Article - When Ghungroos rang at Disney World by Samyuktha Gopiraj

I have performed on many stages - school auditoriums, community centers, temple halls. But nothing prepares you for the moment you stand inside the Theater in the Wild at Disney's Animal Kingdom - a 1,500-seat venue that normally houses Finding Nemo: The Big Blue... and beyond! and realize that the next seven minutes belong to you, your art, and your community. And nothing prepares you for the day before that, when you dance down Main Street, U.S.A. with Cinderella Castle behind you and thousands of strangers cheering you on.

Ghungroo Dance School Inc., a small studio from Santa Clarita, California, was one of 25 companies selected from over 600 applicants worldwide to perform at the Diwali Dance Fest 2026 at Walt Disney World Resort. Organized by Jashn Productions, the fourth annual festival brought together more than 500 dancers from four continents for a four-day celebration of South Asian dance and culture (October 22-25), with over 1,100 participants and guests. Ghungroo performed in both the Grand Parade and the International Dance Showcase. I was one of those dancers. This is what it felt like.

Three days, Three Parks

The festival unfolded across Walt Disney World - each day with its own character, each park offering a different stage.

 

Read more in the site

Please type your name along with your comment. Anonymous and derogatory comments are likely to be removed.

Book Review - From the Corner of Her Eye: The Many Histories of Bharatanatyam - Dr. Ragothaman Yennamalli

A week ago, I came to know that the Delhi-based dancer Justin McCarthy had penned a book on dance history titled From the Corner of Her Eye, published by Juggernaut. He is someone I have always considered a thinking dancer, one who puts a great deal of thought and energy into his choreography, technique, and the larger ethos of dance.

In 2008, I watched a performance by Lokesh Bharadwaj, choreographed by Justin McCarthy, in which Tyagaraja's kriti Endaro Mahanubhavulu was reimagined as a padavarnam and performed with remarkable finesse. The novelty, as one might assume, was not simply in using this particular composition as a padavarnam. Rather, it lay in the imaginative use of space, the structuring of korvais, and the integration of dance elements into a piece steeped in bhakti. So, I was pretty excited to know what's new being written in the book, and at the outset the book didn't disappoint me.

The premise of the book is that it has become increasingly difficult to separate fact from fiction in the widely circulated, and often reductive, histories of sadir or chinna melam and the subsequent reinvention of the form as Bharatanatyam. Over the last decade or so, multiple voices have pushed a largely binary view of Bharatanatyam: Rukmini Devi Arundale versus Balasaraswati, Sringara versus Bhakti, a hoary past versus a reinvented dance form, and so on. For some reason, reducing a complex history to such binaries seems to have become the norm rather than the exception. This book has attempted to bring such discussions with the needed nuance. 

Read more in the site

Please type your name along with your comment. Anonymous and derogatory comments are likely to be removed.

Article - The resonance of nine: Cosmic geometry, subtle anatomy, and the cathartic architecture of Bharatanatyam by Dr. Lata Surendra

This paper investigates the profound metaphysical, mathematical, and physiological architecture of the number nine within Hindu traditions, mapping its manifestations across cosmic symbols, natural elements, and classical arts. By focusing specifically on the structural geometry of the classical dance form Bharatanatyam, this study illuminates how the human frame transforms into a living mandala. It correlates the intricate networks of seventy-two thousand nadis, or vital energy channels symbolized by the ceremonial offering of the betel leaf or tambula, with the numeric digital reduction to nine. Furthermore, the analysis explores how the compression of cosmic forces is mirrored ritualistically in the deployment of the betel nut or supari within the navagraha grid, and scripturally through the planetary, durga, and nagic slokas with systematic textual references. Finally, this work details how a conscious dancer strategically maneuvers these geometric templates, moving from the chaotic action-reaction outbursts of unawakened daily life into a disciplined aesthetic focus. Through the precise kinesthetic activation of the navarasas, or the nine fundamental expressions, the performer initiates a deep neurological catharsis that cleanses the neural pathways of both dancer and spectator. The final resolution into shanta rasa, or absolute peace, represents the ultimate spiritual baseline where all worldly passions are spent, and the macrocosm seamlessly merges with the universe within. 

