Janet O'Shea
Biographic Data
| ID | 6185325 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Janet O'Shea |
| GIVEN NAMES | Janet |
| FAMILY NAME | O'Shea |
| SIGNATURE | SHEA J O |
| AFFILIATIONS | Janet O'Shea is a performer who has pursued intensive training in bharatanatyam. She conducted research in Chennai, India in 1989, 1995 to 1996 (under the auspices of the American Institute of Indian Studies), and in 1999. She holds a PhD in Dance History and Theory from UC-Riverside and an MA in Tamil from UC-Berkeley. She is a Lecturer in Dance Studies at the University of Surrey, U.K. |
| VERIFIED | No |
| TOTAL WORKS | 9 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 4 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 9 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1998 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2018 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
Risk, Failure, Play
Decried as mere brutality on display and celebrated as viscerally real, combat sport has escaped nuanced reflection. Risk, Failure, Play addresses this gap, signaling the many ways in which competitive martial arts differentiate themselves from violence through risk-based play. Despite its association with frivolity and ease, play is not the opposite of danger, rigor, or failure. Indeed, Risk, Failure, Play demonstrates the ways in which physical…
Conclusion
This section contends with a central irony: Americans are among the most competitive people in the world, and yet we are among the least likely to play competitive sports in adulthood. This exercise gap is usually treated as a public health problem; the goal of this section is to treat it as a social and cultural concern. The conclusion therefore investigates the social and political implications of an American tendency to outsource physical play…
What’s There to Lose? Vulnerability in Combat Sport
This chapter continues the investigation of the separation of form and function in sport fighting, considering it as a process, rather than a thing. It does so initially through an examination of sparring as a reflection on limitation as well as mastery. Aligning feminist philosophy with sport fighters’ accounts of introspection, the chapter defines limitation as the physical condition that sets parameters around ability; in contrast, vulnerabili…
It Matters How You Move
This essay reflects on a collaboration between a neuroscientist and a dance scholar that took the form of a scientific study testing the cognitive benefits of Filipino martial arts (FMA). This piece reflects on the collaboration as it raised methodological issues regarding disciplinarity and cross-disciplinary exchange. This discussion extends to an examination of the intellectual underpinnings and assumptions of the sciences and the humanities, …
Performing Politics
The Routledge dance studies reader
At Home in the World? The Bharatanatyam Dancer As Transnational Interpreter
Bharatanatyam dancers often explain what they are about to perform, offering an introduction to the dance and to the particular narrative to be enacted. This kind of preperformance synopsis brings into play an English verbal framework and a South Indian choreographic one. The explanation interprets the “Eastern” choreography through the “Western” linguistic system. This spoken interlocution risks representing bharatanatyam more as a means of entr…
Technique and Theory in the Work of Kapila Vatsyayan
As a scholar and practitioner of Bharatanatyam I would like, foremost, to express my gratitude to Kapila Vatsyayan for her comprehensive, in-depth studies of Indian classical dance forms. Her work includes attention to both distant and recent epochs in the history of Indian dance as well as to current practice. Her analysis of many divergent sources has laid the groundwork for any academic study of classical Indian dance. She not only provides an…
"Traditional" Indian Dance and the Making of Interpretive Communities
Janet O'Shea explores the differences between the main styles of South India's bharata natyam dance form and explains the rivalries within this artistic world. Her article compares the kalakshetra style associated with Rukmini Devi and the Tanjore court style of Balasaraswati, examining the differences and similarities between these legendary artists as well. Of special interest is the discussion of how Rukmini Devi and Balasaraswati viewed the p…
Technique and Theory in the Work of Kapila Vatsyayan
As a scholar and practitioner of Bharatanatyam I would like, foremost, to express my gratitude to Kapila Vatsyayan for her comprehensive, in-depth studies of Indian classical dance forms. Her work includes attention to both distant and recent epochs in the history of Indian dance as well as to current practice. Her analysis of many divergent sources has laid the groundwork for any academic study of classical Indian dance. She not only provides an…
"Traditional" Indian Dance and the Making of Interpretive Communities
Janet O'Shea explores the differences between the main styles of South India's bharata natyam dance form and explains the rivalries within this artistic world. Her article compares the kalakshetra style associated with Rukmini Devi and the Tanjore court style of Balasaraswati, examining the differences and similarities between these legendary artists as well. Of special interest is the discussion of how Rukmini Devi and Balasaraswati viewed the p…
Technique and Theory in the Work of Kapila Vatsyayan
As a scholar and practitioner of Bharatanatyam I would like, foremost, to express my gratitude to Kapila Vatsyayan for her comprehensive, in-depth studies of Indian classical dance forms. Her work includes attention to both distant and recent epochs in the history of Indian dance as well as to current practice. Her analysis of many divergent sources has laid the groundwork for any academic study of classical Indian dance. She not only provides an…
At Home in the World? The Bharatanatyam Dancer As Transnational Interpreter
Bharatanatyam dancers often explain what they are about to perform, offering an introduction to the dance and to the particular narrative to be enacted. This kind of preperformance synopsis brings into play an English verbal framework and a South Indian choreographic one. The explanation interprets the “Eastern” choreography through the “Western” linguistic system. This spoken interlocution risks representing bharatanatyam more as a means of entr…
The Routledge dance studies reader
Performing Politics
It Matters How You Move
This essay reflects on a collaboration between a neuroscientist and a dance scholar that took the form of a scientific study testing the cognitive benefits of Filipino martial arts (FMA). This piece reflects on the collaboration as it raised methodological issues regarding disciplinarity and cross-disciplinary exchange. This discussion extends to an examination of the intellectual underpinnings and assumptions of the sciences and the humanities, …
Risk, Failure, Play
Decried as mere brutality on display and celebrated as viscerally real, combat sport has escaped nuanced reflection. Risk, Failure, Play addresses this gap, signaling the many ways in which competitive martial arts differentiate themselves from violence through risk-based play. Despite its association with frivolity and ease, play is not the opposite of danger, rigor, or failure. Indeed, Risk, Failure, Play demonstrates the ways in which physical…
Conclusion
This section contends with a central irony: Americans are among the most competitive people in the world, and yet we are among the least likely to play competitive sports in adulthood. This exercise gap is usually treated as a public health problem; the goal of this section is to treat it as a social and cultural concern. The conclusion therefore investigates the social and political implications of an American tendency to outsource physical play…
What’s There to Lose? Vulnerability in Combat Sport
This chapter continues the investigation of the separation of form and function in sport fighting, considering it as a process, rather than a thing. It does so initially through an examination of sparring as a reflection on limitation as well as mastery. Aligning feminist philosophy with sport fighters’ accounts of introspection, the chapter defines limitation as the physical condition that sets parameters around ability; in contrast, vulnerabili…
Sociology (7 works) · Art (6 works) · Dance (6 works) · Diversity and Impact of Dance (6 works) · Visual arts (6 works) · Aesthetics (4 works) · Political science (4 works) · Computer Science (3 works) · Law (3 works) · Psychology (3 works)