Thread by @nrithyapillai

Some practitioners have now started to begin Bharathanatyam performances with a Hereditary acknowledgement statement, which I think is maybe a good first step in acknowledging the problematic history of Bharathanatyam.

I have personally had messages from some practitioners asking what kind of statement can be read out. For me, I am unable to put in words the violence & the repercussions of the violence women like me (from the castes where Bharathanatyam is appropriated from) continue to face .

But Prof. Hari Krishnan (Wesleyan University) and Dancer Neeraja Ramani together have brought out a statement which they have suggested people can use. I am sharing it in parts as a tweet here with slight changes that I have made.

We at__would like to acknowledge the art which we are practicing as Bharatanatyam today is a reimagining of a dance culture originally practiced by members of the courtesan hereditary community(IsaiVelalar community including femaledancers/devaradiyars&male teachers/nattuvanars)

This art practiced by members from the community was performed at various sites including royal court and temples from Tamil and Telugu speaking parts of South India.

We acknowledge the art practiced by this community was politically,socially and aesthetically challenged during the 19t and early 20th centuries. We are aware of the multiple aesthetic changes which have gone into the reimagining of Bharatanatyam today.

We are thankful that we are able to practice and perform this newly recreated version of Bharatanatyam on this land today.

I want to clarify yet again that the mere reading of an acknowledgement cannot be enough for reparations & reconciliation. Acknowledging caste privilege ,annihilating brahminic power structures and ethical engagement with the artform are a must!