Cultural Geography of Kathak Dance: Streams of Tradition and Global Flows

• Authors: Skiba Katarzyna
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

The article deals with the modern history of Kathak, explored from regional perspectives. It focuses on the Lucknow gharānā (“school”) of Kathak, which sprung up mainly in courts and salons of colonial Avadh as a product of Indo-Islamic culture. The paper investigates how the shift of hereditary artists from Lucknow to Delhi affected their tradition in newly founded, state-supported institutions. It also examines various trends of further modernization of Kathak in globalized, metropolitan spaces. The tendency of Sanskritization in national dance institutes (Kathak Kendra) is juxtaposed with the preservation of ‘traditional’ form in dance schools of Lucknow (nowadays becoming more provincial locations of Kathak tradition) and innovative / experimental tendencies. The impact of regional culture, economic conditions and cosmopolitanism are regarded as important factors reshaping Kathak art, practice and systems of knowledge transmission. The paper is based on ethnographic fieldwork, combined with historical research, conducted in the period 2014–2015.

Keywords

EN

classical Indian dance; Kathak; Lucknow gharānā; Indo-Islamic culture

• Publisher: Księgarnia Akademicka
• Journal: Cracow Indological Studies
• Year: 2016
• Volume: 18: Cosmopolitanism andRegionalism in Indian Cultural Dynamics
• Pages: 55-89

Contributors

author

Skiba Katarzyna

References

• Allen, M. H. 1997. Rewriting the Script for South Indian Dance. In: The Drama Review, 41(3): 63–100.
• Anand, M. 2013. Kathak kā Lakhnaū gharānā aur Pt. Birjū Mahārāj. New Delhi: Kanishka Publishers.
• Bakhle, J. 2005. Two Men and Music. Nationalism in the Making of an Indian Classical Tradition. New York: Oxford University Press.
• Banerjee, P. 1986. Dance in Thumri. New Delhi: Abhinav.
• Chakravorty, P. 2006. Dancing into Modernity: Multiple Narratives of India’s Kathak Dance. In: Dance Research Journal, 38(1/2): 115–136.
• —. 2008. Bells of Change. Calcutta: Seagulls Books.
• Chatterjee, P. 1993. The Nation and Its Fragments: Colonial and Postcolonial Histories. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
• Coorlawala, U. A. 2004. The Sanskritized Body. In: Dance Research Journal, 36(2): 50–63.
• Dalidowicz, M. 2004. Re-exporting ‘Tradition’: The Transcultural Practice of Kathak in Kolkata and the Creation of a New Female Body. In: P. Chakravorty and N. Gupta (eds.). Dance Matters. Performing India. London– New York–New Delhi: Routledge: 205–224.
• Du Perron, L. 2007. Hindi Poetry in a Musical Genre: Thumri Lyrics. London: Routledge.
• —. 2013. The Language of Seduction in the Courtesan Performance. In: F. Kouwenhoven and J. Kippen (eds.). Music, Dance and the Art of Seduction. Delft: Eburon Academic Press: 317–330.
• Garg, L. N. 1969. Kathak Nrtya. Hathras: Sangeet Karyalaya.
• Gupta, B. 2004. Kathak Sagar. New Delhi: Radha Publications.
• Ikramullah, N. 2013. Ganga Jamuni: Silver and Gold: A Forgotten Culture. Calgary: Bayeux Arts.
• Joshi, N. 1960. Compositions of Maharaj Bindadin. In: Sangeet Natak Akademi Bull: 15–16.
• Jyotishi, C. 2009. Nayika Bheda in Kathak. Delhi: Agam Kala Prakashan.
• Khokar, A. M. 1998. Shriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra: A History. Sumitra Charat Ram Reminisces. New Delhi: Lustre Press.
• —. 2004. Guru Maya Rao. Delhi: Ekah Bios.
• —. 2012. Kathak Samrat Shambhu Maharaj. In: Nartanam, 12(3): 28–35.
• Khokar, M. 1979. Traditions of Indian Classical Dance. New Delhi: Clarion Books.
• Banerjee, P. 1986. Dance in Thumri. New Delhi: Abhinav.
• Chakravorty, P. 2006. Dancing into Modernity: Multiple Narratives of India’s Kathak Dance. In: Dance Research Journal, 38(1/2): 115–136.
• —. 2008. Bells of Change. Calcutta: Seagulls Books.
• Chatterjee, P. 1993. The Nation and Its Fragments: Colonial and Postcolonial Histories. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
• Coorlawala, U. A. 2004. The Sanskritized Body. In: Dance Research Journal, 36(2): 50–63.
• Dalidowicz, M. 2004. Re-exporting ‘Tradition’: The Transcultural Practice of Kathak in Kolkata and the Creation of a New Female Body. In: P. Chakravorty and N. Gupta (eds.). Dance Matters. Performing India. London–New York–New Delhi: Routledge: 205–224.
• Du Perron, L. 2007. Hindi Poetry in a Musical Genre: Thumri Lyrics. London: Routledge.
• —. 2013. The Language of Seduction in the Courtesan Performance. In: F. Kouwenhoven and J. Kippen (eds.). Music, Dance and the Art of Seduction. Delft: Eburon Academic Press: 317–330.
• Garg, L. N. 1969. Kathak Nrtya. Hathras: Sangeet Karyalaya.
• Gupta, B. 2004. Kathak Sagar. New Delhi: Radha Publications.
• Ikramullah, N. 2013. Ganga Jamuni: Silver and Gold: A Forgotten Culture. Calgary: Bayeux Arts.
• Joshi, N. 1960. Compositions of Maharaj Bindadin. In: Sangeet Natak Akademi Bull: 15–16.
• Jyotishi, C. 2009. Nayika Bheda in Kathak. Delhi: Agam Kala Prakashan.
• Khokar, A. M. 1998. Shriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra: A History. Sumitra Charat Ram Reminisces. New Delhi: Lustre Press.
• —. 2004. Guru Maya Rao. Delhi: Ekah Bios.
• —. 2012. Kathak Samrat Shambhu Maharaj. In: Nartanam, 12(3): 28–35.
• Khokar, M. 1979. Traditions of Indian Classical Dance. New Delhi: Clarion Books.
• —. 2013. Wounded with the Arrow of Her Eyelashes: Seduction and Sensuality in North Indian Dance. In: F. Kouwenhoven and J. Kippen (eds.). Music, Dance and the Art of Seduction. Delft: Eburon Academic Press.
• —. 2014. India’s Kathak Dance in Historical Perspective (Soas Musicology Series). Farnham: Ashgate.
• www.birjumaharaj-kalashram.com (last accessed: 7 May 2016).
• https://connectionsfestivaldelhi.wordpress.com/author/connectionsfestivaldelhi/ (last accessed: 14 April 2016).
• http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/ (last accessed: 28 May 2016).
• https://kathakkendra.org/index.html (last accessed: 18 October 2016).
• www.lucknowkathakacademy.com (last accessed: 14 April 2016).
• www.narthaki.com (last accessed: 17 October 2016).
• www.oldindianphotos.in/2009/11/indian-nutch-dancing-girls-various.html (last accessed: 28 May 2016).

Identifiers

DOI

10.12797/CIS.18.2016.18.04