Project description
Gender in the transmission of Odissi dance in India
The EU-funded Gatrodi project is an anthropological study of the practices of Odissi dance in India, considered by the Indian government to be the classical dance from the State of Odisha. As this dance form evolves in a societal context marked by a strong patriarchal power structure, it is male practitioners who appear as its legitimate transmitters. The project will focus on the modalities of transmission of female practitioners of this dance form. It will produce a detailed ethnographic account of their teaching modalities and compare them to those of the men. By documenting this particular case, Gatrodi will contribute to generating an understanding of the ways in which body practice and social life are interconnected.
Objective
Gatrodi is an anthropological study of the practices of Odissi dance in India, considered by the Indian government to be the classical dance from the State of Odisha. Though the dance is practiced by male and female individuals from diverse geographical locations and status groups, it is generally male practitioners from rural areas of Odisha who are recognised as its legitimate transmitters. The women, who generally belong to urban backgrounds, are considered to be the performers of the dance. However, while they do not obtain the same recognition as the men, some women are actually transmitting Odissi. But then, how does their teaching differ from that of the men?
In order to shed light on this question, the study will investigate on the modalities of transmission of female practitioners in Odissi in India. The methods of inquiry will consist primarily of observation, and also of video and audio recordings of training situations and interviews. These will be undertaken in selective dance schools in Bhubaneswar, capital city of Odisha, and in a metropolitan city of India as well.
Through the above mentioned methodological tools, Gatrodi will produce a detailed ethnographic account of the teaching modalities of the women participating in the study. This shall clarify which methods, be they verbal or non verbal, they implement while transmitting the dance. Consequently, it will be possible to assess which processes are at work in these situations, and how they are related to the social order that prevails in Odissi dance networks. The teaching activities of the women will further be compared to those of the men. In this way, Gatrodi will shed light on the dynamics of transmission of Odissi and the processes of legitimisation of its methods, thereby documenting how, beyond the particular case that is being studied, body practice and social life are interconnected.
Fields of science
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)Coordinator
63000 Clermont Ferrand
France