- Kolkata, West Bengal, India
- Young India Fellowship, Liberal Arts, Graduate Studentadd
- Dance, Dance Studies, Indian Classical Dance (Kathak), Painting, Art, Visual Arts, and 15 morePerforming Arts, Virtual Reality, Visual Story Telling, Photography, DSLR Cameras, Dance and Aesthetics, Performance and Interactive Media arts, Dance for Screen, Dance/Movement Therapy, Screen dance, Dance for Camera, Visual Studies, Film and Dance, DANCE FILM, and Development Studiesedit
- Sumedha is an inter-disciplinary dance artist-researcher, choreographer and educator in India trained in Kathak and ... moreSumedha is an inter-disciplinary dance artist-researcher, choreographer and educator in India trained in Kathak and different contemporary and African dance forms. Her interventions with dance are based on dialogue between the visual and the performing arts, through dance/movement practice 'as' film, under the umbrella of screen-dance/screen choreography film making. She is an ICCR empanelled Kathak dance practitioner and researcher. Travelling and being exposed to global dance scenario during her Masters in Europe as a full scholarship holder, she began to incorporate different dance languages , questioning tradition and its relevance in the contemporary context. Her stories are devised through multiple disciplines that bring the performing in conversation with visual: like screen dance film , performance installation, sound design, performance art, sound sculpture. She has conducted workshops in JNU, Maah Space Jaipur, TIFA Working studios Pune, and will be also teaching this course on Screen-dance as a visiting faculty in Ashoka University 2020.edit
This practice-based essay explores the nuances of intimacy through the coming together of bodies – their gestures, languages and sensorial occupation within a (physical) space of sharing, socializing and reflecting in a pandemic and... more
This practice-based essay explores the nuances of intimacy through the coming together of bodies – their gestures, languages and sensorial occupation within a (physical) space of sharing, socializing and reflecting in a pandemic and post-pandemic world. The initiative stems from first draft – a collaborative project that began in 2018 as an alternative art space initiated by a group of artist-friends. The process behind ‘drafts’ becomes essential in creating a playful space to invite a flux of dialogues, mistakes, accidents, revisions, incidents and receptivity among others, challenging the conventions of producing and displaying ‘artworks’/exhibition-making. The initiative has now evolved into a space of gatherings, called first draft·ings, where we meet in small groups at a residential/non-commercial space in New Delhi, India. These gatherings have provided a niche for people from varied fields to connect through conversations, involving performers, researchers, sound/visual-designers, engineers/makers, educators and others. It offers a space to come together, share, eat, drink, chat, play, rest, recuperate and perhaps create (/not) around a pre-decided collective prompt. How can we reimagine/question/provoke new forms of art making and its dissemination through these acts of coming together?
The essay takes a closer look at these ongoing ‘slow’ gatherings whereby we do not necessarily create, yet reflect over the conversations that sprout into more connections, extensions, and leave/take forward its residues. In the essay, we follow a non-linear approach by revisiting the sessions through narrative writing, and oscillating between the expository two-folds of the binaries. We explore the methodologies of first draft·ings and touch upon the questions of intimacy through transmission as a performative strategy. We attempt to explore the methods and vocabularies of a gathering by responding to the specific prompts through actions of – storytelling, compassionate listening, walking, watching films, playing games, gifting, laughing and more. We propose to traverse the peripheral nature of gatherings through proximity, collaboration, improvisation, slowness, rest, thus partaking in the intimate act(s) of transmission.
The essay takes a closer look at these ongoing ‘slow’ gatherings whereby we do not necessarily create, yet reflect over the conversations that sprout into more connections, extensions, and leave/take forward its residues. In the essay, we follow a non-linear approach by revisiting the sessions through narrative writing, and oscillating between the expository two-folds of the binaries. We explore the methodologies of first draft·ings and touch upon the questions of intimacy through transmission as a performative strategy. We attempt to explore the methods and vocabularies of a gathering by responding to the specific prompts through actions of – storytelling, compassionate listening, walking, watching films, playing games, gifting, laughing and more. We propose to traverse the peripheral nature of gatherings through proximity, collaboration, improvisation, slowness, rest, thus partaking in the intimate act(s) of transmission.
Research Interests: Sociology, Cultural Studies, Improvisation, Performance Studies, Collaboration, and 13 moreStorytelling, Social Media, Practice-Based Research, Intimacy, Compassionate Communication, Visual and Cultural Studies, Process Based Models, Documentary, Collaborative Writing, Recovery, Listening, Slowness, and COVID-19 PANDEMIC
In the midst of a COVID-19 pandemic-struck India, this paper was born as an autoethnographic and analytical inquiry; it presents qualitative and multimodal research into a martial arts dance tradition, Lathi Khela, conducted from 2017 to... more
In the midst of a COVID-19 pandemic-struck India, this paper was born as an autoethnographic and analytical inquiry; it presents qualitative and multimodal research into a martial arts dance tradition, Lathi Khela, conducted from 2017 to 2018. This practice developed as a martial art, with little or no patronage, during the colonial days of the still undivided Bengal. Indeed, it still lives on as a popular martial arts dance tradition in many districts and rural communities of Bengaluru, Bangladesh. Compared to other districts, the Lathi Khela group from the Narail district has continued this practice through innovative methods. The distinctive character of the district is governed by the multi-generational practitioners of Lathi Khela and their creative choreographies, as well as the knowledge it articulates and embodies. Moreover, in Narail, this previously male-dominated profession has also included women since 2008. The focus of this work was the role of gender in the continuity of the Lathi Khela tradition in this district. This was achieved through five semi-structured, demonstrative interviews intuitively applied in the field. The research also drew on an ongoing conversation on Facebook with Rahat, a veteran Lathi Khela practitioner, who took stock of the current cultural landscape in the context of COVID-19. On the one hand, the women of this district occupy a contested space when representing this male-dominated tradition, and on the other, they physically embody lives within the patrilineal boundaries of kinship and marriage. The performativity of gender is thus directly connected to the symbolic meaning of maan, that is, the prestige attributed to the female body within the sociocultural contexts of the Lathi Khela.
