Dancing Bodies of Devotion - (Studies in Body and Religion) by Katherine C Zubko (Paperback)

About the Book

This ethnography examines how contemporary dancers of Bharata Natyam, a traditionally Hindu storytelling dance form, embody Buddhist, Muslim, Christian and Jain narratives. These dancers choreographically adapt various religious identities and ideas in order to emphasize plura...

Book Synopsis

This ethnography examines how contemporary dancers of Bharata Natyam, a traditionally Hindu storytelling dance form, embody Buddhist, Muslim, Christian and Jain narratives. These dancers choreographically adapt various religious identities and ideas in order to emphasize pluralistic cultural and ethical dimensions in their work. Through the dancing body, multiple religious and secular interpretations are able to co-exist.

Review Quotes

Dancing Bodies of Devotion offers a deep investigation of the embodied aesthetics of Bharata Natyam and an extensive exploration of its interpretive qualities, from Hindu devotional aesthetics to inter-religious experiences in differing geographical contexts by different practitioners.

Not only does Dancing Bodies of Devotion deal with performative art--bharata natyam, an Indian dance form--but it is also a tour de force in itself. In this theoretically and methodologically sophisticated presentation, Zubko contributes a genuinely novel composition to the study of Indian religions, performance studies, aesthetics, and interreligious engagement. . . . Throughout this text, Zubko demonstrates her mastery of texts, theory, and technical detail. Her overviews of the construction of both rasa and bharata natyam are exemplary.

Original, thoughtful, and nuanced, Dancing Bodies of Devotion examines religious plurality in contemporary Bharata Natyam. Drawing on a wealth of research, Zubko paints an image of both bhakti and Bharata Natyam as dynamic and inclusive. This important study shows us that bhakti retains its progressive potential in the modern world and opens up the dance to a multiplicity of religious expressions. Detailed yet broad in scope, this text is a welcome addition to the literature in South Asian studies, dance studies, and religious studies.

About the Author

Katherine C. Zubko is assistant professor of religious studies at the University of North Carolina Asheville.