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Running head: KATHAK AND BON ODORI DANCES IN DIASPORA

KATHAK AND BON ODORI DANCES IN DIASPORA 7

Kathak and Bon Odori dances in the diaspora

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Kathak dance is an Indian classical dance form. It is one of the genres of Indian classical dance forms. Kathak dance originated from North Indian travelling bards who are known as storytellers or Kathakars. These storytellers or Kathakars travelled around and communicated legendary stories via dance, music and songs (Narayan, 2001). Bon Odori dance, on the other hand, is performed during summer time in Japan. It is a religious dance and ancestors visit their descendants in mid-August in Tokyo and Bon Odori is the welcome dance for them during this event. In the month of August, there are numerous Bon Odori Matsuri and audiences can enjoy the dance everywhere in Japan. Both Kathak and Bon Odori dance styles are religious dances which are believed to portray various cultural practices regarding religion in India, Japan and the diaspora. Both Kathak and Bon Odori dances enjoy a large pool of diasporic audiences. They are performed in diasporic countries and their performances attract many audiences. Kathak classical dance involves telling stories using songs, dances and music while Bon Odori is a dance involving folk entertainment where people consider that spirits of their ancestors return to the universe during the performance of this dance and dance of this style feel as if they are dancing with their ancestors.

Kathak classical dance originated in the Northern part of Indian. However, its popularity is thriving well in and around London. Thousands of young British Asians and students from other communities within London learn how to perform this traditional dance every year. Most of these UK-based students often see the performance of Kathak dance in Bollywood films and they gain interest in learning how to perform the dance. Most of Kathak audiences in the United Kingdom prefer to practice and watch its performance rather than the western dance styles. The diversity of Kathak and other South Asian dances is a reflection of diversity of British South Asian communities. Kathak classical Indian dance and several other dances from South Asia have also made their way to the British educational curriculum and they are currently being taught in schools right from primary schools to universities. The dances are introduced to students as British South Asian dances in most cases.

Bon Odori is also popular in London. It has hundreds of audiences from the British community and Japanese living in the United Kingdom. Bon Odori dances have already formed a group of dancers known as London Bon Dancers. The dancers’ group was formed with attractive and talented Japanese performers based in London so as to bring music fever and exciting dance in Europe and the United Kingdom. This group of dancers first presented in the summer of 2006 at the City of London festival. The group later became popular for events and festivals as they have performed in many more performances since then. London Bon Dancers also provide workshops for local community and schools for both young and older people. This helps in spreading Bon Odori dance more hence making it popular and popular.

Kathak Indian dance has also made its way to the United States of America. Various large festivals of Indian classical dance and music outside Indian have taken place in different large cities in the United States such as Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco etc. Kathak classical dance is also taught in major cities of America (Kumar, 2001). This is a clear indication that many people in the United States are interested in learning Kathak. These include American nationals and Indian living in the United States. The U.S has many Kathak solo dancers who teach and dance for their audience to entertain them (Narayan, 2001). Some of Kathak’s audiences learned about it from Bollywood films through their favourite actresses. Kathak is one of the most famous dances in the United States.

Bon Odori is also a common dance in the United States of America. Bon Odori was first heard in Hawaii Yamato Shimbun newspaper. Bon Odori became popular in Hawaii because contract labourers from Japan were taken to Hawaii in large numbers (Smith, 2007). The first Japanese immigrants, also known as Issei, were fishermen, farmers and country folk. In 1920, 40 per cent of the Hawaii population was Japanese. The impact of Japanese on Hawaiian culture since then can be seen in many areas such as customs, foods, architecture and their dance form especially Kabuki and Bon Odori dance. The first performance was reportedly held in 1930 in the Stockton Buddhist Temple. It later spread in California, Washington, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oregon and Canada. Bon Odori then became a traditional and cultural feature of the Jodoshinshu temple Obon events (Smith, 2007). Dances were made simple during these events. Temple members were made responsible for teaching Bon Odori dances to the congregation. Therefore, it is clear that Bon Odori Japanese dance has a stronger spiritual connection in the United States today. Despite this dance being related to Buddhism, Bon Odori is embraced and celebrated by all irrespective of their religious backgrounds.

