Studies in International Performance Published in association with the International Federation of Theatre Research General Editors: Janelle Reinelt and Brian Singleton Culture and performance cross borders constantly, and not just the borders that define nations. In this new series, scholars of performance produce interactions between and among nations and cultures as well as genres, identities and imaginations. Inter-national in the largest sense, the books collected in the Studies in International Performance series display a range of historical, theoretical and critical approaches to the panoply of performances that make up the global surround. The series embraces ‘Culture’ which is institutional as well as improvised, underground or alternate, and treats ‘Performance’ as either intercultural or transnational as well as intracultural within nations. Titles include: Patrick Anderson and Jisha Menon (editors) VIOLENCE PERFORMED Local Roots and Global Routes of Conflict Elaine Aston and Sue-Ellen Case STAGING INTERNATIONAL FEMINISMS Christopher Balme PACIFIC PERFORMANCES Theatricality and Cross-Cultural Encounter in the South Seas Matthew Isaac Cohen PERFORMING OTHERNESS Java and Bali on International Stages, 1905–1952 Susan Leigh Foster WORLDING DANCE Helen Gilbert and Jacqueline Lo PERFORMANCE AND COSMOPOLITICS Cross-Cultural Transactions in Australasia Helena Grehan PERFORMANCE, ETHICS AND SPECTATORSHIP IN A GLOBAL AGE Judith Hamera DANCING COMMUNITIES Performance, Difference, and Connection in the Global City James Harding and Cindy Rosenthal (editors) THE RISE OF PERFORMANCE STUDIES Rethinking Richard Schechner’s Broad Spectrum Silvija Jestrovic and Yana Meerzon (editors) PERFORMANCE, EXILE AND ‘AMERICA’ Ola Johansson COMMUNITY THEATRE AND AIDS Ketu H. Katrak CONTEMPORARY INDIAN DANCE New Creative Choreography in India and the Diaspora Sonja Arsham Kuftinec THEATRE, FACILITATION, AND NATION FORMATION IN THE BALKANS AND MIDDLE EAST Daphne P. Lei ALTERNATIVE CHINESE OPERA IN THE AGE OF GLOBALIZATION Performing Zero Carol Martin (editor) THE DRAMATURGY OF THE REAL ON THE WORLD STAGE Alan Read THEATRE, INTIMACY & ENGAGEMENT The Last Human Venue Shannon Steen RACIAL GEOMETRIES OF THE BLACK ATLANTIC, ASIAN PACIFIC AND AMERICAN THEATRE Joanne Tompkins UNSETTLING SPACE Contestations in Contemporary Australian Theatre S. E. Wilmer NATIONAL THEATRES IN A CHANGING EUROPE Evan Darwin Winet INDONESIAN POSTCOLONIAL THEATRE Spectral Genealogies and Absent Faces Forthcoming titles: Adrian Kear THEATRE AND EVENT Studies in International Performance Series Standing Order ISBN 978–1–4039–4456–6 (hardback) 978–1–4039–4457–3 (paperback) (outside North America only) You can receive future titles in this series as they are published by placing a standing order. Please contact your bookseller or, in case of diffi culty, write to us at the address below with your name and address, the title of the series and the ISBN quoted above. Customer Services Department, Macmillan Distribution Ltd, Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS, England Contemporary Indian Dance Natasha Bakht, White Space (Photographer: David Hou) Contemporary Indian Dance New Creative Choreography in India and the Diaspora Ketu H. Katrak Palgrave macmillan © Ketu H. Katrak 2011 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2011 978-0-230-27855-4 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, Saffron House, 6–10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has asserted her right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published 2011 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN Palgrave Macmillan in the UK is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan in the US is a division of St Martin’s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. ISBN 978-1-349-32633-4 ISBN 978-0-230-32180-9 (eBook) DOI 10.1057/9780230321809 This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. Logging, pulping and manufacturing processes are expected to conform to the environmental regulations of the country of origin. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Katrak, Ketu H. Contemporary Indian Dance: New Creative Choreography in India and the Diaspora/Ketu Katrak. p. cm. Includes index. 