Saskia Kersenboom

🪔 About

Saskia Kersenboom is a distinguished Dutch scholar, performer, and teacher of Indian classical dance, particularly renowned for her extensive research and practice of Bharatanatyam and the Devadasi tradition. Born in Utrecht, Netherlands, on February 3, 1953, she pursued Indology and theatre studies/dance history at Utrecht University from 1972 to 1977. During a student exchange fellowship from the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) in 1977-1978, she immersed herself in music, dance praxis, Sanskrit, Tamil, and Telugu literatures in Tamil Nadu, India. Kersenboom earned her MA in Indology and theatre studies in 1979 and a PhD in 1984 from Utrecht University, with her dissertation "Nityasumangali – towards the semiosis of the devadasi tradition of South India." This work, later published as "Nityasumangali: Devadasi Tradition in South India," has seen multiple editions. Her dance training includes studying the courtly repertoire of Smt. T. Balasaraswati with Smt. Nandini Ramani and the ritual traditions of the Tiruttani temple with Smt. P. Ranganayaki, one of the last devadasis of the Murugan temple. She also studied Karnatic vocal music with Shri B Krishnamoorthy. Her academic career includes positions as a Fellow of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (1987-1990) and an Associate Professor at the University of Amsterdam (1990-2013) in Cultural Anthropology, Musicology, and Theatre Studies. In 1994, she founded the Paramparai Foundation, dedicated to fostering Devadasi Heritage, which relocated to Legend, Hungary, in 2006. Kersenboom has performed extensively as a soloist in Europe, America, and India, taught at conservatories, and served as a visiting professor at the Sarojini Naidu School for Performing Arts and Communication at the University of Hyderabad. She is also an author and choreographer, notably co-producing the ballet 'Bharata Mata' for the Internationaal Danstheater. Awards & Honours: Fellow of Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (1987), Grant from The Foundation for non-Western Music (1995), Member of international Jury (2012), Member of international Jury (2014).