Published Paper Details:

This paper presents a comprehensive literature review of choreographic techniques employed across Indian classical dance traditions in the interpretation of compositions by different vaggeyakaras -- poet-composers who authored both the literary text and the musical setting of their works. Spanning foundational figures such as Jayadeva (12th century), Annamacharya (15th century), Kshetrayya (17th century), Tyagaraja (18th-19th century), Siddhendra Yogi, Narayana Tirtha, Swati Tirunal, and Purandaradasa, this review examines how the poetic register, rasa orientation, lyrical language, tala structure, and devotional philosophy of each vaggeyakara directly inform the abhinaya, nritta, and nritya choices made by choreographers and gurus across Kuchipudi, Bharatanatyam, Odissi, Manipuri, and Mohiniattam. Drawing on peer-reviewed articles, doctoral theses from Indian universities, and institutional records from the Sangeet Natak Akademi and Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA), this study traces both cross-form commonalities and form-specific distinctions in the treatment of vaggeyakara compositions. The review argues that choreographic technique is not merely a bodily practice but a hermeneutic act -- a reading of the poet-composer's intent mediated through the grammar of the dance tradition -- and identifies significant lacunae in the existing scholarship warranting future research.