1. Dance—India. I. Title. GV1693.K33 2011 792.80954—dc23 2011016929 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 In Memory of Medha Yodh (1927–2007) My bharatanatyam guru who inspired this book and whose creativity continues to stir my spirit. Medha Yodh (Photograph courtesy of Gaurang Yodh) This page intentionally left blank Contents Frontispiece iv List of Illustrations xi Series Editors’ Preface xiii Glossary xiv Preface: Multiple Idioms of Contemporary Indian Dance xviii Acknowledgments xxvii Introduction 1 Theoretical frames: ways of looking at Contemporary Indian Dance 1 “The force of heteroglossia”: reference points of Contemporary Indian Dance 13 Rasa: a moving methodology 17 Writing dancing 21 1 Contested Histories: “Revivals” of Classical Indian Dance and Early Pioneers of Contemporary Indian Dance 26 Sadir into bharatanatyam 27 The significant legacies of early pioneers of modernizing Indian dance: Uday Shankar, Chandralekha, and other pioneers 37 2 Abstract Dance with Rasa: Pioneers Astad Deboo and Shobana Jeyasingh 56 Astad Deboo: an “Indian contemporary” dance style 59 Other journeys in abstract dance: Shobana Jeyasingh 75 3 Beyond Tradition: Contemporary Choreography by Masters of Traditional Indian Dance and Emerging Innovators 84 PART I CREATIVE CHOREOGRAPHY 85 Innovations based on kathak 85 Madhu Nataraj 85 Aditi Mangaldas 88 Daksha Sheth 92 ix x Contents Innovations based on bharatanatyam 98 Navtej Singh Johar 98 Mallika Sarabhai 100 Lata Pada 106 PART II EMERGING CHOREOGRAPHERS 108 A journey of discovery: personal language/s in Contemporary Indian Dance 108 Padmini Chettur: contemporary dancer, not Contemporary Indian Dancer 118 4 Hybrid Artists and Transnational Collaborations: Chennai, Toronto, Kuala Lumpur 123 Anita Ratnam: “a contemporary classicist” 125 Challenging stereotypes through hybridity: Hari Krishnan’s signature style 140 Ramli Ibrahim’s Contemporary Indian Dance 150 5 Dancing in the Diaspora Part I: North America 154 Innovations in form 158 The Post Natyam Collective 160 Parijat Desai 181 Sheetal Gandhi 185 Extensions of tradition in the diaspora 187 Canada 193 Workshops and dance festivals 195 6 Dancing in the Diaspora Part II: Britain 200 The dance scene in the m/other country 200 Indian/South Asian/British-South Asian 200 The multidisciplinary and polyvocal new choreography of Akram Khan 207 Conclusion: Ways of Looking Ahead 220 Notes 223 A Selected Bibliography 240 Index 246 List of Illustrations 1 Uttara Asha Coorlawala, “Draupadi” (Photographer: Hans Gerritsen) 11 2 Anita Ratnam (Photographer: Briana Blasko) 15 3 Anita Ratnam, Seven Graces (Photographer: Chella) 16 4 Astad Deboo, Circle of Feelings (Photographer: Farrokh Chothia) 20 5 Padmini Chettur in Chandralekha’s choreography of Sharira (Photographer: Simon Richardson) 49 6 Padmini Chettur and Shaji in Chandralekha’s choreography of Sharira (Photographer: Simon Richardson) 50 7 ContraPosition, Astad Deboo’s choreography (Photographer: Monica Gurde) 66 8 Breaking Boundaries, Astad Deboo’s choreography (Photographer: Haran Kumar) 68 9 Breaking Boundaries (rehearsal), Astad Deboo’s choreography (Photographer: Ketu H. Katrak) 69 10 Rhythm Divine, Deboo’s choreography (Photographer: Farrokh Chothia) 73 11 Flicker, Shobana Jeyasingh’s choreography, dancers: Saju and Niku (Photographer: Chris Nash) 77 12 Just Add Water? Jeyasingh’s choreography (Photographer: J. C. Masclet) 81 13 Vajra, Madhu Nataraj’s choreography (Photographer: Ramya Reddy) 86 14 Aditi Mangaldas in Timeless (Photographer: Vipul Sangoi, Raindesign) 91 15 Aditi Mangaldas, Now Is (Photographer: Dinesh Khanna) 92 16 Sarpagati, Daksha Sheth’s choreography (Photographer: Devissaro) 94 17 Sarpagati, Daksha Sheth’s choreography (Photographer: Devissaro) 96 18 Dancer Isha Sharvani in BhuKham, Daksha Sheth’s choreography (Photographer: Devissaro) 97 xi xii List of Illustrations 19 Devi, Mallika Sarabhai’s choreography (Photographer: Yadavan Chandran) 102 20 Rural Health Project, Darpana with Mallika Sarabhai (Photographer: Jignesh Patel) 104 21 B2 with Shruti Javali and Ballet Jorgen, Lata Pada choreographer (Photographer: Masna) 108 22 Padmini Chettur, 3 Solos (Photographer: Laurent Pillippe) 120 23 Anita Ratnam, 7 graces (Photographer: Briana Blasko) 133 24 Anita Ratnam, 7 graces (Photographer: Avinash Pasricha) 139 25