Technological Mediation in Odissi Dance
The practice of teaching in an online composition class might potentially eliminate interpersonal interactivity in a classroom community. Digital mediation can be problematic for functional collaboration in a virtual class. The problem that online instructors might face is one that some traditional Odissi dance teachers also experience. In order to explore the conflict between tradition and mediations with technology, this study focuses on Odissi, an Indian classical dance, and examines how digital technologies of teaching, like CDs, DVD, online videos, and synchronous videos, are transforming the practice and teaching of this traditional dance. A qualitative research of the field of Odissi dance revealed that technologizing the dance might be unavoidable, but to some practitioners it may be disrupting Odissi's traditional values. This chapter reasserts the position of the teacher in an online pedagogic space and argues that the presence or simulated presence of bodies might be vital in learning and composing collaboratively.