Dance of India

In the history of Indian performing arts and aesthetics, dance is a form that can be traced back to the first century BC. In fact its roots lie deeply embedded within Bharata’s natyashastra: a comprehensive; encyclopedic manual on ‘drama’ which reveals a harmonious fusion of elements from dance, music, pantomime, epic and ballad recitation and graphic and plastic arts. The diversity and long history of dance in the subcontinent: the fact that there is no clear division, in the Indian tradition, between dance, music and drama; the links between Indian dance and religion, the reflection of the society of the times in the dance of the various regions – these are the varied reasons for the growing interest and scholarship in the field of Indian dance. The papers in this text undertake a unique study of the tradition of Indian classical dance, a wide range of regional styles, modern Indian dance and related performance genres such as martial arts and circus. These papers that fall into two categories – historical and analytical, exemplify several intellectual approaches. Indian dance, its evolution and development; its continuity and change are studied from a variety of perspectives which include semiotics, analytic philosophy, dance and movement training, psychology, social theory, feminist theory, stage production as well as straightforward historical enquiry. Written by contributors from both India and North America, spanning geographically from Kerala to Bengal, from Vancouver to Paris, the text also analyses the teaching and performance of Indian dance in the changing social context.