Mallika Sarabhai: Global connect

How does Bollywood dance define the cultural identities of NRIs? Or, what is the serious threat that folk culture faces in India? These are some of the questions that Dance Matters, a three-day international conference on dance, will address at Jadavpur University (JU) from August 10.

Organised by JU’s School of Media Communication and Culture, the symposium will rope in dancers and academics from the US, UK, Japan, Taiwan and India for a critical appreciation of present-day Indian dance. The research areas cover classical to folk and Bollywood dance, and how the various forms are shaping culture, tradition, identity and human rights.

The conference will be kicked off by Bharatanatyam exponent Mallika Sarabhai on August 10 at a new auditorium beside the PG building.

“Very little work has been done on dance as an academic discipline. So, we would be combining practitioners and academics for a critical study. For instance, how Bollywood dance has shaped cultural identities of second-generation Indians in the US or the UK,” says Nilanjana Gupta of JU, steering the conference.

The panel features scholars and dance practitioners like Avanthi Meduri, Ann David, Kalpana Ram, Urmimala Sarkar, Uttara Asha Coorlawala, Niki Chi Yin Liu, Amita Dutt, Ambyr Johnston and Mundali Narayan.

“We are also trying to bridge the divide between practitioners and academics. Besides, it’s an attempt to reach out to the local schools and colleges and connect globally and nationally,” says Philadelphia-based dancer teacher Pallabi Chakravorty, who is coordinating the programme along with Gupta.

The symposium will comprise lecture demonstrations, apart from a performance by Manipuri exponent Priti Patel. In Kshitish (Horizons), slated for August 11, Patel will explore some aspects of Manipuri dance.