Kathmandu – Film director Bikas Ghale Gurung’s book, Dance and Drama Studies, focusing on dance, was officially launched on Friday. The event, held at the Nepal Academy of Music and Drama, saw the collective unveiling of the book by Bhupal Rai, Chancellor of Nepal Academy; Naradmani Hartmchali, Chancellor of Nepal Academy of Fine Arts; senior dance scholar Bhairav Bahadur Thapa; Shambhu Rai, Vice-Chancellor of Nepal Academy of Music and Drama; academician Bakhat Bahadur Hamal; dance researcher Bhawana Karki, among others.
Published by the Nepal Academy of Music and Drama, the book introduces the “BTG Theory,” which is described as a highly professional approach to dance. Speaking at the event, author Gurung shared that the book aims to guide new dance directors in advancing their careers. He recounted his inspiration for writing the book, stemming from a bitter experience during his master’s degree examination when he had to submit a blank answer sheet due to the unavailability of proper study materials and exam questions.
Chancellor Bhupal Rai emphasized that the book Dance and Drama Studies would play a vital role in integrating dance into academic and educational systems. He described dance as one of humanity’s oldest cognitive disciplines and highlighted the importance of interpreting and localizing Nepali dance from an anthropological perspective.
Similarly, Naradmani Hartmchali, Chancellor of the Nepal Academy of Fine Arts, praised the author for linking dance with fine arts. He expressed that dance, as an artistic language of expression, would achieve completeness only if it is theorized based on Nepal’s geography, culture, knowledge, and traditions.
Senior dance scholar Bhairav Bahadur Thapa commended Gurung for moving beyond the conventional method of adhering strictly to “ancestral grammar” in dance. He appreciated the inclusion of Gurung’s personal ethics in formulating the BTG dance methodology and remarked that the creation of personal ethics based on experience and study is a remarkable achievement, regardless of whether others adopt it.
Dance researcher Bhawana Karki highlighted the lack of textbooks and reference materials on dance at the university level and noted that Gurung’s book would help fill this gap to some extent. She added that it would provide foundational and theoretical knowledge to aspiring dance directors.
Bakhat Bahadur Hamal, head of the dance department at the Nepal Academy of Music and Drama, described dance as a comprehensive medium of cultural expression. He expressed hope that this book would serve as a valuable addition to Nepal’s dance literature.
The event was attended by a significant number of researchers, writers, and artists from the field of dance. Additionally, Gurung’s film Fichyo was recently released on YouTube.