The spread of Kathak dance to numerous diasporic countries can be attributed to several factors. The most crucial factor is Bollywood films. These movies and films have been using various popular classical dances such as Kathak (Shah, 1998). This has made people in Europe, United Kingdom, United States of America, Canada and many more to like the dance and gain interest to learn more about it. Classicism in the British South Asian genres gas started to align itself after hybridity and postmodern rupture with the western concepts of neo-classicism in art and dance appropriating them to enable dances to reclaim their artistic integrity and freedom and take part as interlocutors in the discourses of British dance (Kumar, 2001). However, these concepts of neo-classicism should be flexible to accommodate the cultural specificity in an explicit manner.

The spread of the Bon Odori dance in the diaspora started a long time ago. In the United States, Bon Odori can be traced to the early 20th century. The dance style has been embraced and performed by various groups in the United States. Japanese living in the United States have also played a great role in the spread of this dance throughout the country. The performance of Bon Odori dance is common from June to August as the dancers believe that their ancestors have come back and are dancing with them (Hughes, 2008). Bon Odori performance brings to an American audience a taste of Japanese culture. In fact, various groups have regrouped and are teaching Bon Odori dance to American and Japanese Americans who do not have the knowledge of this dance.

Kathak dance enjoys one of the largest pool of audience in the diaspora. As stated earlier, Kathak dance has already become an integral part of the England school curriculum. Organizations such as Sampad, Bharata Vidya Bhavan and Academy of Indian Fine Arts have been promoting and lobbying Indian fine arts among the western audiences and acquiring funds for the Indian dancers. Numerous non-Indians have dedicated many years of their lives studying different Indian classical dance styles with Kathak among the list (Kumar, 2001). In fact, they have already made a name for themselves in the field. For instance, Janaki Patrik of the United States and Veronique Azan of France are excellent performers of Kathak dance. Europe took Indian dance earlier than the United States. However, in the recent times, numerous artistic activity is seen by Indian dancers who have introduced dance institutions in North America. These dancers have been receiving funding from local arts agencies and National Endowment for Arts, a clear indication that their work of promoting Indian art in the United States have already been recognized and appreciated. Such kind of recognition and appreciations have put Indian country in the United States on a par with their western counterparts in the same field (Narayan, 2001). Kathak dance and other South Asian dances are not only used for entertainment for Indian events but also mainstream entertainment and part of the United States art.

The diasporic audience embraced South and East Asian dances especially the United Kingdom and the United States of America. In fact, some cultures like the Hawaii culture was greatly affected and changed by Bon Odori. These dance forms from India and Japan has become part of them. Other Asians in the diaspora have already stated institutions to teach various dances to the citizens of the countries they live.

In conclusion, Kathak Indian classic dance and Bon Odori Japanese classic dance have made their ways into the diaspora especially the United Kingdom and the United States of America. Other countries where these dances have made their ways are France, Australia, Canada and many more. In the UK, Kathak dance and other South Asian dances have already been included in the school curriculum and are being taught in schools. Various organizations specializing in the art are also promoting these dances in the diaspora. These organizations have also awarded Indian dancers and funded them to help them promote the dances in the diaspora. Kathak and Bon Odori have become an integral part of entertainment in the diasporic countries where they are being performed.

References

Smith, B. B. (2007). The Bon-Odori in Hawaii and in Japan. Journal of the International Folk Music Council. Hughes, D. W. (2008). Bon Odori: a Traditional folk song in modern Japan. Brill. Kumar, R. (2001). Indian Dance in the Diaspora. Retrieved from http://www.boloji.com/articles/852/indian-dance-in-the-diaspora. Narayan, S. (2001). Rhythmic echoes and reflections: Kathak. Roli Books Pvt Ltd. Shah, P. (1998). Transcending Gender in the Performance of Kathak. Congress on Research in Dance.