Ruth St. Krishna Dance Costumes

The simple fascination with the exotic East has evolved into a cloudy perception of the Orient. The artistic minds of many dancers, composers, and choreographers began making false generalizations of various aspects of Middle Eastern, South Asian, and Eastern Cultures. According to public intellectual and theorist; Edward Said, Orientalism is the “general patronizing Western attitude towards Middle Eastern, Asian and North African cultures based on underdeveloped theories and fabrications that are not accurately studied”. CITE. The argument that Ruth St. Deni’s Radha (1906) is an obscure Western interpretation of the Hindu Myth of Radha and Krishna is evident through St. Denis’ customized costume use, obliteration of the classical marriage plot, and use of feminist spatial …show more content…
Despite the glaring similarities between the costume style in Radha and those of the traditional temple dancers, Ruth St. Denis’ own take on costume design deviate her costume from traditional Indian aesthetics. The temple dancers of the RadhaKrishna Dance are known for their use of ghagra-choli (flared skirt fitted blouse) dance costumes during dance worship. CITE. Ruth St. Denis’ mimicry of ghagra-choli costume differs in the abstinence from dupatta (scarf) use. Despite being an already sexualized dance between two lovers Ruth St. Denis blurs the line further between her sexualized dancing and “American Entertainment”. Typically used to censor the sexualize areas of the breast, waist, and hips, the absence of the dupatta leaves Ruth St. Denis overtly bare in her rendition of Radha. CITE PICTURE. Ruth St. Denis’ decision to forgo the body scarf acts as a powerful statement of female empowerment but distances Radha 1906 from its intrinsic South Asian ties. Such fallacies can have negative consequences on the perception of the “orient”. Western