| Embodying the Festival: A Practice-as-Research Framework for Translating Swati Tirunal's Utsava Prabandha into Bharatanatyam |
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This study employs Practice-as-Research (PaR) methodology to investigate choreographic strategies for translating Swati Tirunal's Utsava Prabandha Kritis into Bharatanatyam while preserving devotional authenticity. The research addresses a significant gap in contemporary dance scholarship, as these Malayalam-Sanskrit compositions remain largely absent from mainstream Bharatanatyam repertoire despite their narrative clarity, processional imagery, and devotional depth. Following Nelson's documentation-evidence-reflection cycle and Bolt's practice-led research paradigm, this study documents embodied choreographic experimentation through video documentation, reflective journaling, and iterative rehearsal cycles spanning eighteen months of intensive practice-based investigation.
Theoretical framing draws on Nāṭyaśāstra abhinaya theory, Balasaraswati's temple-margam analogy, and Lemos's indexical continuity model to establish evaluative frameworks for assessing translation effectiveness and cultural authenticity. The research protocol systematically converts lyrical imagery, melodic structures, and ritual narratives into choreographic vocabulary through structured text-to-movement mapping, raga-tala correlation methods, and progressive abhinaya development strategies.
Three detailed case studies—"Kanakamayam" (playful divine identification), "Āndōlika Vāhane" (palanquin procession dynamics), and "Saradindu Sumukha" (martial grandeur with devotional solemnity)—demonstrate how ritual narrative, lyrical imagery, and melodic structures can be systematically translated into dance vocabulary while maintaining devotional coherence. Findings reveal that devotional authenticity emerges not from strict replication but through strategic deployment of symbolic markers, embodied sincerity, and indexical continuity that preserves cultural connection while enabling artistic innovation.
The research contributes a validated PaR protocol for temple repertoire adaptation, documented choreographic strategies with visual evidence, and comprehensive pedagogical frameworks for curriculum integration. This framework offers a replicable model for expanding classical dance repertoires while ensuring cultural continuity through innovation, with implications extending beyond Bharatanatyam to other Indian classical forms seeking to incorporate regional devotional traditions. |
| Author: Mrs Sisira D
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Submitted on : 01-Sep-2026
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Arts : India/ Classical Dance/ Bharatanatyam |
| Journal ID : 0001-101-0359
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| Views: 7/ Downloads :0 |
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