Essays on Classical Indian Dance

Deftly translating the visual experience from the domain of performance to that of writing, this collection delves into questions about what dance is and what dance means to heritage as well as to the various socio-cultural conflicts that prevail in the current. This work joins the historic list of connoisseurship practices of dance. Donovan Roebert’s keen sense of detecting the affective essence of sentiments (rasa) marks him as a connoisseur (rasika) who facilitates reflective imagery (darpan) of dance, both for the dancer and for the reader through the literary domain.

~Dr. Swarnamalya Ganesh, University of Madras, India

Indian dance forms require, for their full flowering, the participation of a discerning spectator. Donovan Roebert, as these essays demonstrate, is not only discerning in his observations, but also analytical, critical and thoughtful. He does not hesitate to ask some difficult but important questions. What is evident in every essay is a deep, selfless engagement with the art form, a rare quality today. These essays are a labour of love and I would recommend that every student of dance read them.

~Prof. Aadya Kaktikar, Shiv Nadar University, India