Towards a British Natyam

Magdalen Gorringe is a dancer, arts manager, writer, and independent researcher. She grew up in India, where she trained in bharatanatyam, before going on to acquire a B.A. in Theology and Religious Studies from Cambridge University and a MPhil in Classical Indian Religions from Oxford University. She subsequently spent over twenty-five years working as a bharatanatyam dancer in Britain, employed variously as a performer, teacher, workshop leader, and producer. A recipient of a Vice-Chancellor's scholarship from the University of Roehampton, she gained her doctorate in 2021 with a thesis on classical Indian dance forms in Britain.

List of Illustrations

Acknowledgements



Introduction: Flourishing or Fragile? The Contradictory Context of Classical Indian Dance Forms in Britain



Chapter 1. Context: The BBC Young Dancer and the Professionalisation of South Asian Dance in Britain: A Snapshot of the Sector and Its Place within British Dance

Chapter 2. Professionalism :Of Work, Love and Money: Living to Dance – or Dancing to Live? What It Means to Be a ‘Professional’ Classical Indian Dance Artist in Britain

Chapter 3. Learning: Migration, Identity, and Making Professional Dancers

Chapter 4. Livelihood, Learning, Embodiment: ‘Technical Habitus’, Classical Indian Dance Forms and the Limits of the ‘Versatile Dancer’

Chapter 5. Legitimacy: Professionalising Classical Indian Dance in Britain and Entering the ‘National Cultural Canon’



Conclusion: Part of the ‘British DNA’?



Appendix I: List of Judges and Mentors for the BBC Young Dancer

Appendix II: Table of South Asian Dance Tuition in British HE Institutions

Appendix III: Table of Members of the South Asian Dance Alliance

Appendix IV: Project Interlocutors



Bibliography