The Performing Arts of India : Development and Spread Across the Globe

Contents: Foreword. Preface. 1. Indian music and dance expanding frontiers and change in the approach to traditional transmission/Raghava R. Menon. 2. Taking a closer look at the performing arts/Raghava R. Menon. 3. Authenticity in the performing arts: the hole of the self/Raghava R. Menon. 4. Inner evolution in the Indian philosophical and aesthetic traditions/Katherine Zeiss. 5. Performing arts, a link with the eternal/Katherine Zeiss. 6. Dance of otherness: dating an Alien Ethos - through the Lens of Bharatanatyam/Lada Guruden Singh. 7. My experience as a foreign artist pursuing the performing arts in India/Penelope Estabrook Mirchandani. 8. Issues facing the non-Indian classical vocal artist: soliciting critique, engaging in innovation, teaching outside India/Warren Senders. 9. Kathakali and foreign disciples/Guru Sadanam P.V. Balakrishnan. 10. Discovering self in Mohini Attam/Brigitte Chataignier. 11. A matter of heart, art over matter: a French-Canadian Bharatanatyam artist in pursuit to authenticity/Jai Govinda. 12. What do the classical performing arts of India offer to the artists from abroad?/Miki Nonaka. 13. The "lyrical" actor: notes upon the art of acting, east and west/Renzo Vescovi. 14. Authenticity in Indian media/Kamalini Dutt. 15. Indian classical arts in the world cultural community/Ashish Kokhar. 16. In search of the authentic in the performing arts/Shanta Serbjeet Singh. 17. Fulbright and the performing arts in India: beyond borders/Sarina Paranjape. 18. Through a cross-cultural prism/Sharon Lowen. Appendices: 1. Art without frontiers: Indian arts on the move seminars. 2. Artists performing in Videshi Kalakar festivals. Glossary. "The classical performing arts of India, with millennia of antecedents, languished during the colonial period and were revitalized during India's pre-independence conscious reclaiming of heritage. The efforts of many great individuals in sustaining and reconstructing traditions played a vital role in contributing to this vital aspect of national identity. Post independence, these arts contributed to a sense of national integration as they were embraced by exponents from regions and communities beyond the original parameters of location, language, religion or caste. The last quarter of a century has seen these classical genres draw increasing numbers of exponents from beyond India's borders and widely diverse communities within India. This book originated from the issues of Indian classical performing arts in the world context of presentation, performance, training and learning and traditions in today's milieu by students and artists from non-traditional backgrounds. Many of the ideas presented here were first shared during seminars in the '90's bringing together artists, gurus, and arts scholars, in conjunction with a unique series of classical Indian dance and music festivals that changed the perception that non-Indian practitioners of these arts could be regarded as artists and not simply students. The concept of the Videshi Kalakar Utsavs (Festivals of Dance and Music by artists on non-Indian origin), was reflected in some of the Art without Frontiers: Indian Arts on the Move Seminar issues as audiences in India experienced the performances of artists who learned their art forms after spending their formative years in another culture. How are they drawn to the tradition? How do they enter into the tradition? How does any student in modern times enter?".…