معرفی
Dr Nidya Shanthini Manokara is a Lecturer at LASALLE College of the Arts, Singapore, where she joined full-time in 2023 after previously serving as a part-time lecturer. Classically trained in Bharatanatyam, she is a dance and theatre practitioner-researcher, educator, performer, and dramaturg specializing in the critical analysis of performance-making at the intersection of movement, dance, and theatre.
Her educational background includes:
- PhD in Theatre Studies, National University of Singapore (2014)
- BA (Hons) in Theatre Studies, National University of Singapore
Dr Manokara's research explores affective registers of 'love' in modern Bharatanatyam, reinterpretation of mythological narratives, and representations of minority identities. Her work critically engages with gender dynamics, religious discourse, and South Asian diaspora experiences through performance-as-research methodologies, often incorporating dramaturgical frameworks to deconstruct cultural stereotypes and ideological constructs.
Her publications reveal a strong interdisciplinary trajectory connecting theatre, religion, gender studies, and cultural identity. Key trends include feminist reexaminations of figures like Draupadi and Mary Magdalene, analysis of Singapore Indian representation in Tamil cinema, and investigations into minority femininity in television beauty pageants, demonstrating consistent focus on decolonizing performance narratives and amplifying marginalized voices.
She actively secures research funding for innovative projects:
- Conference Travel Grant for 'Small Stories We Tell: Rehabilitating Draupadi' (IFTR Conference, Ghana, 2023)
- Research Project Funding Scheme for 'Nuancing the Sitedness of Metatheatrical Strategies' (LASALLE, 2023-2024)
- Harmony Fund & Our Singapore Fund for 'BITTEN: Return to Our Roots' site-specific performance (2017-2018)
- Research Travel Grant for 'Female Representation in Theatre' (Jerusalem, 2018-2019)
- Bharatanatyam Dance Residency with Apsaras Arts (2020-2021)
As resident dramaturg for RAW Moves contemporary dance company, she develops education and performance dramaturgy through projects like 'Wandering Women: From Kurukshetra to Magdala' and 'Punar: Revisiting the Margam', frequently collaborating with researchers including Nora Samosir. Her public engagements include Esplanade's 'da:ns docuseries' on Rasa theory and workshops at Centre42 exploring animal gestures in movement.
