Paper short abstract:

An exploration of the multi-layered and innovative strategies for teaching and enacting the technique, myth, poetry, storytelling, and rhythms of Kuchipudi classical dance in a multicultural American suburb. Using the techniques of field research, this paper will examine how the creativity and dynamism of the Kuchipudi dance drama form, which originated in 17th century Andhra Pradesh, has evolved in significant ways in its diverse and new setting, retaining its distinctiveness at the same time as it crosses cultural and gender barriers and identities.

Paper long abstract:

Sutradhar Institute of Dance & Related Arts, established in 1995, aims to bring the Indian classical dance traditions of Kuchipudi to students in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, DC through an exploration of Indian myth, epic, poetry, storytelling, and movement. Founded and guided by Nilimma Devi, Kuchipudi dancer, educator, and choreographer, the Institute currently brings together dancers from many backgrounds. Devi, born in pre-partition Pakistan, and of Punjabi heritage, studied classical dance in New Delhi from an early age and, in her teens, discovered a passion for Kuchipudi dance in Andhra Pradesh.

Kuchipudi is a dance drama tradition that originated in seventeenth century male- and caste- exclusive Andhra Pradesh. Currently, Sutradhar's practioners and students reflect an intergenerational array of cultural backgrounds regardless of caste, heritage, or language. Devi's personal and professional journey, expressed through her artistry and multi-layered identity, provides a pattern for this manifestation of Kuchipudi expressive performance, as she strives to nurture her students with a balanced tension of the structural core of Kuchipudi with individual artistic expression in a place vastly different from its original context.

Using the techniques of field research, interviews, and video documentation, this paper will examine how the creativity and dynamism of the Kuchipudi art form has evolved in Sutradhar artistry and expressive performance, retaining a distinctiveness at the same time as it crosses cultural and gender barriers, and is no longer experienced solely as the representation of a diasporic community.