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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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Returning to the fold; what it taught me about myself, motherhood and community We spend lifetimes believing that we have to do it ALL and do it SOLO; thinking that self-reliance is the way and hyper-independence is the ultimate armor. This profound post by Navatman member, Shruti Sharma, reflects on unlearning this. By returning to dance amidst the chaos of motherhood, she found strength in surrendering to the village and embracing the warmth of community.
Raised with a highly competitive mindset, I was the textbook eldest daughter with a go it alone attitude. I was so thoroughly subscribed to the idea of hyper-independence that I had convinced myself it was the only way to exist. The superior way, even. When I started dancing, I was in a different phase of life than most of my fellow dancers. My schedule was dictated by the availability of a babysitter, the recovery from a new monthly virus my daughter had picked up at school and invariably shared with me, or figuring out if my aching ankle could handle a short day of riyaaz on top of the 10k steps I was going to inflict on it chasing my daughter at playgrounds. Every moment of my day had to be meticulously rationed into prioritized calendar blocks, just as every bit of my post-partum and maternal energy was strictly allocated to the various roles I was required to perform. When I finally ceased my dancing - unaware at the time that it was merely a temporary departure - I struck a solemn bargain with myself: I would refuse the siren call of reminiscence. My days had freed up some, yet I found myself adrift and untethered. I told myself that the feeling would pass, but the reality was this: dance had become so inextricably woven into the very fabric of my existence that, without it, I was unraveling.  Upon my return, I was struck by the realization that it was the village I had surrendered that I had yearned for the most. While I craved the dance, it was the embrace of my mentors and peers - offered with such unreserved warmth - that instilled in me the comforting sense of never having truly departed from the fold. It’s easy to overlook the importance of community, especially in systems that propagate and incentivize bootstrap individualism. The benefits are often intangible at first. For me, they manifested as co-regulation- a neurological phenomenon where we calm each other down just by being together. The meditative nature of repetitive dance movements coupled with the mutual soothing of the central nervous system helped dim the din of everyday life in profound ways. It made me realize that finding these nooks of stillness ultimately empowered me to show up as a better version of myself in all walks of life. A personal memory surfaces, one that I hope illuminates the essence of the thoughts I have shared: On an evening heavy with rain and a theater brimming with expectant eyes, as my fellow dancers and I stepped onto the stage to perform a piece that had lived in our bodies for months, something transformational took hold. As I looked into the eyes of a young dancer, I found them mirrored in mine, both glimmering with unshed tears. This singular moment, spontaneous and entirely unchoreographed, held us together in a state of pure connection - a transcendence that dissolved every difference that once stood between us. In that instant, the importance of why we do what we do truly crystallized for me, as it did I am certain, for my fellow dancer. 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. 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 Shruti Sharma Creativity, community, and the courage to dance through times of upheaval When the world feels like it’s fracturing, creativity is a vital act of resilience. This insightful post by Navatman member, Sonia Sekhar, reminds us that art is more than a metaphor. For Navatman and Baila, it is the practice of dreaming a better world into reality.
Bruce Springsteen opened at a recent concert by calling “upon the righteous power of art“ to help get us through these terrifying times. It’s a striking declaration - because in a moment of crisis we tend to focus on how we can ensure physical safety and provide basic human needs. But for the students of Navatman and Baila Society, art is critical to our survival. “Art is a service.” “Art is a form of dignity.” These aren’t abstractions. They’re the convictions of Navatman and Baila Society students of all ages and backgrounds - from those who grew up dancing in New York City to those who began as adults, from people raised in India to those who found movement as a second language. What unites them is not biography, but in belief: that art can be “a form of self preservation” and “a declaration of love”, and that they need art when the world feels unwelcoming and unsafe to so many.  So when politics and power feel captured by money and disinformation, does art have any real influence? In every period of upheaval, artists are among the key messengers of moral clarity and advocates who bring us back to our collective humanity. James Baldwin, Langston Hughes, Nina Simone delivered profound messages directly, with rhythm, and brutal simplicity. We are all human. Can we not show each other humanity? That clarity - that insistence to meet each other as our true and raw selves beneath all that meets the eye and our biases - is what made their work break through. Art also widens the circle of movements, bringing in and gathering those who may not look or sound or move like those in power. Art reaches deep into spaces that policy cannot. It bypasses rational (or irrational) arguments into feelings, our core.  Sarah Sentiles puts it plainly “Artists were made for moments like these. This is what we have been practicing for. This is why we’ve been exercising our imaginations. So we can come up with alternatives. So we can dream up a better world. So we can remember who we are.” We cannot absorb the misery and suffering of these moments in silence. We must paint it, dance it, sing it, in community, into reality the world we want. For the Navatman and Baila Society community, this isn’t a metaphor, it’s practice. Together, we keep the music going, dancing toward a world where love is what moves us. 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. 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 Sonia Sekhar Dance is therapy for an uncertain world In a philosophy session for our upcoming June program, we experienced a connected share that the world feels chaotic globally and personally. How do we find our way back to center? This evocative post by Navatman member, Abha Rajbhandari, explores dance as a means to finding flow, healing, and connection at the intersection of neuroscience and ancient wisdom.
Scientifically with uncertainty, stress accumulates, purpose can blur, and fear can sometimes leave us feeling stuck. In these moments, an important question arises: can we find grounding, flow, and understanding through movement? More specifically, can dance be a form of therapy? Emerging research suggests that it can. Dance engages the body and brain together, flow state, supporting emotional regulation, cognitive flexibility, and a sense of connection. It is not just movement but it is a way of processing, expressing, and reorganizing experience. For many, including myself, dance has been one of the most direct ways to enter a flow state, a space where attention is focused, self-consciousness softens, and action feels both effortless and deeply engaged for a bigger purpose. Both science and spirituality point toward a similar insight: creativity and healing in these times can flourish when we quiet inner noise, expand awareness, and create space for new possibilities. From a scientific perspective, dance integrates imagination, memory, attention, and flexible thinking. When we are less reactive and less caught in overthinking, the brain shifts away from threat-based actions toward exploration and adaptability. From a spiritual perspective, creativity like dance is something we allow to happen. As the mind becomes quieter, we become more receptive. Movement becomes less about effort and more about listening.  This understanding is deeply reflected in the tradition of Bharatanatyam, rooted in the ancient Natya Shastra, which describes a powerful sequence of awareness: Yatho Hasta Tatho Drishti | Where the hand goes, the eyes follow Yatho Drishti Tatho Manah | Where the eyes go, the mind follows Yatho Manah Tatho Bhaava | Where the mind goes, emotion arises Yatho Bhaava Tatho Rasa | Where emotion flows, experience is evoked This progression shows how movement shapes perception, perception shapes thought, thought shapes emotion, and emotion becomes a shared experience for the dancer and the observer. Dance, in this sense, is not just performance but it is a pathway from awareness to connection.  In times when everything feels heavy or uncertain, dance offers something fundamental: a return to the body. Fear can feel paralyzing, but movement restores a sense of agency and of being able to feel, respond, and express. Dance becomes a space where emotions such as uncertainty, anger, or frustration are not suppressed but transformed into something meaningful. It is also a reminder that even in difficult times, there is still rhythm, still expression, still life moving through us. Dance does not deny the complexity and dualities of everything and the world we are in, but it allows meeting those complexities of the world with the non-dual presence and awareness. Ultimately, dance is more than art. It is regulation, expression, awareness, and connection. It brings light not necessarily by removing darkness, but by allowing us to move through it! 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. 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 Abha Rajbhandari |
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June 2026
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