Tribal Fusion Dance

Indian Dance

... When referring to these reconstructions, names we are the most accustomed with include bharata natyam, odissi, kathakali. While such names can be useful in giving hints about what region one is dealing with, they are simplified and artificial denominations. Compared to the long duration of the Indian dance tradition, these denominations are relatively recent although they pretend defining the “standard dances of India”. They reflect a European academic approach to art, an approach in which Indian dance becomes a classical expression. To be more accurate : in India, classical means dead and fossilized.

There are, on the other hand, uninterrupted dance traditions that have “survived” the general decline. One example is the kudiyattam theater of Kerala. It does not publicize itself because its context is not the recital hall but the village temples. It is intended for ritual and a casual audience. Kathakali is a recent derivation of kudiyattam. Bharata natyam is itself derived from dési-attam. Kudiyattam and dési-attam enter our scope of “Indian dance”. Kathakali and bharata natyam can also be of relevance when they do take authentic forms and quality. Sri Lanka's temple dance has the same origin as bharata natyam but has better retained the quality of the original dance. Nepal also keeps an interesting form of dance. We see already that “Indian dance” contains not the six or so stereotyped labels but their sources from which they have been revived or reconstructed. It is significant that Nepal and Sri Lanka are at the extreme ends of the Indian subcontinent. ...