Read more in the site

Please type your name along with your comment. Anonymous and derogatory comments are likely to be removed.

Article - Charukesi: The bittersweet ocean of love to pure Krishna consciousness, A perspective on music, movement, and the mind by Bana Shastri Ramanath

In search of meaning
Life is often likened to a journey of highs and lows, roses and thorns, and bittersweet moments. As we age, memories may fade, yet the sensations of pain and pleasure can remain, leaving fossil-like impressions within us. Perhaps this is why older faces sometimes carry fleeting, childlike smiles touched with melancholy, as emotions pass effortlessly and involuntarily across them like images appearing on a screen. Is the mind quietly revisiting a lifetime of triumphs, disappointments, joys, and sorrows? I often wondered about this while watching my parents, both of whom lived to nearly 100.

These reflections returned as I prepared for a dance performance. I searched for a song gentle enough for my injured knees, yet powerful enough to stir my consciousness and convey love, joy, melancholy, and warmth. I also wanted the music to evoke the painless healing I have occasionally experienced during and after my performances. When mind, body, and feelings move in harmony, merging as one with the music, I have experienced that the mind can become so absorbed in the process that pain seems to dissolve, for a time. Those experiences have inspired me to explore and share how music and dance can transform a lifetime of mixed memories into a more peaceful, expansive form of love through artistic expression, a moving meditation. 

Read more in the site

Please type your name along with your comment. Anonymous and derogatory comments are likely to be removed.

Bharatanatyam constructs built round philosophy of Jyotirlingam - Taalam: column by Leela Venkataraman

The Bharatanatyam program at the Habitat, sadly attracting a very small gathering, presented two finished performers, Mithun Shyam and Nilava Sen. The presentation at Stein auditorium constituted four of the twelve Jyotirlingam sites. Aiding the dancers were a team of capable musicians topped by Sudesh Menon the vocalist, whose melodious singing, includes creativity - for each of the Jyotirlingams was presented through a varnam composition of his own creation, without mangling the format of this musical genre, while adhering to the thematic specifics of each of the holy places. Uma Ganeshan on the violin with Ratul Kumar on the mridangam provided good support. 

Read more in the site

Please type your name along with your comment. Anonymous and derogatory comments are likely to be removed.

Anita says...November 2026

October moved like a single restless current between three cities. In Kolkata, the pandals rose in astonishing variety, each one a temporary palace of craft where bamboo, cane, cloth, metal and light were shaped into everything from intimate street shrines to towering architectural fantasies - the makers' skill turning devotion into pure spectacle. In Madrid, the staccato of flamenco jostled against the late night pulse of churros and hot chocolate - heat and music spilling from plazas as if the city refused to go indoors. Finally, the Venice Biennale that offered rooms with a quieter intensity, where contemporary art sat in careful conversation with the lagoon's shifting light.

One month, three kinds of looking, and the shared pleasure of watching human hands, minds, bodies and imagination at work.

Read more in the site

Please type your name along with your comment. Anonymous and derogatory comments are likely to be removed.

Article - When AI can perform, what remains to be cultivated in the artist? by Rohit Viswanath

This essay draws upon the writings of Dr. Padmaja Suresh, Ācārya for Nāṭya Pedagogy at Nāṭyaśāstra Gurukulam, on the philosophical, aesthetic and spiritual dimensions of Nāṭya, and the guidance of Dr. M. B. Athreya, the Gurukulam's Marga Darshak, on human development, institutional responsibility and Dhārmic statecraft. These perspectives inform the essay's engagement with AI, artistic judgement and self-governance.

A movement can be recorded, its geometry analysed, its execution compared against a reference, and a sequence of gestures generated through computational systems. Yet the cultivation of an artist entails a question of a different order. What happens to the person who practises? How are the body, perception, affect, imagination and judgement progressively refined through engagement with an art? And what distinguishes the possession of a repertoire from the cultivated capacity to interpret, embody and bring it to life? 

