The Journey of
Classical Dance in Pakistan through
troubled times
1948
Madame Azurie, a classical dancer from India, moved from Bombay to Rawalpindi and set up a dance academy there.
1950
Madam Azurie moved to Karachi and paired up with Rafi Anwar. They choreographed and presented many shows as duets for multiple years.
Classical dancers Bulbul Chowdry and Afroza Bulbul set up a dance academy by the name of Bulbul academy in Karachi
Mr. and Mrs. Ghanyshyam opened the first of its kind classical dance school 'Rhythmic Art Center' in Bahadurabad, Karachi in 1956.
Indu Mitha & Sheema Kermani learned classical dance from Guru Jayakar Ghanyshyam in Pakistan.
1963
"When my father was posted to Karachi, my mother searched for a dance school and found Rhythmic Art Center. After school hours, I used to go there and learn classical dance"--Sheema Kermani
1960
"I learnt Dance and Music from Guru Jayakar Ghanyshyam when my husband was posted in Karachi."--Indu Mitha
1966
The PIA Arts Academy came into being under the patronage of Pakistan International Airlines, with Mehr Nigar Masroor as its director and choreographer.
Tehrik-e-Niswan held the first All Women's Mushairah & Women's Meena Bazar.
1970
Tehrik-e-Niswan came into being after Sheema Kermani realized that women needed a separate platform to express themselves and use performing arts to convey their message of empowerment.
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto laid the foundation of the first cultural institute of Pakistan, Lok Virsa
1970
Faiz Ahmed Faiz was appointed by the then PM Zulfikar Ali Bhutto to write the first cultural policy of Pakistan.
1977
With the creation of Bangladesh in 1971, the atmosphere in the country changed. Z.A. Bhutto introduced the ban on alcohol and brought in other anti-democratic legislation in order to form the pan-Islamic brotherhood and link Pakistan politically to the Middle-East.
1972
Most of the Bengali artists moved away to Bangladesh; and closed down their dance academies in Pakistan. Bulbul academy was one of them.
1948
Establishment of Pakistan persistently claimed that dance was not a part of Pakistani culture. Hence, Azurie's academy closed down due to lack of state's support & financial funds.
1952
"Mr. Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy, the then Prime Minister of Pakistan, suggested to me to start a Dance Center in Karachi. He was a great patron of the Arts and he felt that there was a need of more artists, dancers and art institutes in Pakistan."--Mr. Ghanyshyam.
Sheema Kirmani with Guru Ghanshyam jee
Sheema Kirmani performing at International women's day
General Zia-ul-Haq Imposed martial law-an era of extreme cultural and political suppression
1977
General Zia banned the Arts council, the national performing arts group and all the other dance companies and labeled all such institutions and activities as un-Islamic
Indu Mitha used to dance under candle lights so that no one could see her performing.
1978
Payal, the only program that aired dance performances on PTV, got banned
1979
Dancers countered this resistance by disguising their centers as movement classes instead of dance.
1979-89
Modern Minded Ladies, a group formed by the ladies of upper middle class, in collaboration with Lahore Grammar School made dance classes compulsory and appointed Indu Mitha to teach classical dance.
General Zia-ul-Haq prohibited devotional dancing at Urs and Shrines.
Indu Mitha clicked during one of her dance lessons
General Zia-ul-Haq's government ended funding for all kinds of cultural activities.
“No text in the Quran explicitly condemns or endorses dancing, but Islamic religious authorities have always been against it. I have never understood how dance and music can be defined through religious categorizations - what is Hindu dance and what is Islamic dance?"--Sheema Kermani
1980
"Now it was a very tough task to get any kind of funding for cultural activities. For dance one had to literally knock on every door and often return empty handed."--Sheema Kermani
"I would hear shouts and abuses outside my house. People would scream at me saying "Aye Hindu ka bacha yeh naach gana band kar." I would not know what to do!"--Mr. Ghanyshyam
"All media platforms had to work according to the Islamic values and ideology of Pakistan to educate the coming generations"--General Zia-ul-Haq
PNCA (Pakistan National Council of the Arts) organized a seminar on cultural and national identity, invited academics from all over the country, and they all argued that Islam was both their cultural and national identity.
Indu Mitha put all her efforts to modify mythological content of the dances to transform them into stories about ordinary human beings so that they did not clash with the religious beliefs of audiences or even students.
Mr. & Mrs. Ghanyshyam's dance school closed down.
1983
"I started getting threatening letters. Then my house, also my teaching center, was attacked with stones. I reported to the police and requested them for help but they did not."--Mr. Ghanyshyam.
NOC was introduced for performance of any cultural activity.
1983
"Dancing, obscenity and nudity not allowed", clause no. 7 of the N.O.C. (No Objection Certificate)
Further conditions for a performance license were laid down:
- Exhibition of any part of body such as legs, arms, hips etc. not allowed.
- Dresses not so tight that reveal the vital curves of the body.
- Islamic values are not violated.
Mr. & Mrs. Ghanyshyam left Pakistan and settled in the U.S in 1983.
"Process of obtaining NOC involves a long, tortuous, and humiliating process of standing in queues in government offices for police clearances, excise stamps, papers and censorship of the most ludicrous variety."--Sheema Kermani
Mass exodus of talent from the country
1983
“I felt that if I also left the country, then dance will die so I took it on myself to continue it and not let it die.”--Sheema Kermani
Dance was used as a medium to express resistance towards dictatorship in 1980s.
1983
Sheema Kermani had her first solo performance at her friend's place where only 15-20 people were invited. However, approximately 300 people showed up.
Indu Mitha's daughters contributed in promotion of classical dance.
1986
Indu Mitha's daughter Tehreema Mitha introduced a diploma in dance. She taught classical dance to teenagers and adults at her home and later opened a dance company in 2001.
1999-2014
Indu Mitha's second daughter Yameema Mitha opened her own primary school "Mazmoon-e-Shauq" that taught music and classical dance in the evening.
"There is no politics without art."-- Sheema Kermani
Reasons why Classical Dance is still unacceptable in Pakistani society according to Sheema Kermani:
-
Absence of state patronage
-
Patriarchal & Gender Biased society
-
Culturally conservative society with no tradition of free expression
-
Poor class tied to everyday problems of survival
2015
Recently I overheard a lady admonishing another lady at a party about me saying, “Don’t sit next to her, she is a dancer”.--Sheema Kermani
2016
"Often I have received death threats from fundamentalist groups -- a hotel where I was performing was sent bomb threats so on and so forth.”.--Sheema Kermani
Social & Political Issues are now being addressed through classical Dance.
2010
Sheema Kermani performed on " INTESAAB " a poem that Faiz dedicated to the low income workers of Pakistan.
2017
Sheema Kermani defied the act of terrorism and showed solidarity with the victims and people of Sehwan by dancing at the shrine.
2018
Pakistani media lacks an educative aspect. Not even a single channel telecasts any classical dance program or does a discussion on the performing arts.
2018
"Majority of new Generation is itself so absorbed in the modern lifestyle that they cannot submit themselves to the hard disciplines of classical dancing."- Indu Mitha
Fayaz Khan and Nazish Raja talks about what dance means to them.
Sheema Kirmani performing dhamal at Laal Shabaz Qalandar's Shrine
Note: All the information written above is provided by Indu Mitha & Sheema Kermani.