The guru-shishya parampara (teacher-disciple tradition) has underpinned training in South Asian dance for generations. This article examines aspects of the tradition which make it problematic in today's society and global diasporic context, particularly the gurukula system, in which the disciple spends extensive time with the guru. Fundamental aspects of the parampara continue to be perpetuated, however, in diverse teaching contexts in India, particularly in the significance of lineage and the aims for a holistic dance education. Drawing on fieldwork in India, at Kathak Kendra and Kalakshetra, state-supported Kathak and Bharatanatyam academies, and among independent gurus, the article examines the extent to which aspects of the parampara are being perpetuated and/or transformed today.
In Britain, at the same time, grappling with local, national and transnational multicultural environments, the South Asian dance community has begun to shape new dance pedagogies as it works to integrate Kathak and Bharatanatyam into the mainstream. Research highlights how teaching methodologies and conceptualisations of the body in South Asian dance are being influenced by western dance pedagogies, now spread through the UK-based dance journal Pulse and international exchanges.
Ananya (1996) ‘ Training in Indian Classical Dance: A Case Study ’. Asian Theatre Journal, (Spring) 13(1): 68–91 .
2.
Anon (1999) ISTD Kathak Syllabus Outline. London: Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing .
3.
Anon (2005) ISTD Kathak Syllabus Outline. London: Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing .
4.
Banerjee, Jayasri (1995) ‘ Finding a New Way of Training ’. ADiTi News, 29 (March): 4–5 .
5.
Chakravorty, Pallabi (2000) Choreographing Modernity: Kathak Dance, Public Culture, and Women's Identity in India. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University. [Unpublished PhD Dissertation].
6.
Chakravorty, Pallabi (2002) ‘ Agency in Tradition: Gendered Subjectivity Through the Practice of Kathak ’. In Dance in South Asia: New Approaches, Politics and Aesthetics. Conference Proceedings (pp. 75–9 ). Swarthmore, PA: Swarthmore College.
7.
Chandran, Geeta (2003), interview with the author, 12 August, New Delhi.
8.
Chatterjee, Bithika (2005) ‘ They Dance to Her Beat ’. Pulse, 10 (Spring): 30–4 .
9.
Coorlawala, Uttara (1996) ‘ The Birth of Bharatanatyam and the Sanskritized Body ’. In Congress on Research in Dance. Conference Proceedings (pp. 65–74 ). Greensboro: University of North Carolina.
Coorlawala, Uttara Asha (2003) ‘It Matters for Whom You Dance: Reception in Rasa Theory’. In Susan Kattwinkel (ed.), Essays on Inclusion in Performance (pp. 37–53). Westport: Praeger Press .
12.
Dallapiccola, Anna L. (2002) Dictionary of Hindu Lore and Legend. London: Thames & Hudson .
13.
David, Ann (2003) ‘ Where have all the courses gone?Pulse, 4 (Winter): 6–8 .
14.
David, Ann (2005) ‘Negotiating Natyam Report’, consulted 22 August 2006, from http://www.akademi.co.uk/download/NegNatyamReport.pdf.
15.
Devi, Nilima (1995) ‘ There is no Balance of Rights and Duties ’. ADiTi News, 30 (May): 3 .
16.
Dutta, Sanjeevini (1995) ‘ No Place in Britain ’. ADiTi News, 29 (March): 6 .
17.
Fitt, Sally (1988) Dance Kinesiology. New York: Schirmer Books .
18.
Gaston, Anne-Marie (1996) Bharata Natyam: From Temple to Theatre. New Delhi: Manohar .
Grau, Andrée (2002) South Asian Dance in Britain: Negotiating Cultural Identity Through Dance. London: Roehampton University .
25.
Hart, Matthew Allen (1997) ‘ Rewriting the Script for South Indian Dance ’. The Drama Review, 41.3 (Fall): 63–100 .
26.
Holland-Martzos, Clare and Davys, Jenny (1999) ‘ The 1999 ADiTi Conference: The Healthy Dancer ’. ADiTi News, 54 (May): 3–4 .
27.
