Covering eight classical dance forms of India Bharatanatyam, Kathak, Kuchipudi, Kathakali, Manipuri, Mohiniattam, Odissi and Sattriya Leela Venkataraman seamlessly weaves together a historical perspective with the contemporary scenario. Stripped of their association with the temple and the court, classical dance traditions in India went through a series of unprecedented change in the period marking the last few years of British rule and thereafter. From becoming part of the nationalist struggle when India was trying to rediscover its lost identity, to sharing the international stage today with dance forms from all over the world, the last sixty-six years have seen many changes in perspective and presentation of Indian Classical Dance some intentional, others involuntary. While looking at these years closely and their impact on dance forms, one realises that this is a phase in an ongoing process, with each new generation of dancers and musicians adding to an already rich tapestry of tradition."

The yoga and classical dance traditions of India have been inextricably entwined for millennia. The exacting hand gestures, postures and movements of Indian classical dance can only be achieved through yogic concentration. Conversely, the esthetics, symmetry, and dynamism of dance enhance the practice of yoga. These two traditions, so complementary and essential to one another, are united and explicated for the first time in A Yoga of Indian Classical Dance. Twenty-five years ago Roxanne Kamayani Gupta embarked on a journey of dance and yoga, yearning to unlock their mysteries and discover their common origins. As a twenty-year-old student from America she was miraculously and mysteriously absorbed into Indian culture, became a Hindu, and began an odyssey so unusual and unique that the reader will be enchanted by its telling. Choosing the path of the dancer, Roxanne Gupta accomplished what no Western woman had done before: being accepted and trained by Indian masters and then performing in the Indian classical traditions--from the palaces of maharajas to the arts festivals of Europe and America--while at the same time achieving a doctorate in the anthropology of religion and being initiated into a number of yogic traditions. Having mastered the classical form of Kuchipudi dance and studied with teachers of the hatha and kriya yoga traditions, she brings together these two great streams of consciousness and practice. In this tantric approach to yoga and dance, expressed through the body and through a yoga of emotions, we see the traditions embodied in a manner that embraces the totality of the human experience. The result is the dance of the yogini, the sacred feminine initiatress who dances with one foot in nature and the other in the realm of the gods. With extensive photographs of innovative yoga routines, Roxanne Kamayani Gupta distills her experience into techniques for yogic study certain to assist students of all levels to achieve a dynamic, beautiful, and graceful practice.

On Sundays, Varun has his karate lesson, and his sister Varsha heads to dance school with their grandfather. One weekend, Varun reluctantly accompanies his sister to her lesson. Bored of waiting, he peeks into the classroom, and almost immediately, he is fascinated by the rhythm and grace of bharatanatyam, a dance from India that Varsha is learning to perfect. Varun tries a few moves at home in secret because...well, boys don’t dance, do they? His grandfather is not so sure. Will Thatha be able to convince Varun to dance in his footsteps? A heartwarming picture book about a multigenerational Indian-American family discovering a shared love for bharatanatyam, an ancient classical dance that continues to fascinate dancers worldwide.

An important modern exponent of Asian dance, Pandit Chitresh Das brought kathak to the United States in 1970. The North Indian classical dance has since become an important art form within the greater Indian diaspora. Yet its adoption outside of India raises questions about what happens to artistic practices when we separate them from their broader cultural contexts. A Guru's Journey provides an ethnographic study of the dance form in the San Francisco Bay Area community formed by Das. Sarah Morelli, a kathak dancer and one of Das's former students, investigates issues in teaching, learning, and performance that developed around Das during his time in the United States. In modifying kathak's form and teaching for Western students, Das negotiates questions of Indianness and non-Indianness, gender, identity, and race. Morelli lays out these issues for readers with the goal of deepening their knowledge of kathak aesthetics, technique, and theory. She also shares the intricacies of footwork, facial expression in storytelling, and other aspects of kathak while tying them to the cultural issues that inform the dance.

Indian Classical Dance and the Making of Postcolonial National Identities explores what happens when a national-cultural production is reproduced outside the immediate social, political and cultural context of its origin. Whereas most previous studies have analysed Indian classical dance in the context of Indian history and culture, this volume situates this dance practice in the longstanding trasnational linkages between India and the UK. What is the relation between the contemporary performance of Indian classical dance and the constitution of national, diasporic and multicultural identity? Where and how does Indian dance derive its productive power in the postcolonial moment? How do diasporic and nationalist representations of Indian culture intersect with depictions of British culture and politics? It is argued that classical Indian dance has become a key aspect of not only postcolonial South Asian diasporic identities, but also of British multicultural and transnational identity. Based on an extensive ethnographic study of performances of Indian classical dance in the UK, this book will be of interest to scholars of anthropology, sociology, South Asian studies, Postcolonial, Transnational and Cultural studies, and Theatre and Performance studies.

Kathak, the Indian classical dance form prevalent in the North, has a long past. Nurtured in the holy precincts of the Hindu temples, Kathak dance has over the centuries, attained refinement and enriched itself with various hues and embellishments. The art of story-telling which found expression in various forms like the Akhyana by the Manabhattas of Gujarat, the Pandavani by the artistes telling stories in Madhya Pradesh, the Harikathas and Kalakshepams of the South, the Kirtanas of the West, the art of Wari-liba, story-telling of the North-East, specially of Manipur, reflects the rich heritage Kathak has inherited over the years. In forms such as Baithakachi Lavani and the bhava to the Ghazals the range is both varied and vast. Though essentially seen in its solo form, Kathak in its Natya aspects shares a large corpus of the Rasalilas of Brindavan. Its journey from the Hindu temples to the courts of the Mughals is quite fascinating and the various elements it has imbibed over the different periods in history have given Kathak an equisite character. The Persian influence, the patronage of the Muslim kings, the flowering of the two main gharanas (schools), the Jaipur and the Lucknow, and the contribution of the Maharaj Brothers, the famous descendants of Kalka-Bindadin, viz.; Acchan Maharaj, Shambhu Maharaj, Lacchu Maharaj and Birju Maharaj, the great gurus of Jaipur like Jailalji and Sunder Prasadji portray Kathak as it has developed in recent times. Whereas the Choreographic attempts by Madame Menaka and later on by Birju Maharaj and Kumudini Lakhia provide a perspective for viewing Kathak in its many-faceted forms. The footwork, the nritta pieces like tode, tukde, parans, the improvisational aspects and the simple graceful gats and gat-nikas, the illusion of miniature paintings coming to life and many other aspects are vividly captured in this most comprehensive and thoroughl;y researched book on Kathak. It has an attractive section on the contemporary practitioners ranging from Birju Maharaj, Sitara Devi, Damayanti Joshi, Kumudini Lakhia, Rohini Bhate, Roshan Kumari, Gopi Krishna, Durgalal to the young exponents who carry forward the tradition in the present times. Lavishly illustrated with colour and black and white photographs and designed by Dolly Sahiar the many-splendoured beauty of Kathak is captured in this volume, which should appeal to the cognoscenti and lay readers alike.

India is a pioneer in Performing arts. This books deals with five classical dance forms of india in detai, viz., Bharatanatyam,Kathakali,orissi,manipuri and Kathak.