Emerging Contemporary Bharatanatyam Choreoscape in Britain: the City, Hybridity and Technoculture

ness as a fluid concept. So abstractness is promoted as a consumption of an imagined ‘pastʼ juxtaposed with the ideals of artistic autonomy and self-discovery. In various presentations during the day, many argued that it is difficult to present choreography as an abstract form because theatrical representations are its inseparable 18 Nritta in classical dance practices is defined as an item that is devoid of any mimetic element and abounds in rhythmic sequences. The root word is derived from Sanskrit ‘nrit’ which means ‘to dance’. (see Abhinayadarpanam verse number 15) (Ghosh, 1975). In Bharatanatyam, nritta is the delineation of measured, coordinated human movements that is rendered while holding a specific pose in a given unit of time (Vatsyayan, 1992: 14). Some nritta based items are: pushpanjali, alarippu, jathiswaram and tillana (Balasaraswati, 1978). A musical composition for the nritta is set either to swara (musical notes) or pata (syllables played on rhythmic instruments or recited verbally with or without music). 12 performative ingredient even today in India. For instance, Anita Ratnam, a dance artist and the director of the Arangham Dance Company from Chennai, India, threw a set of provocative questions at the audience: ‘can you abstract abhinaya [mimetic technique]?...I live and perform in India, so why do you ask this question?’ (Fieldnote, February 25, 2012). In spite of differing voices, this symposium marked the celebration of abstractness as a performative tool by using various mediums in different conceptual and stylistic approaches, which included performance, video art, installation, sculpture, and photography. From the symposiums, it is also inferred that the relationship between culture and geographical location is not a one-way process; rather it is mutually constituted. Some terminologies and aesthetic strategies gain currency; some become oblivious which make the choreoscape intrinsically stratified and differentiated. The emergence of new terminologies indicates the problems we equally grapple with either as scholars, dance artists, funding bodies or producers. Thus it is argued that this mobility of artistic genres and dance terminologies is constructing a fluid boundary of practice. Before proceeding further, I explicate a few autobiographical details to indicate my interest in this research.