International Performing Arts Resources

An introduction to researching music, theater, and dance from across the globe

South Asia Resources

Bibliography of Asian Studies
Thousands of entries on the humanities and social sciences related to East, Southeast, and South Asia, published from 1971 to the present.

Bibliography of Performing Arts of South and Central Asia
Ongoing bibliography indexing over 3,000 publications on the South Asian performing arts.
Bibliography of Performing Arts in India
Ongoing bibliography indexing over 17,000 publications on Indian performing arts.

Asia Traditional Theatre and Dance
Introduces traditional forms of dance and theater in India and Sri Lanka with video and photographs.
Archive of Indian Music
Archive digitizing gramophone recordings and vinyl LPs of Indian music with relevant photographs, biographic information, and other significant historical material.
Bhutan Dance Project
Over 600 clips of the Kingdom of Bhutan's dance traditions from the New York Public Library's digital collection, with detailed notes on each video.

Asian Music
English journal with reviews and articles about Asian music, instruments, and plays, analyzing their history and societal roles. (Print available. Call number: ML 1 .A83)
Asian Theatre Journal
Focuses on Asian "traditional and modern theatrical forms" through articles, plays, translations, reviews, and reports. (Print available. Call number: 822.95 A83)
Indian Theatre Journal
Journal started in 2017 publishing articles, plays, reviews, interviews, and more, on many aspects of Indian theater and performance.

Grounds for Play: The Nautanki Theatre of North India by Kathryn Hansen
Call Number: PN 2884.5 .N38 H361 1992 (AA&E Library)

Describes the nautanki performance's social history, music, dance, poetry, and texts, specifically exploring the meanings of nautanki narratives.
Performance and Culture: Narrative, Image and Enactment in India by Archana Verma
Call Number: PN 2881 .V47 2011 (AA&E Library)

Describes various aspects of Indian dance and dance-drama analyzing how these aspects provide a performance narrative.
The Voice in the Drum: Music, Language, and Emotion in Islamicate South Asia by Richard K. Wolf
Call Number: ML 3197 .W65 2014 (Music Library)

Fictional book based on extensive field research in India and Pakistan portraying how drumming and voices carry messages in particular contexts.

Anthology of Indian Music
Three LPs containing recordings of various performers playing several instruments: the veena, venu, mridanga, sitar, sarod, tabula, and tamboura.
Classical Indian Dance
Video presenting classical dances from India, showing the breadth of the art form through the addition of "mime, gesture, facial expression and body movement."

Last Updated: Dec 2, 2025 10:18 AM

Subjects: Arts, International Studies