This thesis examines the performance of Indian classical dance in the contemporary 'diaspora space' (Brah 1996) represented by the city of London. My aim is to analyse whether and how performances of "national" art, assumed to represent an equally "national" culture, change when performed in transnational contexts. Drawing upon theories of postcolonialism, multiculturalism and diaspora, I begin my study with an historical analysis of the reconstructed origins of the dance in the intertwined discourses of British colonialism and Indian nationalism. Using this analysis to ground my ethnography of the present-day practice of the dance, I unearth its relation to discourses of contemporary multiculturalism and South Asian diasporic identity. I then demonstrate specific ways in which the relationship between colonial and postcolonial artistic production on the one hand and contemporary performances of national and multicultural identity on the other are visible in the current practices and approaches of diasporic and multicultural Indian classical dancers. My thesis advances the scholarship that has demonstrated the link between the construction of Indian classical dance and the Indian nationalist movement by highlighting particular ways in which historical narrative, national and religious identities, gendered ideals and racialised categories are constituted through, and help produce in turn, contemporary Indian classical dance practices in the diaspora. Locating my study in the UK while still accounting for the Indian nationalist aspects of the dance, my contribution to the scholarly literature is to analyse its performance in relation to both Indian and British national identity. My research demonstrates that Indian classical dance is co-produced by both British and Indian national discourses and their respective cultural and political imperatives, even as the dance contributes to the formation of British, Indian and South Asian diasporic politico-cultural identities.

This research explores the lives and experiences of female exotic dancers with the aim of gaining an empathic understanding of their involvement in the stripping industry. The stereotypes and generalizations of exotic dancers and the stripping industry undermine the exotic dancer's ability to be seen as an individual with her own story and her own experiences. The participants of this research were selected through convenience sampling and consist of three female exotic dancers. The researcher interviewed the participants using a semi-structured interview format and focused on the dancer's experience within the exotic dancing industry, her family history, her relationships, and personal life. The data was analysed using thematic network analysis. The thematic networks are often contradictory and inconsistent with the common stereotypes and ideas held about exotic dancers. The results indicate that some exotic dancers experience meaning, healing, gratification, and power within their work and live responsible, productive lives. / Psychology / M.A. (Clinical Psychology)

Les avancées technologiques, principalement au niveau des télécommunications, interrogent les formes de relation et les transferts d’informations dans le monde actuel. La danse contemporaine, affectée par l’usage des technologies sur la scène (image vidéo, internet, logiciel), voit se modifier les manières de chorégraphier. Si les éléments de base de la création chorégraphique, à savoir le corps dansant, l’espace scénique et le temps de la danse, sont transgressés par l’usage des technologies de la télécommunication (téléprésence), comment les chorégraphes pensent-ils et écrivent-ils la danse en incluant ces nouveaux paramètres ? Que peut perdre ou gagner la danse ? Assistons-nous à l’éveil d’une nouvelle danse, ou à l’émergence d’un autre art ? La redéfinition du corps dansant, en interaction avec son espace et son temps, se trouve au centre de cette recherche. Un projet pratique sous forme d’un laboratoire de création chorégraphique multidisciplinaire, Seuil-Lab, est proposé comme méthodologie de travail pour l’analyse théorique de cette recherche. / Technological advances, especially in telecommunications, call into question relationship modes and information transfers in today’s world. Contemporary dance has been affected by the use of technologies on stage (image, video, internet, software), which has modified choreographic practices. If the basic elements of choreographic creation - namely the dancing body, scenic space and dance time – are infringed upon by the use of technology and telecommunication (telepresence), how can choreographers think and write including these new parameters ? What can dance gain or lose ? Are we witnessing the dawn of a new dance, or the surfacing of a new art ? The redefinition of the dancing body, which interacts with its space and time, is at the core of this research. As a working methodology for the theoretical analysis of this research, we propose Seuil-Lab, a hands-on project in the form of a multidisciplinary choreographic creation lab.