Beyond the Silver Screen: Bollywood and Film Dance in the UK

Abstract

This article first highlights the relative paucity of literature on South Asian dance and provides a brief overview of existing material. It then examines particularly the influence of filmi or Bollywood dance on South Asian dance practices in the UK. It locates film dance within the Bollywood genre, noting its recent acceptance as a new form of popular culture and its attractions for the younger generation of British Asians. The place of dance in Hindi films is analysed and discussed briefly to contextualise the relationship between such film dances and South Asian dance practice in Britain. Using evidence from fieldwork gathered in Leicester and London amongst dance teachers and students of South Asian dance, the paper questions notions of identity, authenticity, tradition and the changing nature of dance transmission as Bollywood forms grow in popularity.