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Funding, fame, and why some art forms are protected while others are forgotten. Decolonizing culture is more than a checkbox. This highly informed academic critique of cultural canons by Navatman member, Johann Moore, discusses how “The Western Canon” maintains its power, who is expected to diversify it, and how non-Western classical traditions (like ours!) exist independently of Western approval.
Power, Praxis, and Inclusion Canons are of course at least as exclusionary by design as inclusionary. Can The Western Canon be decolonised, should it be and by whom? How do material and especially, class interests affect and serve to delimit the canon? How does inclusion function to decolonize the canon? Questions to keep in mind perhaps? Indigenous cultural practitioners should feel no obligation to assume a burden which is not theirs, despite non-Indigenous spectators' apparent assumptions regarding who should do the work of inclusion. The work is in the including, as an active, conscious practice and even a politically aware praxis. Non-Indigenous male practitioners as well as advocates are afforded perhaps greater interest and deference by Western audiences, being seen as quirkily multiculturally committed, an allowance made to white men but less to white women whose culturally eclectic interests are often dismissed as infatuations, frequently assigned to romance or romanticism. Serenely Sovereign and Self-Sufficient Indigenous canons, especially highly codified forms of cultural expression, exist serenely sovereign and sufficient unto themselves and their practitioners. Indigenous cultural canons, both formal, see state-recognised:
… and informal but grassroots-determined "canons" such as Black diasporic or Latine dance (admitted to a canon by West Side Story?) and musical traditions exemplify this.  Hegemony, Influence, and Advocacy Arguably the Western canon is uniquely hegemonic, both in "high" culture and at its most permeating in pop culture. However Afro-Latine influences on Balanchine, Bernstein and Copland as well as the more recent widespread popularity of Bollywood show that the influence can run the other way, however much it may retain a sense of exoticism for culturally Western audiences. Cognoscenti may however become canon advocates, such as the NYT's much-missed and exquisitely erudite Alastair Macaulay whose coverage and serious reviews of South Asian dance remain memorable. Or my own much more modest request (through an onboard letter through my shipmate from Chennai to Singapore, his Excellency the Ambassador of India to Singapore) to the Government of India in 2019 to expeditiously add Nautch to the eight classical dance forms. As a canonic protection against Ul-Haq's ongoing impacts decades later of politicized religious fundamentalism which destroyed much cultural creation and caused the dispersal of its practitioners to the Persian Gulf. Institutional Solidarity Acknowledging Lincoln Center Library's canonizing inclusion of the work of Sridharji (including iconic stage-lighting!) means considering an ask such as a Lincoln Center dance exchange programme. Even perhaps a joint tour of the resident ballet companies alongside canonically less included dance traditions practiced here and a complementary participation by classical companies and soloists dancing in South or East Asia, to perform here. Institutional advocacy, such as by Navatman and Baila Society, relieves individuals of the risk of being targeted for cultural advocacy, especially under current parlous conditions. Or rather collectivizes it, as solidarity does. Material and class interests determining a canon, primarily through funding but also ticket sales, remain a key fraught topic perhaps better addressed separately alongside the political-ideological obligations that tend to accompany governmental funding. About this post This post is part of an ongoing series reflecting on cross-cultural community, ancestral memory, and the ways dance carries both joy and resistance. These stories are not separate from the work on stage. They ARE the work. When the Sun Rises brings these threads together in a live experience. Join us June 26–28 at Ailey Theater. Be part of what we are building. Every dollar puts a dancer on stage. About us
Navatman and Baila Society joined forces in 2024 for a uniquely New York City experience: a place where two women-led arts organizations based in the cultural traditions of Afro-Latinx arts (Salsa, Latin Hustle, Afro-Cuban) and Indian arts (Bharatanatyam, Kathak, Hindustani and Carnatic music) come together. In this shared space, we explore how the force of artists and students working together can promote, define, and create a sense of stability and strength, joy and love within communities at large - particularly through artistic endeavors. Written by Johann Moore
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