Designing for Movement: Sandhya Raman on the delicate art of dance costuming

Late Astad Deboo in one of Sandhya Raman`s costume for the dance recital `Unbroken Unbowed`. Photo Courtesy: Sandhya Raman

For Delhi-based Sandhya Raman, dance is not restricted to spaces and choreography. Instead, it flows into colours, silhouettes, fabric and textures. For more than three decades, the costume designer has enhanced the recitals of dancers from India and abroad with her costumes. Raman has worked with several prominent names such as Astad Deboo, Aditi Mangaldas, Geeta Chandran, Anita Ratnam, Mallika Sarabhai, Malvika Sarukkai, and Madhavi Mudgal, spanning dance forms such as mohiniattam, bharatanatyam, kuchipudi, odissi, kathak, flamenco, American ballet and kathakali, among others.

"Once a dancer gets into a costume, they shouldn't even realise that they are wearing the costume. A good costume never overpowers a dancer or the performance, it enhances the performance," says Raman. To share her knowledge about costume designing with upcoming designers as well as performers, she will be conducting a two-day workshop called ‘Reimagining Dance Costumes' in collaboration with the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA), Mumbai. Ahead of the event, she speaks to Mid-day.com about the changing mindset around costumes and the unique challenges of designing for dance.

Sandhya Raman

What is ‘Reimagining Dance Costumes' going to be about?

It is a two-day workshop. The first day will be a peek into the world of costuming -- how it impacts dance productions, how one works around thematic productions, what are the influences that contribute to the final design - these are some of the questions that will be discussed. Costume is a vital part of performing arts. It reflects culture while communicating the theme powerfully. The second day will be a design clinic where we focus on the costumes of the participants. Problems faced by dancers will be addressed and new ideas and inputs about costumes will be shared. We will discuss what the performers already have and what could be done to make it work better. One needs to understand the way a costume works. Colour combination, styling as well as choice of fabric can make or break one's production. These themes will be presented in an interactive manner, which will make the conversation enriching for all.

What role do costumes play in a dance performance?

If you are performing in your room or rehearsal space, you can wear whatever you want, but the moment you are on stage, you have to hold the attention of the audience and you have to communicate through your performance. Everybody in the audience is not a dancer. So, they do not understand the nuances of your abinaya or the mudras you are performing. They come in to watch a performance that may be pleasing, attractive and emotive. The most important part of it is the visual experience they get. Music and stage design add to this visual experience as well.

You need to have the skill to be a great dancer to hold the attention of your audience, but how you communicate in that given time frame that you spend on stage is also important. I always say that before the actual dancer performs on stage, the costume has started its performance the moment the dancer steps on the stage. The performer has already made an impression, the moment they walked out. So, in that moment the costume must have a ‘wow' factor. A costume takes you through the highs and lows of the performance. When the audience leaves the venue, they mostly won't remember the number of chakkars the dancer took, but they will remember if the overall visual experience was beautiful or not.

Has the mindset about dance costumes changed since you started out?

Of course, it has. I started out in 1991 designing costumes for Jonathan Hollander at Battery Dance Company, New York. In my journey, I feel I have brought in acceptability of traditional as well as modern fabrics and silhouettes which were completely new in traditional dance costuming. Now, people take costumes seriously. I wish and hope that they will also take the textile aspect seriously and not compromise on the fabric, so far that has been a problem for performers due to paucity of funds. So, usually, dancers end up not prioritising the costume.

Who are your inspirations?

My all-time favourite is Issey Miyake. Right from my days at NID [National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad], and even now, I have loved his work. He works with texture, which I admire.

When you started out designing costumes for dancers, it was a very niche area. Has it changed now?

There are a few designers who have been designing for performers in India but largely costumes inspired by photos from various sources are being replicated locally. However, design workshops are now being conducted in design colleges to create awareness about this space. I'm sure, in the future, people will opt for costume designing. But it is a tough area. You need to understand dance as well. There is a difference between a fashion designer and a costume designer. For costume designing, you need to combine movement, dance and design. That is when you fit into a costume designer's role. There are no re-takes in a dance performance - you get on stage and perform. So, there can't be any malfunction. In my opinion, the costume should be like a second skin.

How important is the input of the dancer in terms of the costume?

Right from the beginning, all the costumes I do start from my sketchbook, with suggestions and feedback from the performer. A dance production is successful only when the costume designer is involved right from the beginning of a dancer's creative process. It is a partnership.

I have had a wonderful experience with every single dancer I have worked with. For me, every time someone gives me a concept, I start afresh, unraveling the basics first. While researching simultaneously, I go for rehearsals, understand the voice of the performance, read up and see how I can bring in a new look to support the creative pursuit of the artist.

‘Reimagining Dance Costumes' will be held on June 18 and 25, 6 pm to 7 pm, virtually. For registration details and other information, visit www.ncpamumbai.com

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