The erotic power of the dancer: labour of the erotic and the bodies of the sensory in the Arkestra of North India

Abstract

This article analyses the erotic power of the dancer in relation to the performance of arkestra girls in the Indian states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. From the discursive lens of body, agency and identity, I move to the visceral presence of a dancer who foregrounds the labour of the erotic and the bodies of sensory in a live performance. I argue that the existing binary between dance and sex work not only conceals the labour question but also hides the power of the erotic. I see dance and sex as co-producing forces in the formation of the phenomenal body on stage. I call the ‘transformative’ force the erotic power of the dancer – the power of the erotic to transform the body and give it an exceptional ‘new’ dimension. The liveness of such performance rests on the sensory circulation of the body and its polyphonic vibes. Against the theories of affect that heavily rely on the individual body of a performer, I situate the erotic body as an exchange, as a commodity but also as having a potential for radical intervention.