Performance as cultural text
Defamiliarizing the performing art tradition of Purulia Chhau
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 2177415 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Maheshwar Kumar (0000-0003-2614-112X, National Institute of Science Education and Research, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 24 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 75-78 |
| Publication date | 2025-01-02 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Asian Anthropology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1683-478X • E-ISSN: 2168-4227 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/1683478x.2024.2384771 |
| OpenAlex | W4401267021 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 5 |
Referring to the social and cultural anthropological perspectives and employing a qualitative approach as the primary methodological tool, this PhD dissertation explores the performing art tradition of Chhau in Purulia, West Bengal, as a cultural/performance text. According to Richard Schechner (2006), the performance process as a time-space sequence consists of (1) proto-performance – training, workshop, and rehearsal; (2) performance – warm-up, public performance, events/contexts sustaining the public performance, and cool down; and (3) aftermath – critical responses, archives, and memories. Conflating these three-phase performance sequences, first, the dissertation finds out the correlation between dance habits and restored behavior and analyzes the proto-performance practices of Purulia Chhau. Second, it analyzes the connection between the performative cultures of Chaitra Parva and Purulia Chhau and establishes a synthesis among ritual, performance, and spirituality. It also understands the core performance gist of Purulia Chhau, deriving from the cultures of orality, performativity, and make-believe/make-belief. Third, the dissertation critically looks at the various performance aftermaths such as audience reception, critical responses, archives, memories, new normalization, and women's innovations that take place in Purulia Chhau
Aesthetics · Art · Dance · Literature · Media studies · Performative utterance · Sociology · Diversity and Impact of Dance · History · Theater, Performance, and Music History · Theatre and Performance Studies
| Citations per year | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2025 - 2026 (2) |
| Highly cited | No |