Swaroopa Unni - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Swaroopa Unni
Dance research Aotearoa, Dec 19, 2016
Dance Research Aotearoa, 2016
www.natyaloka.org, 2019
Watching Bangarra’s performance celebrating their 30 years of existence in Australia, made me thi... more Watching Bangarra’s performance celebrating their 30 years of existence in Australia, made me think the importance of telling stories of our people. It is high time we, the Indian performers, rethink our ways of storytelling. The dance performances these days are caught within a vicious circle of divinity and hierarchy. How can we create thought provoking dance pieces where we talk about or perform about our sub-altern voices? How can we create stimulating dance pieces that trigger conversations about the society now? Where are those voices? Why are we not hearing them enough?
The Mohiniyattam that we see now is a highly re-constructed version of the dance form than what w... more The Mohiniyattam that we see now is a highly re-constructed version of the dance form than what was practiced before. Practitioners and Nationalists have helped recreate a dance form sans ‘vulgar’ content, i.e. cleansed it like other Indian dance forms during that period. It was recreated with the idea of womanhood and femininity that supported the nation building process. Later, movements inspired from the environment was embodied into the dance form.
Sticking to the crux of the original Giselle plot, Akram Khan's version tells us the story of Gis... more Sticking to the crux of the original Giselle plot, Akram Khan's version tells us the story of Giselle as one among the community of migrant garment factory workers who are referred to as the Outcasts. They are dispossessed of their jobs after factory closures, and separated by a high wall from their hopes of livelihood. Giselle (a brilliant Crystal Costa) is a strong woman with hope while Albrecht (James Streeter) is resilient and torn between his two worlds. Hilarion (a fantastic Ken Saruhashi) on the other hand loves Giselle secretly. He is cunning and keeps changing his allegiance between the Landlords and the Outcasts for his own and the community's profit.
“I am attracted to poetics of Kathak – the ghazals, qawwalis and thumris. I have been trying to c... more “I am attracted to poetics of Kathak – the ghazals, qawwalis and thumris. I have been trying to combine both – the technicalities and the emotiveness and by doing so how to reconstruct the emotiveness in a way that it becomes a part of the socio-political context,” says Pallabi Chakravorty , author, academician, anthropologist and an accomplished Kathak exponent based in USA. This three way model of bringing arts into her life can be also be seen in her book, Bells of Change: Kathak Dance, Women and Modernity in India. In this book, she retraces the origins of Kathak back to bhaijis and tawaifs of Kolkata and follows their path from a woman’s perspective.
Dance is one area that remains largely unexplored in Malayalam cinema. Rarely have filmmakers mad... more Dance is one area that remains largely unexplored in Malayalam cinema. Rarely have filmmakers made full-length dance movies or even woven stories around internal journeys of protagonists who made a living out of dancing, or explored in detail the rich artistry of Mohiniattam or Kathakali—Kerala’s own traditional art forms.That’s why it’s easier to recall the few gems that came in between.
Yashoda Thakore has fought against all odds to uphold the tradition of the Kalāvantulu community*... more Yashoda Thakore has fought against all odds to uphold the tradition of the Kalāvantulu community* and their dance repertoire. And what drove her with passion all these years? It is the realisation that she belongs to this artistic community. She is one among them. Let me take you through her journey of self-realisation and her commendable work that she has been doing so far and plan to do more in the future.
It was just three years ago that I chanced upon a book called Sweating Saris: Indian Dance as Tra... more It was just three years ago that I chanced upon a book called Sweating Saris: Indian Dance as Transnational Labor written by Dr Priya Srinivasan. This book was an eye opener for me. It made me really question – What is modern? What is traditional? How are we so interconnected? I couldn’t believe that the wave of modern dance started by Ruth St Denis was inspired by the devadasis. Why is this connection never spoken about? Talking to the author herself, I realised I am not the only one going through this wave of emotions, of unlearning and re-learning and re-imagining history.
Drafts by Swaroopa Unni
Experiences of migration or diaspora has led to new predicaments for maintaining dance traditions... more Experiences of migration or diaspora has led to new predicaments for maintaining dance traditions (Ahmed, 2013; Brooks & Meglin, 2011). Current research is exploring how migrants learn to inhabit these new geo-political spaces. This paper will serve as a springboard for investigating how classical Indian dance forms such as Bharatanatyam plays a role in enhancing Indian identity in New Zealand. The study employs a combination of dance ethnography and autoethnography as methodologies for examining how this dance is being practiced in the South Pacific city of Dunedin.