Read more in the site

Please type your name along with your comment. Anonymous and derogatory comments are likely to be removed.

Prism - Rang at Rangmanch, The role of colour in Kathak choreography by Ashima Sharma

Colour is an important aesthetic and symbolic element communicating emotional and structural expression in Kathak choreography. It gives narrative communication and visual coherence beyond its decorative function. Colour drives as a semiotic tool that shapes mood, descriptive clarity, character portrayal and spatial design. Embedded in Indian aesthetic traditions and evolved through performance practices, colour influences how the audience perceives dance movements, interprets a character, and experiences a particular rasa. This research article examines the heterogeneous role of colour in Kathak, focusing on costumes, lightings, stage compositions and principles of each Gharana. It also includes works by Kumudini Lakhia and Aditi Mangaldas drawing from classical texts, modern scholarship, and contemporary choreographic case studies. It advocates that the function of colour is not merely as an ornamentation but as a choreographic and semiotic tool that shapes the wholesomeness of a Kathak performance. Through exploration of existing theory of rasa and colour symbolism, cross-cultural examples of choreographies and Gharana-specific costume practices, this study argues that function of colour is as a powerful emotional and narrative structural element in Kathak dance performances.

 

Read more in the site

Please type your name along with your comment. Anonymous and derogatory comments are likely to be removed.

Kathak as dance theatre in Shovana Narayan's Lalitarpan Festival - Taalam: column by Leela Venkataraman

Lalitarpan, the annual festival of Asavari established in 1979, this year centered its celebration round the Yudhisthira/Draupadi interaction, based on Pavan Varma's book inspired by a work in Urdu, going into the emotional depths of this uneasy alliance between the head of the Pandavas and their wife Draupadi....

FINE DEBUT BY KALASHREE STUDENTS IN LUCKNOW GHARANA KATHAK OF GURU MUNNA SHUKLA

Kathak youngsters do not have the equivalence of an Arangetram, marking the dancer's formal stage appearance in a full-length performance. What students of Kalashree presented at the India International Centre auditorium, was a debut on similar lines for Kathak students of Kavita Thakur, a senior disciple of Lucknow gharana's late Kathak Guru Munna Shukla...

Read more in the site

Please type your name along with your comment. Anonymous and derogatory comments are likely to be removed.

Profile - Kalamandalam Vasantha celebrates golden jubilee of Nruthanjaly by SK Venugopal

From a distinguished alma mater to nurturing generations of dancers, the inspiring journey of a dedicated guru and the golden legacy of 'Nruthanjaly'.

The story of Kalamandalam Vasantha is one of passion, perseverance, commitment and selfless dedication to the classical dance traditions of India. A proud alumnus of Kerala Kalamandalam, Cheruthuruthy, from where she graduated in 1975, Vasantha went on to carve a remarkable niche for herself, not merely as a practitioner of classical dance, but as a devoted teacher who made the propagation of this rich artistic heritage the mission of her life. She had the good fortune of getting trained in various classical dance forms under eminent gurus viz. Kalamandalam Sathyabhama, A.R.R. Bhaskar Rao, Kalamandalam Padmini, Palani Swami, Vasudeva Panicker, Kalamandalam Ramaswami, Sukumari Narendra Menon, Thanjavur Kittappa Pillai, Thanjavur Chandrasekhar, Vaishnavi, Kalamandalam Mohana Thulasi and others.

Read more in the site

Please type your name along with your comment. Anonymous and derogatory comments are likely to be removed.

