Shall We Dance, or Shall We Engage in Some Body-Based Movement?
What do you do when a “revolutionary,” “rebellious” art form becomes “classic”? … We need new words, new ways of thinking, and new methods of engaging with the public because our federal funding is once again under severe threat to be cut and it is up to us (as usual) to figure out how to exist, and what our existence will look like.
Who Does Indian Culture Belong To?
What does it mean to preserve an art form? It does not mean passing down the same memorized movement from one generation to the next. A traditional classical art form, which arises from a particular cultural context, in our increasingly global society must adapt and move forward, and these forms, historically, have always evolved. Just as ballet developed from the French and Italian courts, where an emphasis on subtle and refined manners gave way to more dazzling and virtuosic displays in the proscenium context, classical Indian dance, too, has evolved.
The Sally Field Problematic: Preserving Entertainment, Artistic, and Cultural Value in the Dance Field, or You Love Me, You Really Love Me!
The arts industry – from education to funding – is increasingly closed to new needs or wants from society at large, and in so doing we exacerbate the industry’s financial crisis through reduced cultural value (to funders) in both individual product and aggregate impact.
Seven Questions for Pico Iyer: Writing … and Dancing … Against the Curve
In terms of creative work, I think we can offer the most by sitting—or dancing—away from the moment.