TED SHAWN- REPERTOIRE OF BACHWA JAN'S DANCE (KATHAK)

RTN 053: TED SHAWN- REPERTOIRE OF BACHWA JAN'S DANCE 

This account offers a rare and remarkably detailed description of a hereditary Kathak performance witnessed through the eyes of a colonial observer. Although the author lacks the technical vocabulary necessary to identify individual components of the repertoire, the narrative preserves a sequential record of movement, rhythm, and expression that closely aligns with established Kathak performance structures.

The description begins with a lengthy musical introduction performed by the accompanying ensemble of tabla, sarangi, and manjira. During this preparatory phase, the dancer, Bachwa Jan, remains almost completely still after fastening a substantial set of ghungroo around her ankles. The observer notes subtle movements of the fingers, slight pulsations throughout the body, and occasional shifts of the eyebrows before any visible dance begins. This moment corresponds closely to thaat, a foundational aspect of Kathak in which presence, poise, and controlled stillness establish aesthetic authority. Rather than movement itself, the emphasis lies on restraint, anticipation, and the cultivation of atmosphere.

The gradual introduction of footwork signals a transition into a more rhythmically active section. A slow tapping of the feet develops into an abrupt explosion of percussive movement accompanied by rapid turns and circular arm gestures. This progression resembles the movement from uthaan into aamad, where rhythmic patterns emerge from stillness and announce the dancer's entry into the formal structure of the performance. The observer's emphasis on sudden acceleration and intricate footwork reflects the centrality of tatkar and rhythmic virtuosity within Kathak practice.

Particularly striking is the account of spinning movements and changes of direction, which correspond closely to chakkars, one of Kathak's most recognizable technical features. Equally significant is the description of the dancer moving across the entire room without producing a single audible sound from the heavy ghungroo tied to her ankles. This moment suggests an advanced execution of gat nikas, where controlled locomotion, characterisation, and refined bodily control become more important than overt rhythmic display. The silence of the bells is not an absence of technique but evidence of exceptional command over weight, balance, and movement.

The final phase of the performance shifts attention toward facial expression and subtle bodily articulation. As the dancer lowers herself gradually to a kneeling position, the observer becomes increasingly attentive to the movements of the head, eyes, and eyebrows, noting the synchronization of these gestures with the accompanying music. This section aligns with abhinaya, the expressive dimension of Kathak in which emotion, narrative suggestion, and aesthetic nuance are communicated through highly controlled facial and bodily gestures. What the observer perceives as unusual or exotic is, in fact, evidence of a sophisticated performative language grounded in codified traditions of expression.

Taken as a whole, the account reveals a performance that is far from improvisational or unstructured. Instead, it documents a carefully organized repertoire moving through recognizable stages of presentation, rhythmic development, locomotion, and expressive interpretation. The observer's inability to identify these components by name is itself revealing. While colonial spectators often framed hereditary performers as objects of spectacle or curiosity, their descriptions occasionally preserve valuable evidence of the technical and aesthetic sophistication of the traditions they witnessed.

Within the context of this archive, the passage is significant not only because it documents a hereditary performer's repertoire, but because it illustrates the tension between observation and understanding. It demonstrates how colonial writings could simultaneously obscure and preserve performance knowledge. Although filtered through an external interpretive lens, the account offers rare insight into the structure, discipline, and embodied expertise that characterized Kathak performance in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.