The Season of Music ended on January 1, and then came the Season of Dance. The Man from Madras Musings, very much a music buff, usually gives the dance performances a wide berth but not so this year. His good lady, also known as She Who Must Be Obeyed, has a great fascination for matters terpsichorean and decreed that she would be in attendance, MMM in tow. And so MMM toed the line. And he enjoyed it all. Music and Dance in short were of the essence.
And as he tried to keep time and at the same time follow all the leaps, prances, pirouettes and glances, he also managed to take a good look at fellow members of the audience. And it gave him considerable food for thought. As MMM tagged behind his good lady, he could not help reflecting on how the audiences for music and dance seem to be from two entirely different worlds.
Music Audiences of the Olde World
To begin with, the music audience seems to be wholly comprising those east and south of Gemini circle. These people are essentially on the wrong side of fifty, with a brooding air of having heard better music in the past. They also have their mobility and bladder issues judging by the number of comfort breaks they take before, during and after performances. They are clueless about cell phone etiquette, mostly having them on volume. When the phone rings, they either get all flustered about silencing it or are quite blasé about answering it and speaking loudly even as the concert progresses.
They love the canteen, feasting on what is on offer, possessing no doubt digestions of cast iron. In attire they are traditional – the men bordering on the fastidiously neat to the shabby, and the women bringing in old world charm. MMM must also add here that this audience is the salt of the earth as far as the music world is concerned, for it is this group that keeps the art alive, such as it is.
Dance Audiences of a New World
Contrast this with the dance audience, which seems essentially from an alien world, by which MMM means to the west of Gemini and from those new localities that MMM has always meant to getting around to visiting one day. This group is largely of those on the right side of thirty and texting is their way of communicating. It would be infra dig to be seen making calls or receiving them. They live mainly on social media and as for the canteen, they would flock to it only if it had bubble tea, decaf or black coffee.
From Amma to Akka – the worlds of Music and Dance
The modes of address too vary in the worlds of music and dance. To the music world everyone is a saar or a madam or at worst a dei. But in the dance world everyone is an anna or an akka. MMM who is at the age where thatha would be the preferred mode of address, rather likes being called anna. And as for the speed at which the dance lovers move – deer could take their lessons from them. Music audiences saunter and after a heavy go at the canteen seem to slow down to a crawl.
And when they do, they, like king Claudius, demand light in darkened Sabha interiors. Their age calls for it. The dance audience makes do with their cell phone torch.
MMM hopes to expand on this topic after attending a few more years of dance. He takes leave of this season with the above thoughts.
This article appeared in Madras Musings issue dated January 16 to 31, 2025 and can be read here