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Dancing Bodies of Devotion: Fluid Gestures in Bharata Natyam by Katherine C. Zubko (review)

Dancing Bodies of Devotion: Fluid Gestures in Bharata Natyam by Katherine C. Zubko (review) 702 Reviews Solomon, Rakesh. 1994. “Culture, Imperialism, and Nationalist Resistance: Performance in Colonial India.” Theatre Journal 46, no. 3: 323–347. DANCING BODIES OF DEVOTION: FLUID GESTURES IN BHARATA NATYAM. By Katherine C. Zubko. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2014. 264 pp. Cloth, $109. This text adds to the growing body of scholarship by practioners of bharata natyam, including Meduri, Gaston, O’Shea, Devarajan, and others, but with the distinctive slant of looking at the art from a religious studies perspective that transcends Hinduism, the spiritual practice with which the form is cus- tomarily linked. The methodology is clear: After discussion of ideas of rasa and bhakti (devotion) as a spiritual discourse that informs dance, Zubko examines a representative work of selected dancers reflecting different religious view- points or stories (Hindu, Christian, Buddhist, Jain, Muslim). She dissects the choreography describing precise mudras (hand gestures/language) and steps of a representative dance and discusses how the text and abhinaya (mime) reflect the religious perspective that the individual artist-dancer has chosen as their theme. She argues that “the dynamically shifting interpretive framework of bhakti rasa transforms and displays dancing bodies that enact a range of devotional identities” (p. 2). This allows the audiences to deepen http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Asian Theatre Journal University of Hawai'I Press

Dancing Bodies of Devotion: Fluid Gestures in Bharata Natyam by Katherine C. Zubko (review)

Foley, Kathy, --
Asian Theatre Journal , Volume 32 (2) – Sep 14, 2015
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University of Hawai'I Press
Copyright
Copyright © 2008 The University of Hawai'i Press.
ISSN
1527-2109

Abstract

702 Reviews Solomon, Rakesh. 1994. “Culture, Imperialism, and Nationalist Resistance: Performance in Colonial India.” Theatre Journal 46, no. 3: 323–347. DANCING BODIES OF DEVOTION: FLUID GESTURES IN BHARATA NATYAM. By Katherine C. Zubko. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2014. 264 pp. Cloth, $109. This text adds to the growing body of scholarship by practioners of bharata natyam, including Meduri, Gaston, O’Shea, Devarajan, and others, but with the distinctive slant of looking at the art from a religious studies perspective that transcends Hinduism, the spiritual practice with which the form is cus- tomarily linked. The methodology is clear: After discussion of ideas of rasa and bhakti (devotion) as a spiritual discourse that informs dance, Zubko examines a representative work of selected dancers reflecting different religious view- points or stories (Hindu, Christian, Buddhist, Jain, Muslim). She dissects the choreography describing precise mudras (hand gestures/language) and steps of a representative dance and discusses how the text and abhinaya (mime) reflect the religious perspective that the individual artist-dancer has chosen as their theme. She argues that “the dynamically shifting interpretive framework of bhakti rasa transforms and displays dancing bodies that enact a range of devotional identities” (p. 2). This allows the audiences to deepen

Journal

Asian Theatre Journal – University of Hawai'I Press

Published: Sep 14, 2015

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