Dance research Aotearoa, Dec 19, 2016
Dance Research Aotearoa, 2016
www.natyaloka.org, 2019
Watching Bangarra’s performance celebrating their 30 years of existence in Australia, made me thi... more Watching Bangarra’s performance celebrating their 30 years of existence in Australia, made me think the importance of telling stories of our people. It is high time we, the Indian performers, rethink our ways of storytelling. The dance performances these days are caught within a vicious circle of divinity and hierarchy. How can we create thought provoking dance pieces where we talk about or perform about our sub-altern voices? How can we create stimulating dance pieces that trigger conversations about the society now? Where are those voices? Why are we not hearing them enough?
The Mohiniyattam that we see now is a highly re-constructed version of the dance form than what w... more The Mohiniyattam that we see now is a highly re-constructed version of the dance form than what was practiced before. Practitioners and Nationalists have helped recreate a dance form sans ‘vulgar’ content, i.e. cleansed it like other Indian dance forms during that period. It was recreated with the idea of womanhood and femininity that supported the nation building process. Later, movements inspired from the environment was embodied into the dance form.
Sticking to the crux of the original Giselle plot, Akram Khan's version tells us the story of Gis... more Sticking to the crux of the original Giselle plot, Akram Khan's version tells us the story of Giselle as one among the community of migrant garment factory workers who are referred to as the Outcasts. They are dispossessed of their jobs after factory closures, and separated by a high wall from their hopes of livelihood. Giselle (a brilliant Crystal Costa) is a strong woman with hope while Albrecht (James Streeter) is resilient and torn between his two worlds. Hilarion (a fantastic Ken Saruhashi) on the other hand loves Giselle secretly. He is cunning and keeps changing his allegiance between the Landlords and the Outcasts for his own and the community's profit.
“I am attracted to poetics of Kathak – the ghazals, qawwalis and thumris. I have been trying to c... more “I am attracted to poetics of Kathak – the ghazals, qawwalis and thumris. I have been trying to combine both – the technicalities and the emotiveness and by doing so how to reconstruct the emotiveness in a way that it becomes a part of the socio-political context,” says Pallabi Chakravorty , author, academician, anthropologist and an accomplished Kathak exponent based in USA. This three way model of bringing arts into her life can be also be seen in her book, Bells of Change: Kathak Dance, Women and Modernity in India. In this book, she retraces the origins of Kathak back to bhaijis and tawaifs of Kolkata and follows their path from a woman’s perspective.
Dance is one area that remains largely unexplored in Malayalam cinema. Rarely have filmmakers mad... more Dance is one area that remains largely unexplored in Malayalam cinema. Rarely have filmmakers made full-length dance movies or even woven stories around internal journeys of protagonists who made a living out of dancing, or explored in detail the rich artistry of Mohiniattam or Kathakali—Kerala’s own traditional art forms.That’s why it’s easier to recall the few gems that came in between.
Yashoda Thakore has fought against all odds to uphold the tradition of the Kalāvantulu community*... more Yashoda Thakore has fought against all odds to uphold the tradition of the Kalāvantulu community* and their dance repertoire. And what drove her with passion all these years? It is the realisation that she belongs to this artistic community. She is one among them. Let me take you through her journey of self-realisation and her commendable work that she has been doing so far and plan to do more in the future.
It was just three years ago that I chanced upon a book called Sweating Saris: Indian Dance as Tra... more It was just three years ago that I chanced upon a book called Sweating Saris: Indian Dance as Transnational Labor written by Dr Priya Srinivasan. This book was an eye opener for me. It made me really question – What is modern? What is traditional? How are we so interconnected? I couldn’t believe that the wave of modern dance started by Ruth St Denis was inspired by the devadasis. Why is this connection never spoken about? Talking to the author herself, I realised I am not the only one going through this wave of emotions, of unlearning and re-learning and re-imagining history.
Experiences of migration or diaspora has led to new predicaments for maintaining dance traditions... more Experiences of migration or diaspora has led to new predicaments for maintaining dance traditions (Ahmed, 2013; Brooks & Meglin, 2011). Current research is exploring how migrants learn to inhabit these new geo-political spaces. This paper will serve as a springboard for investigating how classical Indian dance forms such as Bharatanatyam plays a role in enhancing Indian identity in New Zealand. The study employs a combination of dance ethnography and autoethnography as methodologies for examining how this dance is being practiced in the South Pacific city of Dunedin.