Steps of time present against backdrop of time still in Indraprastha Nritya Mahotsav - Taalam: column by Leela Venkataraman

Standing as a majestic Sentinel of Time is the Purana Quila of Delhi, a 16th century construct of Humayun and Sher Shah Suri, with surrounding excavations revealing remnants going back to Shunga, Kushan, Gupta, Rajput, and Mughal periods in what is termed Indraprastha City. What greater testament of India's time past and time present can one have, than Delhi Tourism's three day, Indraprastha Festival - with contemporary versions of classical dance showcased against this architectural backdrop from the hoary past? The scene takes one back to the days of the Ananya Festival, conceived by Sangeev Bhargav of Seher, with classical dance groups. featured in the same venue. The present Indraprastha Nritya Mahotsav (Oct 2 to 4, 2026) held under the auspices of Delhi Tourism, 'conceived, designed and executed' by Maitreyee Pahari of Lok Chhanda, opened to a fleeting sound and light overture, visualized by Gautam Bhattacharya, as a declaration from the Fort, the voice emerging from illuminated sections of the fort's facade, proclaiming to be standing where the Pandavas once ruled over Indraprastha - its stones reminiscent of the time when Kings ruled, with the air all round seemingly heavy with muted cries of joy and distress of its peoples. "I belong to Time and the Jamuna" declares the voice, as pipes, live drumming by percussionists, and a recitation by Sama Veda specialists, conclude the introduction. 

Read more in the site

Please type your name along with your comment. Anonymous and derogatory comments are likely to be removed.

Article - Draupadi in the Sabha: Are we communicating injustice or displaying suffering? by Sushma Kotireddy

There are certain episodes in our epics that leave us deeply disturbed, no matter how many times we hear them. The dragging of Draupadi into the Kaurava Sabha is one such moment. It is a scene of humiliation, helplessness, injustice and, above all, the silence of those who had the power to prevent it. Whenever I think of this episode, I wonder how such a painful moment in our epic tradition should be brought alive on the Bharatanatyam stage.

Recently, I watched a dance performance in which the episode was portrayed with great physical intensity. The character playing as Draupadi was dragged from one corner of the stage to another, kicked, punched and subjected to repeated acts of physical aggression for nearly three to four minutes. The scene was difficult to watch. I understood the intention to convey the brutality of the incident, but a question remained in my mind: Was it necessary to show so much physical violence to make the audience understand Draupadi's suffering? And when the performer is a young student of fourteen, does this question become even more important?

I see Bharatanatyam as an ability to communicate the deepest human emotions through the smallest of gestures. A fleeting glance, a trembling hand, a sudden withdrawal of the body or a moment of complete stillness can sometimes convey what words cannot. I have always believed that the true power of abhinaya lies not in how much we show, but in how deeply we make the audience feel.

Read more in the site

Please type your name along with your comment. Anonymous and derogatory comments are likely to be removed.

Article - The invisible labor of being an artist online by Anita Vallabh

If you are not online, it feels like you simply do not exist in today's artistic ecosystem. To ignore the power and presence of digital marketing is to do so at your own artistic peril.

Nowadays, Instagram seems to be the go-to platform for Indian artists, announcing everything from collaborations and performances to events they attend. The boundaries between the personal and the professional have become increasingly blurred. Come to think of it, where does one end and the other begin anyway?

Instagram affects people differently. Within my circle of friends, I see three broad responses. Some genuinely enjoy it. They are the enthusiasts - artists who embrace the platform as a space for creativity, connection, and self-expression. Others dislike social media altogether. They are the dissenters, preferring to devote their time and attention to their practice rather than the demands of an online presence. Then there are the reluctant-s: artists who remain on Instagram not because they enjoy it, but because they feel they have little choice. It is where audiences, presenters, collaborators, and professional opportunities now seem to converge. For them, Instagram is less a creative outlet than an indispensable part of the job.

Read more in the site

Please type your name along with your comment. Anonymous and derogatory comments are likely to be removed.

Pulse of Bangalore; Surats of Delhi and mahurat in Surat! - Dance Matters: Column by Ashish Mohan Khokar

Surat is the diamond capital of India; from all over the world, famous companies send their stones to be cut, polished, shone here. Textiles too, this city boasts of as Amit Patel, sari specialist tells me, "Making a sari has 36 processes". Thirty six! From preparing the field to plough to grow cotton to cultivate, cut, collect, clean, cater, categorise to mills for treatment, transport, traction in market by design, depth and diamonds even (yes, a sari can cost up to ten lakhs!) the whole gamut is like guru gyan.

