Explore the range of faculty engagement with world regions and global issues by browsing the Faculty Database System or by searching for particular keywords (major world area, country, research topic, etc).

While the Duke International website strives to provide a comprehensive listing of Duke faculty with international research interests, you may also find additional information by exploring school-specific faculty listings

---

Purnima Shah, Assistant Professor of the Practice, Dance

Contact Info:

Office Location:	212 Bivins Building
Office Phone:	(919) 660-3377
Email Address:

Teaching (Spring 2023):

• DANCE 316S.01, APPROACHES TO CHOREOGRAPHY Synopsis

  Rubenstein 131, MW 01:45 PM-03:00 PM

• DANCE 356.01, DANCE/DANCE THEATER OF ASIA Synopsis

  Rubenstein 131, MW 12:00 PM-01:15 PM

  (also cross-listed as AMES 246.01, ICS 243.01, RELIGION 241.01, THEATRST 233.01)

Education:

Ph.D.	University of Wisconsin - Madison	2000
M.A.	University of California - Los Angeles	1992

Specialties:

Performance Studies
Technique

Research Interests: Asian Dance and Theatre Performance, Dance Ethnography, Dance History and Theory, Asian dance Diaspora

Keywords:

Asia • Dance • Theater • Dance Ethnography

Representative Publications   (More Publications)

1. Shah, P, Performing Migration: the Journeys of Indian Dance in America, Attendance: the Dance Annual of India, vol. 15 (2013), pp. 54-61
2. Shah, Purnima, Documentary film, Dancing with the Goddess: the Ras-Garba Traditions of Gujarat. (2012)  [author's comments]
3. Shah, P, “Dance: 1200-1900 CE” Cultural Sociology of West, Central and South Asia., in Cultural Sociology of the Middle East, Asia and Africa Encyclopedia. Sage Reference, vol. IV, part II (2012)
4. Shah, P, Bhakti Andolana Prerita Natya ane Nrtya Prakaromam Bhaktirasa ane Madhuryabhava = The Concept of Bhaktirasa and Madhurabhava in the Bhakti Genre of Indian Dance-Theatre. (2010), B. J. Institue of Learning and Research
5. Shah, P, Physio-Spiritual Transcendence through the Practice of Devotional Dance-Theatre in India, Repertorio: Teatro & Danca, University of Bahia, vol. 15 no. 18 (2012), pp. 43-48  [abs]
6. Shah, Purnima, Editor, South Asia and South-east Asia Volume,, Encyclopedia of World Dance (2006-09)  [author's comments]
7. Shah, Purnima, Garba Dance and Goddess Worship in Gujarat, India (in-progress) (2013)
8. Shah, P, Randala Ritual: Women’s Heritage and Identity in Gujarat, India, in Ritual, Heritage and Identity: The Politics of Culture and Performance in a Globalized World, edited by Brosius, C; Polit, K (2011), New Delhi: Routledge.
9. Shah, P, Innovative Approaches in Contemporary Kathak Dance: a Choreographic Appreciation, Nartanam, a Quarterly Journal of Indian Dance, vol. XI no. 3 (September, 2011), pp. 66-77
10. Shah, P, Some Issues on Gender Politics in the Bhakti Genre of Dance-Theatre Performance, Samipya Journal of Indology, vol. XXV no. 3-4 (October, 2009), pp. 1-33
11. Shah, P, Negotiating Gender in Contemporary Kathak Dance Choreography, Samipya Journal of Indology, vol. XXV no. 1-2 (April, 2008), pp. 1-15

Conferences Organized

• Across the Threshold: Creativity, Being, Healing, Planning Committee member and Presentation coordinator, 2012 -2013  

Assistant Professor of the Practice of Dance, (Asian Dance and Theatre, Dance History and Theory, Kathak dance technique) holds a Ph.D. in Performance Studies and Ethnography with a focus on Asian Performance. As a classical dancer specializing in Bharatanatyam and Kathak dances of India, she performed as a government delegate for India in Portugal, Germany, Sweden, Mongolia, USA and the former USSR.