Intangible Inventions

The Kalbeliya Gypsy Dance Form, From Its Creation to UNESCO Recognition

  • Ayla Joncheere
DOI: https://doi.org/10.47979/aror.j.83.1.71-93
Keywords: Kālbeliyā community, dance, UNESCO, Intangible Heritage, Invented Tradition, Cultural Policy

Abstract

Despite the creation of the Kalbeliya (Kālbeliyā) dance form in the 1980s, it was recognized as a UNESCO intangible cultural heritage in 2010. Rajasthani “Gypsy” performances, featuring a dance designed by the nomadic Kalbeliya community, have quickly become popular among tourists in India as well as on Western world music stages. The state of Rajasthan, where the Kalbeliyas hail from, is celebrated as “India’s heritage state” by the Indian government as it seeks to promote tourism and the international dissemination of Indian culture through performances and festivals. In this paper, I sketch the history of the Kalbeliya dance form from its origins in the 1980s through to the UNESCO nomination in 2010. Moreover, I discuss the effects of its recognition as a world heritage dance tradition. The official approval of the Kalbeliya dance form as a heritage activity further highlights the challenges to UNESCO’s candidate selection process. This paper aims to explain the reasons for the nomination of the Kalbeliya dance form (how and why UNESCO was persuaded to recognize it as a suitable candidate) by connecting this to the continued processes of nationalism and romanticism, the economic strategies adopted by the cultural tourism industry and the commodification and commercialization of Indian folk arts.

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Author Biography

Ayla Joncheere

AYLA JONCHEERE is currently working on a PhD project, preliminarily entitled Kalbeliya Dance: from Veiled Gypsy Dance to Contemporary Heritage on the Global Stage (2012–16). She holds a master’s degree in Indian Languages and Cultures from Ghent University (2010), and a postgraduate qualification in Cultural Management from Artevelde Hogeschool (2011). She began her training in Kālbeliyā dance at the age of twelve (2001), and spent considerable time touring in Europe with Rajasthani artists (including Kālbeliyā dancers). After 2006, she began traveling to India on a regular basis to work with Kālbeliyā dancers and other artist communities in Rajasthan.

Published
2015-05-15
How to Cite
Joncheere, A. (2015). Intangible Inventions: The Kalbeliya Gypsy Dance Form, From Its Creation to UNESCO Recognition. Archiv orientální, 83(1), 71-93. https://doi.org/10.47979/aror.j.83.1.71-93
Issue
Vol. 83 No. 1 (2015)
Section
Research Article

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