Gopika Mohan, currently a research scholar in the Department of Dance, SN School, University of Hyderabad (UoH) under the supervision of Prof. M. S. Siva Raju, presented a paper titled “The Tragic Themes and Performative Strategies in the School Dance Competition in Kerala” at the International Conference conducted by the International Federation for Theatre Research, IFTR 2024 Manila.
The theme of the conference was ‘Our States of Emergency, Theatre and Performances of Tragedy’, held from July 15-19 at the University of the Philippines, Diliman. She presented the paper on July 18 in the New Scholars Forum, session called: Virtuosity, Participation, Dynamics of Excess’ chaired by Prof. Maria Delgado, Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, United Kingdom.
The paper deals with the tragic themes presented in the dance competition in the Kerala School kalolsavam. The proposed paper tries to analyse thematic and performative strategies conceived, processed and consumed by the partakers of kalolsavam. Here, tragedy becomes commemorative and performative within the structured duration of five minutes competition time.
Gopika’s participation in the conference was supported by a travel grant from the UoH Institute of Eminence (IoE)