Read more in the site

Please type your name along with your comment. Anonymous and derogatory comments are likely to be removed.

Retaining authenticity while catering to contemporaneity - Taalam: column by Leela Venkataraman

It was a praiseworthy interactive initiative, spurred by Odissi dancer Madhulita Mohapatra heading Bangalore's Nrityantar - to round off the institution's annual celebration of Naman festival - with the invited dance critics and art column editors from different parts of the country, addressing the gathering of students in Bangalore's beautifully appointed Presidency University, on the occasion of the Performing Arts Colloquium 2026. The subject for the event Beyond the Performance, what sustains an Art form, saw proceedings comprising different aspects of this theme, allotted to each speaker. Opening remarks, warmly welcoming the guests, came from the Vice Chancellor Vidya Shankar Shetty, and Pritha Sanyal, Head of Presidency School of Liberal Arts and Science, Presidency University....

PROMISING SOLOISTS IN LASYAAYAN'S RAGANGA FESTIVAL

It is amazing how Odissi, having caught the imagination of the dance loving world within the span of seventy-five years, has been steadily attracting a larger clientele of dancers. At the Shri Ram Centre, Delhi, Lasyaayan, the Odissi institution headed by dancer Shimran Zaman, presented their Biennial Raganga Festival. 

Read more in the site

Please type your name along with your comment. Anonymous and derogatory comments are likely to be removed.

Article - The Instagramization of Indian classical dance by Dr. Rohini Dandavate

Social media has given Indian classical dance something previous generations never had: an immediate, global, and largely uncontrolled platform for visibility. A dancer in Bhubaneswar, Mumbai, Chennai, New York, or California can now reach thousands of people without waiting for a festival, Sabha, or institution to provide a stage. This became particularly evident during the pandemic years, when social media became an important means of maintaining visibility, communicating with audiences, and continuing artistic engagement. Since then, its role in the dance world has only continued to grow, bringing enormous opportunities for artists.

As someone who has spent several decades learning, performing, teaching, and choreographing within the Odissi tradition, I find this development both exciting and worthy of reflection. I have seen how access to dance has expanded through the screen. Artists who might once have remained known only within a particular geographical or cultural community can now be discovered by audiences across the world. At the same time, I have begun to wonder what happens to a form whose richness often lies in its gradual unfolding when it enters a medium designed for speed.

Every medium has its own visual grammar. Instagram and short-form video reward immediacy, visual impact, repetition, novelty, and compressed viewing. Classical dance, on the other hand, often requires time for development - a repertoire that unfolds gradually, a musical structure that opens incrementally, with subtlety and anticipation, and a relationship between the dancer and live audience that develops over time. 

Read more in the site

Please type your name along with your comment. Anonymous and derogatory comments are likely to be removed.

Article - The Sovereign Art and the Administrative Web: Sadhana in the shadows of the portal by Dr. Lata Surendra

 We celebrated 80 years of Independence, but let us finally be independent in thoughts, deeds, and actions. True independence cannot merely be a date on a calendar; it must live in the uncompromised truth of our cultural conscience. To safeguard the pristine in all walks of life, we must actively strip away the petite barriers of power politics, institutional lobbying, and the manufactured noise that dictates modern success.

Art, in its highest form, must remain our great didactic mirror. It must boldly reflect the raw, actual reality of our human experience, ensuring that what we sustain is truly authentic. If not, we will watch good, authentic artists fade into obscurity, leaving a concerned fraternity standing in the shadows - carrying heavy whispers, forever wondering at the how with a desperate, unanswered why.

Yet, today we find ourselves suffocating in a hyper-optimized social media landscape. We watch as innocent childhood, budding genius, and seasoned mastery are all forced into the same frantic arena - vying for fleeting digital footprints in 30-second reels. This desperate chase of quantity over quality dilutes the sacred.

Read more in the site

Please type your name along with your comment. Anonymous and derogatory comments are likely to be removed.

