Tiziana Leucci

🪔 About

Born in Rome, Tiziana Leucci initially pursued ballet and contemporary dance at the National Academy of Dance in Rome. She later graduated in History of Performing Arts and Indology from the University of Bologna in Italy in 1987, with a dissertation focused on Indian Dance. Supported by scholarships from the Italian and Indian Governments, she dedicated twelve years (1987-1999) to research and intensive study of Bharatanatyam and Odissi dance styles in India, under the tutelage of V.S. Muthuswamy Pillai and Kelucharan Mohapatra. After her time in India, Leucci moved to France in 2000 to pursue a PhD in Social Anthropology at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) in Paris. Her doctoral thesis explored the artistic and socio-religious traditions of Indian temple and court dancers (devadâsî and rajadâsî). Dr. Leucci is currently a senior research fellow at the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) in Paris, affiliated with its Centre d'Études de l'Inde et de l'Asie du Sud. Her research interests encompass the history of interaction between Indian and Western artists, and the anthropology of aesthetic theories and Indian choreographic practices, particularly their transformations during the colonial period and on the modern stage. Since 2010, she has been teaching Bharatanatyam at the Conservatoire “Gabriel Fauré” in Les Lilas – Est Ensemble, France. She has authored a book and numerous chapters and articles on the anthropology and history of dance in South India and the European perception and representation of Indian courtesans.