South Asian Dance - The Dance Current

> Once obscure and exoticized, South Asian dance now appears in venues across North America and Europe. Less apparent is the range of artistic initiatives that appear under the banner of South Asian dance. Also less evident are the contrasting dance milieus that have sprung up in global cities.
> The category of South Asian dance is a broad one. It is a term that only takes on meaning in diaspora, as dance forms are known within the Indian subcontinent by genre names.
> These include the major classical Indian forms, such as bharatanatyam, kathak, kathakali, kuchipudi, manipuri, mohini attam, odissi and sattriya.
> The category of the classical is expanding, as regional dance forms undergo a process of reform and revival.
> Many of these forms, especially the solo, primarily female forms such as bharatanatyam, mohini attam and odissi, originated on society’s margins and were later embraced by the upper castes and middle classes under the auspices of nationalism and social reform.
> For instance, the solo southern Indian practice of bharatanatyam developed in temple, court, salon and festival performances of courtesans and ritual practitioners known as devadasis and emphasized sringara-bhakti, or devotion through eroticism.
> The north Indian tradition of kathak represented a syncretic blend of Hindu and Muslim traditions. Odissi, emerging from northeastern India, was associated with maharis (devadasis) and boy actor-gymnasts known as gotipuas until it underwent a reform in the 1960s and was transferred to middle-class women.
> These transformations of Indian dance forms have relied upon distinctions between traditional, classical, innovative and experimental choreography.
> “Tradition” implies an unbroken, handed-down legacy while “classical” denotes adherence to a set of principles. Tradition tends toward continuity and preservation.
> Classicism, by contrast, accesses the tenets of past practice, instead of replicating its form.
> “Innovative” work provides a fresh contribution to an already existing form.
> “Experimentation” connotes a refiguring of the components of a dance language. Where classicism extracts and upholds the principles of past practice, experimentation questions or deconstructs those principles.~

In March 2011, Janet O’Shea contributed “South Asian Dance: From the Margins to Many Centres,” a feature article that considered the cultural and historical factors that have influenced the traditions and innovations of South Asian dance practice in a number of cities. We excerpt sections of her essay with images of South Asian dance as practised in Canada today.

Tagged: Contemporary, South Asian, National