The “ultimate victor”

"The fact that the (Madras based Sri Krishna Gana) Sabha considered me for (the Yagnaraman Living Legend) Award is recognition for contemporary dance (as) they acknowledge my... dedicated work (and) my art form,” dancer and choreographer Astad Deboo wrote to Parsiana on his most recent accolade of July 1, 2018. "Getting the Award... was totally unexpected... for the (Sabha is) one of the most powerful and influential organizations that are the gatekeepers of Indian classical music and dance.” No other dancer in the field of contemporary dance has received this Award from the Sabha, stated Deboo.
The Award is named after the late R. Yagnaraman, erstwhile general secretary of the Sabha, who with veteran Bharatnatyam dancer Lakshmi Viswanathan had first invited Deboo to perform at the Natya Kala Conference in Madras in 1983-84, noted The Hindu (TH) of July 5, 2018.

Astad Deboo (center) felicitated by Leela Venkatraman as Dr Nalli Chettiar looks on Photo: Amit Kumar

"When I started my professional journey in India after having returned from my eight- year world study tour, I was shunned in all the cities... I was considered the enfant terrible by the Indian classical dance scene, especially in the South... my perseverance...started paying dividends,” he recalled. In the last few decades, he had "earned the respect of the very well known (dance) gurus as well as Indian classical musicians,” Deboo told Parsiana.
Having received the Award from dance critic and author Leela Venkataraman, the veteran was reflective in his acceptance speech, noted TH. "Being a professional classical dancer in India is hard...But being a contemporary dancer based upon one’s classical training is harder. Sometimes one is tempted to feel pessimistic about the future,” Deboo explained. Appealing for synergy between the contemporary and classical dance forms, he inquired: "Is it an impossibility to imagine a future in which the two kinds of dance, the traditional... and the contemporary... could sustain and nurture one another in creating (their) own expanding, developing universe?... for through this, the ultimate victor will be dance itself.”