Transnational collaborations by selected contemporary Indian dancers

Abstract

Collaborations have been part of Indian dancers’ creative choreography since the early 20th century when Orientalist stereotypes controlled unequal power relations between artists like Uday Shankar and Anna Pavlova. In more contemporary times, collaborative creations across national borders unfold on more equal artistic connections, though disparities persist in economic and technological avenues. In this essay I analyze transnational dance creations within the global South with selected Contemporary Indian dancers–Astad Deboo, working between India and Korea, and Vikram Iyengar between India and Bangladesh–rather than the more commonly analyzed global South-to-North collaborations by contemporary Indian dancers between India and Europe or North America. In contemporary times, intercultural links among artists, sharing traditional forms and innovative expressions, raise new creative and funding challenges.