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Beyond the Holy Trinity of Vyajanthimala, Waheeda Rahman and Madhuri Dixit: A Case for the Lesser Known Women Dancers of Bombay Cinema
Full text linkIn this article, I will be focusing on the period from 1940s to 1960s in Bombay Cinema, with a little spillover to the 1970s. It is widely considered among film enthusiasts that the 1960s were the aesthetic peak of dance in Bombay Cinema, which had begun to take shape in the 1950s. In this decade, one notices the development of a distinct language of film dance that is identifiable as ‘bollywood filmi dance’, a combination of Kathak, Bharatnatyam, folk, semi classical and mixed western forms resulting in a hybrid form greater than the sum of its parts. Before that, in the 1940s and 50s while individual dancers like Bhagwan Dada or Kathak exponents Sitara Devi and Roshan Kumari had their signature styles, as a community the ‘Bollywood’ dance style was beginning to get formed.
 
Crossings between Regional and National Culture in the work of Imphal-based choreographer, Surjit Nongmeikapam
Full text linkI analyze the regional and national cultural crossings in the pedagogical and choreographic practice of Imphal-based artist, Surjit Nongmeikapam—member of the Meitei community. Through ethnographic observations, qualitative interviews, and “thick descriptions” (Geertz 1973), I suggest that Nongmeikapam’s choreosomatic practice is a methodology for deep resistance towards the forced Hinduization and Indianization of the region. I show how his conception of the “natural body” empowers a culturally embodied regional identity that is contemporary, and his improvisation-based pedagogical practice, Yangshak Movement, fosters harmonious, equitable, and reciprocal relations between the body and the land rooted in regional philosophy and movement traditions. Making multiple crossings between internal and external, regional and national, religious and indigenous, and local and global borders, form, and culture, I argue, Nongmeikapam not only reclaims but also reproduces a new framework for regional and ethnic autonomy, representation, and freedom through a process that could usefully be called resistive hybridity
Editorial
Full text linkThis is the editorial review by Dr. Arshiya Sethi on the CFP \u27Pedagogies of Crossing\u27 alongside an area studies focus on the state of danced intersections in Kashmir, also curated in the issue
Bāṇḍɨ Pə̄thɨr : The Traditional Folk Theatre of Kashmir Past, Present and Future
Full text linkBāṇḍɨ pə̄thɨr [bāṇḍɨ pə̄thɨr] ‘a play of the Bāṇḍs’ (pronounced as such in Kashmiri but often spelt as “Bhand Pather” in the literature, and sometimes also referred to as “Bhand Jashna”), is a centuries-old endangered outdoor theater of Kashmir. Bāṇḍɨ pə̄thɨr, described as a kind of epic drama where the themes and situations are already familiar to the audiences, traditionally features in annually held Kashmiri festivals called bāṇḍɨjeśin (meaning ‘the festival of the Bāṇḍs”) and events for honoring Muslim Sufi saints referred to as “Bāṇḍɨ Cōk”; the latter are held at Muslim Sufi shrines such as Ashmuqām. Typically held in open spaces with large number of audiences and performed by professional troupes belonging to a certain community of Kashmir referred to as “Bāṇḍ” [bāṇḍ] (Singular/Plural) in Kashmiri, this article argues that a defining feature of the bāṇḍɨ pə̄thɨr is the art of improvisation.
Will the Chinar Smile Again? : The Lost Art of a Wounded Valley
Full text linkKashmir the land of snow-capped mountains, peaceful rivers, green valleys, and deep spirituality could have been a home for flourishing art. It had beauty, culture, and soul. But instead of becoming a land of music and dance, it became a land of conflict. Violence stole the peace that art needs to grow. Art needs space to speak, to breathe and to move freely. The colorful traditions that once made our land so special have faded over years. Since the late 1980s, violence has reshaped our land. It was not only about lives lost, it was about the loss of culture, the suppression of joy, and the silencing of the voices that once celebrated life through art
Why Not Theatre’s Mahabharata: Storytelling Using Dance as a Prominent Motif
Full text linkCelebrated by both Toronto Theatre Critics and Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts, Why Not Theatre’s mega production Mahabharata premiered in 2023 after being postponed for the Covid 19 pandemic. This article goes over intercultural and interdisciplinary perspectives highlighting contemporary prerogatives of theatrical adaptation of an Indian epic. It pays particular attention to the role of choreography by Brandy Leary, Ellora Patnaik, and Jay Emmanuel with training within Kalaripayattu, Odissi, and Kathakali respectively
The Revolution Will Not Be Exhibited
Full text linkIn this essay, I try to understand what it means to stage an Indian classical dance performance at the British Museum and what is at stake. More specifically I query, what does it mean to sacralize stolen objects with immigrant bodies dancing dances from colonized lands. Apotheosis, a carefully-choreographed staging by several Indian neo-classical dancers, was performed in the storied museum’s Sir Joseph Hotung Gallery of China and South Asia, in 2019. The performance’s title which means “divinification,” is the elevation of a person to the rank of a god or divine being, or, the ultimate expression or epitome of a divine quality. The question I ask is if and how this artistic performance, in this space, intervenes in or uncritically extends the well-established depravations of colonial plundering
Respect: Culture, Power, and Interactional Norms in Intergroup Dialogue
Full text linkStructured intergroup dialogue (IGD) has proliferated in a variety of settings over the past four decades. Aimed at promoting intergroup understanding and social justice through perspective taking across groups, IGD relies on the assumption that the structure provided by trained facilitators and codified sets of ground rules can mitigate some of the inequities in otherwise distorted communication. This analysis explores and problematizes this assumption based on (1) the culturally loaded nature of “respect” and other relevant concepts, (2) the unrealistic and inappropriate goal of the “safe space,” and (3) the differential challenges faced by members of dominant and marginalized groups, respectively. The paper concludes with recommendations for the establishment of dialogue norms
Joni Schwartz-Chaney: Editor\u27s Notes
No full textThis is the final issue of DSJ under the senior editorship of Dr. Joni Schwartz-Chaney. In this Editor\u27s Notes, Schwartz-Chaney reflects on the past ten years of the journal and its future
Teaching Preservice Elementary Mathematics Teachers Through a Social Justice Lens
No full textThe current political and social climate necessitates increasing pre-service teachers’ awareness of issues around social justice—including concerns around racial, economic and gender and sexuality justice. In this paper, we present observations and outcomes from the first iterations of a university-level mathematics course in which mathematical topics are introduced to pre-service teachers through studying issues around social justice. The key idea is that a social justice topic serves as the vehicle through which to further investigate a mathematical idea, going beyond just applying mathematical topics to exercises that touch on social justice themes. We present a unique opportunity to implement a nontraditional mathematics course that serves to open students’ eyes to how the power of mathematics can be used to study the world around them