{"product_id":"9781350555532","title":"Dance and the Secular In Conversation","description":"\u003ch3\u003eDance in Dialogue\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003ch1\u003eDance and the Secular\u003c\/h1\u003e\u003ch2\u003eIn Conversation\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003ch3\u003eMandeep Raikhy\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cb\u003ePerforming Arts \/ Dance \/ Regional \u0026amp; Ethnic\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e volume draws on a travelling venture called The Secular Project, which travelled across India as well as within the UK, France, Germany, Belgium, Vatican City, Italy and Greece, and deliberately chose to address the secular through the moving body. \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe question of the secular has so far been studied in philosophy, theology and law departments. Rarely has the secular been imagined, configured and negotiated through the moving body. The Secular Project's catalyst was the recent wave of Hindu nationalism engulfing India's socio-political landscape and set out to explore the experience of creating and performing various iterations of the secular in different global contexts through dance, movement and performance with over 200 collaborators across the world.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDrawing from this far-reaching project, the book offers a range of performative reflections on the subject. In addition to the editor's overview of the scope of The Secular Project, throughout the book are short, curated dialogues with a diverse selection of cultural practitioners, including dancers, choreographers, directors, film-makers and more, who engaged with the project in various capacities. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe form of these dialogues captured here range from WhatsApp messages, email exchanges, photo essays, transcribed conversations, short essays, Q \u0026amp; As and dialogues via multi-modal AI to notes and even doodles.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThese reflections offer insights into and experiences of the following questions and many more besides:\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eWhat if the secular wasn't just a political idea, but an everyday ritual practised by people? Could it have had a better chance of survival? \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eIf it could be experienced as a feeling, emotion, sensation through our moving bodies, could the secular transform from being a defensive conceptual position to becoming a way of living with difference? \u003cbr\u003eCould such experience enable us to become more empathetic beings? \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDoes the experience of working with another body bring forth relational dilemmas that tell us something particular about the secular? \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eWhat if the secular were a muscle? Does movement allow us to keep this muscle in working condition? \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eWhat does the embodiment of the secular have to do with thinking, moving, performing, action, transformation, discipline, repetition, training and habit?  \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe complexity that the volume brings to the articulation of the secular is reflected in the diversity of its contributors, who include:\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eShuddhabrata Sengupta, an artist, writer and curator \u003cbr\u003eSri Vamsi Matta, a Bangalore-based theatre actor, writer and director\u003cbr\u003eSheema Kermani, a Pakistani classical dancer and social activist\u003cbr\u003eAmeera Nimjee, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Music, Yale University\u003cbr\u003eSaba Dewan, a documentary filmmaker based in New Delhi\u003cbr\u003eAvni Sethi, an Ahmedabad-based interdisciplinary practitioner \u003cbr\u003eFarah Saleh, a Palestinian dancer, choreographer and scholar based in Scotland \u003cbr\u003eNisha Abdulla, a playwright and director based out of Bangalore, India \u003cbr\u003eUlduz Ahmadzadeh, Tehran-born dancer and choreographer\u003cbr\u003eWagner Schwartz, a Brazilian choreographer, dancer and writer\u003cbr\u003eNavtej Singh Johar, a Bharatanatyam dancer-choreographer, yoga practitioner, scholar and social activist\u003cbr\u003eAsad Ali Zulfiqar, a Karachi-based media artist\u003cbr\u003eSage Ni'Ja Whitson, a US-based queer non-binary, trans, multidisciplinary artist and futurist\u003cbr\u003eJ. Bouey, a US-based performer, choreographer, educator and writer \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOverall, the book demonstrates the transformative potential of moving bodies and their ability to galvanise collective action globally and across generations.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eMandeep Raikhy\u003c\/b\u003e is a dance practitioner with a particular interest in exploring the intersections between dance creation, performance, research and pedagogy. His choreographic work has been preoccupied with exploring the relationship between choreographic practice and political resistance. He has created several dance works, which have travelled across India and internationally over the years including Kampnagel, South Bank Centre and Singapore International Arts Festival. He toured with Shobana Jeyasingh Dance Company, London, between 2005 and 2009; from 2009 to 2019, he was Managing Director at Gati Dance Forum; and between 2018 and 2020, he taught as Assistant Professor at the MA Performance Practice (Dance) at Ambedkar University, Delhi.\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ctable\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePublication Date: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e29 April 2027\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePublisher: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eBloomsbury Academic\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eImprint: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eBloomsbury Academic\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eISBN-13: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e9781350555532\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eFormat: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eHardback\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePage Count: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e192\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eWeight (oz): \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e16.0\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e","brand":"Bloomsbury Academic","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51378334695564,"sku":"9781350555532","price":103.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/fh90cf-fv.myshopify.com\/products\/9781350555532","provider":"Late Knight Books and Services, LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}