ABSTRACT

In November 1999, I attended a free performance of the South Indian dance style, bharata natyam.1 The performance was hosted in the Logan Hall – a venue with the capacity to seat over a thousand people, situated in Bloomsbury in the heart of London. As each audience member entered the hall, we were handed a glossy brochure with photographs of the dancer on the front and back covers. Inside was the programme for the performance, along with letters of congratulation, credits, information giving the context of the performance and a note of thanks from the dancer. The performance lasted a couple of hours with a short interval. When it ended and the 700-odd audience members trooped out of the hall, we were each handed a wrapped package of food – comprising a full South Indian meal. The performance in question was the arangetram of a 15-year-old girl, just about to go into upper school.