possible for me. I am always grateful to my parents, without whom I could not have pursued Odissi. When I face challenges, I always remember the great difficulties and challenges faced by my Guru and my Guru's Guru. When they have gone through so much hardship to promote Odissi and to perfect the dance form in the face of many obstacles, how can I complain? How small my challenges become!

Q: While performing on the stage where the classical dance was born, how do you feel?

A: I feel grateful to have the opportunity to dance here, and I feel very small before many incredibly talented artists. And I feel happy when people appreciate my dance. It gives me encouragement to continue to practice.

Q: Odissi dance has many legendary Gurus. Who amongst them you admire the most? If so, why?

A: I definitely admire Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra the most. I never had a chance to meet him, study under him or see him perform, but I have so much respect for his work. He was really a brilliant artist and he definitely lives on in his students.

Q: If one Odissi Guru you would prefer to become his/her disciple but could not, what void will such a missing opportunity will create in your mind?

A: I often regret that I could never see Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra live on stage. That is something that would have been a priceless experience in my life. That is my biggest regret in Odissi.

Q: How do your government promote cross border cultural programs? Is there any financial assistance given to you?

A: There is not very much government support for cross-cultural programs and there are many many artists and art forms from all parts of the world in the USA, so there is not enough support for everyone. I am not receiving any financial assistance from my government.

Q: What would you do to promote Odissi in your country and other countries?

A: I think that it is important to find creative ways to help people understand the aesthetics and the content of Odissi performances. Through lecture-demonstrations, question and answer sessions, workshops, meet the artist events, performances, etc. people learn about Odissi. In the USA Indian classical dance is mostly confined to the Indian community, but I hope to see appreciation for it spread across to other communities of art lovers.

Q: Any research or new addition like in choreography, you have planned in your performance?

A: Now I am focused on perfecting my technique and learning the repertoire of Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra. I think that there are a lot of riches in Indian philosophy and mythology that can provide ample material for new creative work in the future.

Q: Your message to the audience and new entrants?

A: I would hope that audience members and dancers learn as much as possible about the art form and try to understand it fully in the context of its history, the philosophical and mythological content of the dance and the aesthetic theory behind it. The more one tries to reach the depth of understanding, the more one can appreciate the art form and the more it will continue to grow from a strong base.