Research Methodology for Performing Arts

By Dr. Sreelatha Vinod

Research Methodology for Performing Arts is a functional primer for thesis development & planning that offers guidance on form and structure with de nitions, process clarity and presentation approach. An important companion for Bharatanatyam students and researchers alike, who set out on their journey to a Phd.

• Language: English
• Publisher: 16Leaves
• Release date: Nov 29, 2022
• ISBN: 9789395515870

Book preview

Research Methodology for Performing Arts

Research Methodology for Performing Arts

A Handbook for Bharatanatyam Practitioners

Dr. Sreelatha Vinod

First Edition, 2023

Copyright © Dr. Sreelatha Vinod, 2023

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Paperback ISBN: 978-93-95515-43-6

eBook ISBN: 978-93-95515-87-0

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To my Late Father

Shri P.K. Viswanathan

who believed in me

more than I did myself.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I thank my Dance Gurus - Sri. Arunachalam Pillai who initiated me into this art form and to The Dhanajayans who molded me into the Bharatanatyam dancer I am today. I owe all my learning to them.

I sincerely thank Dr. S. Raghuraman, for his valuable inputs in every step of my work. It was at his insistence that I garnered the courage to bring forth this work.

I thank Dr. Mamata Dash and Dr. Sinirudha Dash for their invaluable guidance and inputs. They were key in helping distill key areas from extensive works.

I would like to make a mention of all my students thus far, who have been instrumental in writing this. Without them this endeavor would make little sense.

I thank all my family members who have supported my efforts. I wish to express my appreciation to my husband Vinod Kumar and my brother Madhu Viswanathan who have been my most ardent critics, editors and listeners.

Author’s Note

Research in any field or subject by definition needs to be planned, structured and contextually referenced where possible. In my years of study, performance and teaching of Bharatanatyam, I have personally experienced a reality that may perhaps be faced by a number of dancers and practitioners who venture into research. Whilst there have been a number of guides for research methodology in the sciences and arts, there have been no accessible research methodology guidelines relevant to the field of Indian classical dance, especially Bharatanatyam.

My intent and effort here is to fill that void and bring out this handbook specifically for research students of dance to develop & submit papers of their own. It should prove beneficial to both under graduate and post graduate students who intend to pursue doctoral studies towards a PhD in an Indian academic context.

To these academic aspirants, this document should offer a clear ‘step by step’ guide to format their work or theses. It will help students to classify information under separate heads and to achieve an overall presentation format for the full document that is accepted by established universities.

In my humble attempt to bring out this book, I am happy to have contributed in my own small way to help budding research scholars pursuing dissertations in the performing arts.

Sreelatha Vinod

Foreword

I have known Dr. Sreelatha Vinod from the 1980s as a disciple of the renowned Bharatanatyam exponents – The Dhananjayans. I have always observed her as a versatile Bharatanatyam performer with an extremely excellent stage presence, endowed with all the necessary Samudrika Lakshanas that a dancer should possess. I remember her participation in the Dhananjayans’ dance dramas like Sanghamitra, Karuna, Seetha Rama Katha and Ekantha Seetha where she performed the principal roles.

Dr.Sreelatha Vinod is also the director of Anthara Centre for Performing Arts where around 100 students learn the art form. She is also the President of Prayathnam - a forum for Bharatanatyam dance teachers. She has to her credit several performances, lecture demonstrations and workshops both in India and abroad including the Gulf countries, America, Canada, Malaysia and Singapore. She has received titles like Natya Sree and Natya Ratna and also the title of Kalaimamani awarded by the Govt of Tamilnadu.

She has been a guest faculty since completing her M.A in Bharatanatyam, a course that I had introduced in 2004 at the Department of Music – University of Madras.

In 2018 during my tenure as the Vice-Chancellor of the Tamil Nadu Dr. J.Jayalalithaa Music and Fine Arts University, I invited her to be a faculty of the department of Bharatanatyam. Her classes have been very well received, proving to be an asset for the University.

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