Anita says...October 2026

And just like that, I feel exhilarated to be a dancer, a performer and everything that has given me an inside view of this fabulous and frenetic world. I must confess, that the past few months had left me a bit wistful, maybe even a tad sad and uncertain about the future of our classical and neo classical styles. Despite all the efforts of recasting Bharatanatyam especially, in various moulds - stand-up comedy, Nightie Natyam (wearing kaftans for abhinaya) and Hip Hop, twerking and what not - there is so much energy and talent out there. Amidst the barrage of festivals and performances, I am seeing some phenomenal energy in the performing arts space.

And so, I share my travels and thoughts this month on a true high!

MELBOURNE

This vibrant and culturally diverse city called me back after 6 years. This time, my flight Down Under was to watch and lend solidarity to my long-time dance colleague, the dance diva of Australia, Anandavalli. 

Read more in the site

Please type your name along with your comment. Anonymous and derogatory comments are likely to be removed.

Modern Moksha - Dance Matters: Column by Ashish Mohan Khokar

Moksha is the ultimate quest for most evolved souls but in dance how to achieve it? No, I'm not referring to the often concluding item in Odissi repertoire, which is a joke now as all are smiling as if there's no tomorrow! Moksha? They are thinking of momos for dinner or what their mummies have made for dinner post-performance!

Minal is both a mummy and moksha seeker and if her Moksha was a quest for a new dance aesthetics in Bharatanatyam then she succeeded admirably at Alliance Francaise, Bangalore. Bringing in an international cast was both a boon and doom because one each student from London (Ritika Srikanth), Boston (Manasi) and 'Frisco (Janaki) showed virtual learning and internationalism in Indian dance and yet a repeat show will not be easy to collect them again, unless someone bank rolls it or sends their private plane to fetch each and drop back. Manasi and Janaki are sisters, besides. 

Read more in the site

Please type your name along with your comment. Anonymous and derogatory comments are likely to be removed.

Malavika Sarukkai's inward journey into dance/space relationship keeps audience spellbound - Taalam: column by Leela Venkataraman

Speaking of a world she inhabits, where dance is the language of communication, Malavika Sarukkai's talk at the IIC titled Dance Speak, held a rivetted audience enthralled. Totally divorced from textual theory and based entirely on her own intensely personal journey into the relationship of how dance sculpts and interacts with space, she had arrived at the conclusion that 'Space and Dance were partners'. Dance for her had become a language. Her natyadharmi, she discovered, was decided by space. Mudras and hastas don't speak by themselves. The gravitas of a hasta stems from its placing in space - as for example showing a 'sitting bird', just holding the mudra is not enough. One has to make the hand in hasta travel through the air and settle down to convey and suggest the message of a sitting bird. It is the elaboration of the hasta and its movement and placing in space, that conveys the full meaning.

Read more in the site

Please type your name along with your comment. Anonymous and derogatory comments are likely to be removed.

Article - Jana Gana Mana is a song not a document, Kapila Vatsyayan, T.M. Krishna, and the Politics of Sanskritization - Dr Avanthi Meduri

Abstract:
This essay responds to T. M. Krishna's 4th Kapila Vatsyayan Memorial Lecture, "I Sing, Therefore I Am," by examining his radical proposal to rethink Rabindranath Tagore's Jana Gana Mana through the lens of language, caste, and regional identity. It argues that reducing the national anthem to a problem of caste hegemony, power and Sanskritized language politics misses the distinction between written text and embodied cultural performance central to Vatsyayan's thought. Drawing on notions of rasa, unisonance, nationalism, Sanskritization, and collective singing, the essay contends that an anthem is not merely a linguistic artifact but a performed, socio-cultural form through which the individual "I" is gathered into a shared national "we."

T. M. Krishna's (TMK) title naturally intrigued me. I wanted to see how he would invoke Descartes to think through Vatsyayan's legacy - specifically her lifelong affirmation of the sovereign voice and subjectivity of the musician, actor, and dancer. But I came away dismayed. 

Read more in the site

Please type your name along with your comment. Anonymous and derogatory comments are likely to be removed.