Research Interests:
No abstract available.
Research Interests: History, Film Studies, Dance Studies, Performance Studies, Indian Cinema, and 15 moreVisual Ethnography, Sensory Ethnography, Practice Based Research, Screendance, Post colonial studies, Embodied Writing, DANCE FILM, Multidisciplinary Research, Intersectional Feminism, Screen Studies, Bombay Cinema, Spatial Arts, Choreographic Writing, Embodied research, and The female gaze
Research Interests:
In the midst of a COVID-19 pandemic-struck India, this paper was born as an autoethnographic and analytical inquiry; it presents qualitative and multimodal research into a martial arts dance tradition, Lathi Khela, conducted from 2017 to... more
In the midst of a COVID-19 pandemic-struck India, this paper was born as an autoethnographic and analytical inquiry; it presents qualitative and multimodal research into a martial arts dance tradition, Lathi Khela, conducted from 2017 to 2018. This practice developed as a martial art, with little or no patronage, during the colonial days of the still undivided Bengal. Indeed, it still lives on as a popular martial arts dance tradition in many districts and rural communities of Bangladesh. Compared to other districts, the Lathi Khela group from Narail has continued this practice through innovative methods. The distinctive character of the district is governed by the multi-generational practitioners of Lathi Khela and their creative choreographies, as well as the knowledge it articulates and embodies. Moreover, in Narail, this previously male-dominated profession has also included women since 2008. The focus of this work was the role of gender in the continuity of the Lathi Khela tradition in this district. This was achieved through five semi-structured, demonstrative interviews intuitively applied in the field. The research also drew on an ongoing conversation on Facebook with M. Rahat, an experienced Lathi Khela practitioner, who took stock of the current cultural landscape of the practice in the context of COVID-19. On the one hand, the women of this district occupy a contested space when representing this male-dominated tradition, and on the other, they physically embody lives within the patrilineal boundaries of kinship and marriage. The performativity of gender is thus, directly connected to the symbolic meaning of maan, that is, the prestige attributed to the female body within the sociocultural contexts of the Lathi Khela.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests: Film Studies, Dance Studies, Performance Studies, Indian Cinema, Practice-Based Research, and 15 moreVisual Ethnography, Sensory Ethnography, Indian Classical Dance (Kathak), Screendance, Post colonial studies, Embodied Writing, DANCE FILM, Multidisciplinary Research, Intersectional Feminism, Screen Studies, Bombay Cinema, Spatial Arts, Choreographic Writing, Embodied research, and The female gaze
Why does the joker dance? As two dancers from two different parts of the world, New Delhi and Guatemala City, we started a dialogue, not about the dance itself, but perhaps the meaning of dance in the film, not only as a tool in the... more
Why does the joker dance? As two dancers from two different parts of the world, New Delhi and Guatemala City, we started a dialogue, not about the dance itself, but perhaps the meaning of dance in the film, not only as a tool in the movie, but as an immanent characteristic of the Joker as a character himself. This exchange of ideas expressed through a social media platform (without a proper start or ending), the internet became our ‘site ’ for an inter-subjective appreciation of the film started to emerge.
Research Interests:
Lathi Khela is a dying Martial Arts Dance tradition of Bangladesh. This research concerns the continuity of a tradition which developed during the time of colonial undivided Bengal, until today, living as a popular martial arts dance in... more
Lathi Khela is a dying Martial Arts Dance tradition of Bangladesh. This research concerns the continuity of a tradition which developed during the time of colonial undivided Bengal, until today, living as a popular martial arts dance in the rural community of Bangladesh. The aim is to study Lathi Khela in the context of a particular district Narail in Bangladesh, which has managed to continue this practice through its’ innovative methods, as compared to the Lathi Khela in other districts. Through ethnographic techniques which include interviews, visual field notes, and Netnography, this research illustrates the distinctiveness in Narail’s Lathi Khela. Apart from having constituted the knowledge of verbalised content, multi-generational practitioners and creative choreographies, this district has the distinction of including women in this ‘male’ dominated profession of Lathi Khela practice. This research studies in detail how these women occupy a significant position in the practice of this art and further situate themselves in a pre-dominantly patriarchal Muslim community. The thesis argues that there is an ascription of a symbolic meaning of ‘prestige’ to the female body in Micro-Meso and Macro levels in conjunction with the socio-cultural and socio-religious contexts of aforementioned community of Bangladesh. This contributes to the construction of a value system around the Gender Capital. The thesis demonstrates that this capital positions women as basis for contestation in the overall ‘continuity’ of Narail’s Lathi Khela’s transmission.
Keywords : Lathi Khela, Martial Arts Dance, woman , prestige, gender capital, continuity.
Keywords : Lathi Khela, Martial Arts Dance, woman , prestige, gender capital, continuity.