Anna Morcom should have our thanks for introducing us to a neglected, buried, and forgotten landscape of dance and dancers of the Hindi belt. They belong to a conceptually illegitimate ring of performance in terms of India’s socio-cultural norms and, unlike those that the classical and folk dancers adorn as they proudly cross the stage, their anklets are not objects of reverence. She is referring to performers of courtesan and court performing heritage, recognised today as bar girls,