Iyer, Alessandra Lopez y Royo (ed.) (1997) ‘ South Asian Dance: The British Experience ’. Choreography and Dance Series, 4(2). Special Issue. Amsterdam: Harwood Academic Publishers .
28.
Joshi, Damayanti (1989) Madame Menaka. New Delhi: Sangeet Natak Akademi .
29.
Khan, Naseem (1996) ‘ Who's Afraid of Abhinaya? ’. Dance Research Journal, 13.1 (Summer): 44–6 .
30.
Khan, Naseem (1997) ‘ South Asian Dance in Britain 1960–1995 ’. In Alessandra Lopez y Royo Iyer (ed.), ‘South Asian Dance: The British Experience’, Choreography and Dance Series, 4(2). Special Issue (pp. 25–30 ). Amsterdam: Harwood Academic Publishers .
Meduri, Avanthi (1988) ‘ Bharata Natyam—What Are You? ’. Asian Theatre Journal, 5(1): 1–22 .
44.
Meduri, Avanthi (1996) Nation, Woman, Representation: The Sutured History of the Devadasi and Her Dance. New York: New York University. [Unpublished PhD Dissertation].
45.
Meduri, Avanthi (2004) ‘ Bharatanatyam as a Global Dance: Some Issues in Research, Teaching, and Practice ’. Dance Research Journal, 26.2 (Winter): 11–29 .
46.
Meduri, Avanthi (ed.) (2005) Rukmini Devi Arundale (1904-1986): A Visionary Architect of Indian Culture and the Performing Arts. New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass .
47.
Mehta, Sushma (2005a), telephonic interview with the author, 6 September, London.
48.
Mehta, Sushma (2005b), interview with the author, 10 September, Leicester.
49.
Mishra, Kamal K. (2005) Kathak: The World of Shovana Narayan. New Delhi: Kanishka .
50.
Mohanan, K. (2003), interview with the author, 28 August, Tirumvanmayur, India.
51.
Morris, Geraldine (2003) ‘ The Problem with Ballet ’. Research in Dance Education, 4(1): 17–30 .
52.
Narayan, Shovana (1998) Kathak: Rhythmic Echoes and Reflections.New Delhi: Roli Books .
53.
Narayan, Shovana (2003), interview with the author, 7 August, New Delhi.
54.
Neuman, Daniel M. (1990) [1st ed. 1980] The Life of Music in North India: The Organization of an Artistic Tradition. Chicago: University of Chicago Press .
55.
O'Shea, Janet (1998) ‘ “Traditional” Indian Dance and the Making of Interpretive Communities ’. Asian Theatre Journal15.1 (Spring): 45–63 .
56.
O'Shea, Janet (2000) ‘ Technique and Theory in the Work of Kapila Vatsyayan ’. Dance Research Journal, 32.1 (Summer): 82–6 .
57.
O'Shea, Janet (2001) At Home in the World: Bharata Natyam's Transnational Traditions. Riverside: University of California. [Unpublished PhD Dissertation].
58.
Pawar, Priya (1996) ‘ Priya Pawar Recounts the Long Hard and Ongoing Struggle to Establish Odissi in Britain ’. ADiTi News, 36 (May): 4 .
Prickett, Stacey (2004) ‘ Techniques and Institutions: The Transformation of British Dance Tradition through South Asian Dance ’. Dance Research, 22.1 (Summer): 1–21 .
61.
Puri, Rajika (1998) ‘The Interpretation of Abhinaya in Indian Dance’. In David Waterhouse (ed.), Dance of India (pp. 241–60). Mumbai: Popular Prakashan .
62.
Purkayastha, Prarthana (2004) ‘ The Guru and the Sishya ’. Pulse, 8 (Summer): 32–5 .
63.
Rajan, Anjana (2001) ‘ Art and Artistes for Harmony ’. The Hindu, 12December.
64.
Rajarani, Nina (1995) ‘ No Gurus, No Dance ’. ADiTi News, 29 (March): 6 .
65.
Samson, Leela (1997) ‘ The Teaching-Learning Process ’. The Hindu, Folio Section, 7 December: 42–5 .
