Author: Sunil Kothari
Editor(s): Sunil Kothari
Publisher: Marg Publications
Year: 2003
Language: English
Pages: 204
ISBN/UPC (if available): 8185026629
Description
The Indian dance tradition boasts eight classical dance forms: Bharata Natyam, Kathakali, Manipuri, Kathak, Odissi, Kuchipudi, Moh8ini Attam, and Sattriya. Many of these have become popular the world over and been seen at various international dance festivals thanks to the efforts of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, privte agencies, and impresarios.
However, people ask: Is there no Modern Dance in India? Don't Indian dancers chereograph in the contemporary idiom? Does Indian dance only depict stories of gods and the goddesses or Indian mythology? Are there no innovations taking plae in Indian dance? Do dancers not depict contemporary issues? Is there a new kinetic language of Indian dance?
The answer is yes, Indian dance does find contemporary expression as well - one could term it Modern Indian Dance. Not as an imitation of a term from the West, but indigenous and essentially Indian.
In this volume, the voices of dancers, chereographers, innovators, scholars, and critics are heard. Their contributions cover a wide range of topics which mirror the new directions Indian dance is taking - not one but many, enhancing the volume's documentary value. The tradition of abstraction is explored, as are the martial arts and other dance traditions employed by dancers to express their concerns and urges to create and experiment with contemporary themes. Issues of inter-culturalism and modernism are discussed.
Illustrated generousy with images by photographers of international repute, the book reveals the mystique of the new Indian dance.
Contents
Introduction
Sunil Kothari
EARLY EXPERIMENTS
Modern Dance: The contribution of Uday Shankar and His associates
Kapila Vatsyayan
Tagore and Modernization of Dance
Manjusri Chaki Sircar
Traditional Dance and Contemporary Choreography
Mrinalini Sarabhai
Reflections on New Directions in Indian Dance
Chandralekha
INNOVATIONS IN SPECIFIC FORMS
Innovations in Kathak
Kumdini Lakhia
Manipuri Dances: Extending the Boundaries
Sunil Kothari
Navanritya - A contemporary Methodology: History, Theory, Practice
Ranjabati Sircar
PERSONAL EXPERIMENTS
Search for My Tongue
Daksha Sheth
Re-membering " Winds of Shiva"
Uttara Asha Coorlawala
Creating Endless Possibilities
Astad Deboo
EXTENSIONS AT HOME AND ABROAD
Dance in Films
Arundhiti Subramaniam
Explorations in Bharata Natyam Abroad
Mamata Niyogi-Nakra
Growths and Outgrowths
Sanjoy Roy
Reinscribing "Indian" Dance
Uttara Asha Coorlawala
A CROSS-SECTION OF CHOREOGRAPHIC WORKS
Index
Contributors