Practising cultural identities: British Indians' use of Indian classical dance

Abstract

Abstract The Indian diaspora has faced many obstacles including the challenge of navigating their dual identities, in order to belong in the UK. Music and dance are popular ways of practising cultural identities, which could mean that British Indians (BIs) use Indian Classical Dance (ICD) for maintaining cultural continuity and establishing a strong cultural identity. This qualitative study explores the reasons behind ICD practice, the relationship between ICD practice and the cultural identities of BIs, and the role served by themes of cultural continuity in their talk about identity. We conducted semi‐structured interviews with 10 UK‐based, Indian classical dance artists and analysed them using Thematic Analysis to identify the following themes: (1) Dual‐Identity Struggle (Sub‐themes: Confusion and Isolation and Racism and Stereotypes), (2) Parental Influence, (3) Embracing Dual‐Identity (Sub‐themes: Growth with Age and Impact of a Diverse Community), (4) Benefits of ICD (Sub‐themes: Education & Connection to Indian religion and history and Expressing & Understanding Identity) and (5) ICD: Authenticity versus Modernity (Sub‐themes: Authentic ICD in UK and Modernising ICD). The results from this piece of exploratory research have generated further data that improves our understanding of how BIs maintain a sense of collective continuity, and how they practise their Indian identity in daily life. Limitations of this study include the lack of balance between participants of different genders and dance styles. Therefore, further research can be developed including large‐scale studies on the role of ICD between genders, nationalities or generations.

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