Dance in South India: The Other Mind

In the island of Bali the ecstasy into which the dancer's own movements sweep him is called 'the other mind', and the author has chosen this phrase, which so well describes the entranced state common to dancers all over the world, as the title of her present book. The Other Mind deals with dancing in South India, in particular with the two main forms of classical dance: Bharata Natya, a women's dance, descended from that of the dedicated temple-dancers, and Kathakali, the famous dance drama of Malabar, in which all the parts are taken by men, and masks are replaced by a most elaborate traditional make-up. Considerable space is also devoted to the trance dances or dances of 'possession' by spirits, which form part of every temple ceremony among the lower castes, from whom the 'devil dancers' are drawn.