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Post-colonial revival

The 1910 ban triggered protests against the stereotyping and dehumanization of temple dancers. Tamil people were concerned that a historic and rich dance tradition was being victimized under the excuse of social reform. Classical art revivalists such as E. Krishna Iyer, a lawyer who had learned from traditional practitioners of Sadir, questioned the cultural discrimination and the assumed connection, asking why prostitution needs years of training for performance arts, and how killing performance arts could end any evils in society. Iyer was arrested and sentenced to prison on charges of nationalism, who while serving out his prison term persuaded his fellow political prisoners to support Bharatanatyam.

While the British colonial government enforced laws to suppress Hindu temple dances, some from the West, such as the American dancer Esther Sherman moved to India in 1930, learned Indian classical dances, changed her name to Ragini Devi, and joined the movement to revive Bharatanatyam and other ancient dance arts.

The Indian independence movement in the early 20th century, already in progress, became a period of cultural foment and initiated an effort by its people to reclaim their culture and rediscover history. In this period of cultural and political turmoil, Bharatanatyam was revived as a mainstream dance outside of Hindu temples by artists such as Rukmini Devi Arundale, Balasaraswati and Yamini Krishnamurti They championed and performed the Pandanallur style and Thanjavur styles of Bharatanatyam.

Nationalist movements that brought revitalizing devadasis up as an issue to focus on viewed it as a way to critique the imposition of colonial morality on India. However, the revival movement was not without Western influence. Nationalist movements that also focused on devadasis revival were influenced by Western ideas of democratization of arts. Part of the revival movement was making the opportunity to dance open to more people. Nationalist movements that focused on revival were also influenced by Western ideology through their propagation that part of the revival movement is a reassertion of traditional values, as well as a moment to remind people of the country’s cultural heritage and reestablish a sense of identity. Fighting for freedom from the British and fighting for civil liberties included debates about morality, and how gender impacts morality. The revival movement moralized devadasis by democratizing the art, while also decorating it with the female performing class. Figures like Rukmini Devi Arundale, who are credited with revitalizing Bharatanatyam, also shifted the practice to appeal to middle to upper-class women. Rukmini Devi Arundale is credited with helping develop the Kalakshetra style of Bharatanatyam. There was an emphasis on building a modern India through Indian nationalism, which tied in with protecting traditional artistic traditions. The decommercialization and sanitation of Bharatanatyam for the sake of protecting the spirit of the art is part of Bharatanatyam’s revival. Bharatanatyam’s successful revival meant that it was regarded as a classical dance tradition specific to India, as opposed to a cultural dance that had been changed by colonial censorship. It was becoming a modern nation to have a traditional dance that was practiced recreationally and was nationally recognized. With the standardization of Bharatanatyam, there came books based on historic texts, like Natya Shastra, which described the different movements. Evidence of a successful revival movement of Bharatanatyam through Indian Nationalist movements was the introduction of state-sponsored dance festivals in 1955 in an independent India. These festivals were put on to display art with religious, social, and cultural connotations that have some regional diversity on a common national platform.

In the late 20th century, Tamil Hindu migrants reintroduced the traditions of temple dancing in British Tamil temples.