IN-PERSON London Heritages. Section B

Abstract

This paper focuses on an interdisciplinary study of dance festivals organized at the World Heritage Site in Khajuraho, India. The Khajuraho Dance Festival began in 1975 and I argue it significantly contributed to the inter/national attention towards the Khajuraho Monuments, later recognized as WHS by UNESCO in 1986. Moreover, the heritage monuments are positioned as material backgrounds for the dance festivals to be staged. The choreographic juxtaposition of monuments and dances offers a spectacle to the viewer that seems aesthetically compelling and politically redolent- and warrants further investigation. My paper will critically delve into this interconnection to unpack the ideas and value of ‘heritage’ attached to both the archaeological monuments and dances performed at these festival renditions. Amongst the plethora of scholarly and documentary works centered around Khajuraho, its annual dance festival, despite its long-standing repute, has not been thoroughly considered. Studies have foregrounded the revenue-generative properties of the dance festivals, without deeply engaging with the networked relationship the dance festivals generate between space, site, public, and performance. My study would like to pronounce how the popularity and value of these sites are secured and maintained through the annual, and thereby continual, performances advanced by dance festivals. Moreover, it is crucial to note that the importance of these representations extends beyond the festival period and site locations. They enter the global media and market and (re)produce cultural imaginaries of the nation. Khajuraho Dance Festival was the earliest of its kind organized in postcolonial India, and it remains one of the most reputed cultural programs of the nation-state. As the festival celebrated its 50th year in February 2024, it is a crucial time to look at its historical trajectory and contemporary relevance.