Paper short abstract:

In the last decades in India some theologians and priests have tried to introduce Indian classical dance-theatre in the Catholic liturgy, even if the Vatican has not approved this form of inculturation. The paper explores the technical and theological problems related to this adaptation of the rite.

Paper long abstract:

In the last decades in India some theologians and priests have tried to introduce Indian classical dance-theatre in the Catholic liturgy with the same role of chants in western liturgy. Basically, they want to inculturate the Christian message into the Indian culture, on the basis of the Vatican II. However, there is a debate inside the Church on the appropriateness of introducing such elements in the liturgy. The real problem is, on one hand, the variability/invariability of the ritual; on the other, the possibility for the peripheral churches to challenge the power of Rome.

From a technical point of view, it is not simple to adapt to Christianity a performing art that was born in Hinduism. In order to make the dance fit in the Christian context, choreographers have introduced new gestures, called deva-hasta, to depict theological concepts and the characters of the Bible.

However, the complexity of the language of dance makes it difficult for the audience to decode the message and, at the same time, generates ambiguities. Even if the dancers perform on the tunes of songs and hymns, sometimes it is not possible to understand what the actor is doing. Moreover, dance can be a distraction for the assembly.

Another objection is that Indian classical dance-theatre (in particular Bharatanatyam, which is the object of my research) is an élite dance. Therefore, its adaptation cannot help the common believer to feel more at ease with a religion sometimes perceived as a foreign one.