Physio-Spiritual Transcendence through the Practice of Devotional Dance-Theatre in India

This paper is a discussion on the training and practice of devotional dance-theatre in India which emerged between the 16th through 19th centuries as a result of wide spread devotional movements that swept the country. Largely led by devotional saints, theologians and religious reformers, the dramatic art of role-playing was employed as a religious technique with an aim of achieving a physio-spiritual transcendence into the higher states of being within an eternal proximity to one’s personal god.

Duke Scholars

Author Purnima Shah Dance Program