Obit - Dr Mandakranta Bose (1938- 2026) - Jai Govinda

Scholar and author Dr. Mandakranta Bose passed away on September 10, 2026 in her home city of Vancouver/ Canada. Professor Emerita at the University of British Columbia, and director of the university’s Centre for India and South Asia Studies, she held a D. Phil. degree of Oxford University and was a Fellow of the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies and the Department of Sanskrit (Mahamahopadhyaya), University of Calcutta. 

Read more in the site

Please type your name along with your comment. Anonymous and derogatory comments are likely to be removed.

Individual dance creations of compelling resonance - Taalam: column by Leela Venkataraman

VILASINI NATYAM PREMIERE

It all started at the Stein auditorium of the Habitat with a stunning solo premiere in Vilasini Natyam by veteran dancer Swapnasundari, followed by a group presentation of her creation of temple dance in the Agamic style.

PARABOLA OF DANCE
Aditi Mangaldas' generous initiative in starting what she has named Parabola of Dance, featuring creative efforts by dancers pertaining to different dance traditions, with the performance part succeeded by discussions on the constantly evolving process behind these creative enterprises, has been attracting larger sections of dance lovers. 

SWAN LAKE IN ODISSI

Sharmila Mukerjee (student of Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra) and her group of students from Sanjali Ensemble of which she is the Artistic Director, presented her creation of Hansika, based on the famous Swan Lake Ballet of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky; the work in the Odissi format premiered back in 2018. 

LOKCHANDA CULTURAL UNIT PRESENTS EVENING OF NRITYA KATHA

Designed by Maitreyi Pahadi, the Nritya Katha evening at the Habitat was predominantly a Kathak event, with one exception of an item of Mayurbhanj Chhau, the event centered round the Monsoon theme.

UMA SHARMA'S CUSTOMARY JANMASHTAMI

Veteran Uma Sharma's Janmashtami evening Sree Radha at the IIC, saw her students of Bhartiya Sangeet Sadan present Nritya Ras, her annual homage to the Krishna Janma Bhoomi -which constitutes her personal contribution to the world of dance - based on the research she undertook, in the Brindavan area and its vicinities. 

TWIN SHADES OF FOLK AND CLASSICAL AT IIC

In support of its recent approach supporting both fold and classical, IIC Double Bill concert presented an evening clubbing Kajri music with Kathak. 

Read more in the site

Please type your name along with your comment. Anonymous and derogatory comments are likely to be removed.

Article - The connotative appellative: Does arangetram need multicultural synonyms? - Dr Lavanya Iyer

Why is it that BHARATANATYAM ARANGETRAM-s are being categorically and repeatedly designated with the name of RANGAPRAVESHAM, duly by Bharatanatyam gurus themselves? Even on the invitation cards, the trend is being followed. Earlier, it was prevalent only in other south states which I attributed to state linguistic issues (not that I endorse it, but still it made sense). Now it's prevalent among the Tamizh speaking gentry from Tamil Nadu and in Tamil Nadu itself. Now that is appalling. Now my simple question is ----- Why is this so called "trend" prevalent and what has trend got to do with tradition?

RANGAPRAVESHAM, a term exclusively associated with KUCHIPUDI, the classical art of Andhra and Telangana, neither fits into the linguistic side of Bharatanatyam nor is it that there has been any issue with the term ARANGETRAM which is exclusive to Bharatanatyam's patrimony and legacy of its mother state Tamil Nadu. Why take away the basic beauty of a Tamizh word meant to decorate the art born of Tamil Nadu and push a nonnative vernacular version for no reason. ETRAM and ARANGAM being Tamizh words fit the bill, RANGA and PRAVESHA being Sanskrit / Pali, definitely do not. We also see the terms MANCH or MANCHA that are derived from Prakrit / Sanskrit. Kathak and Odissi use the terms RANGMANCH PRAVESH and MANCHA PRAVESH respectively, which is common to Sattriya as well. Manipuri of course has a very different genre of MAIBI or the Ras Leela depending upon the debuts. 

Read more in the site

Please type your name along with your comment. Anonymous and derogatory comments are likely to be removed.

Article - From Abhinaya to Responsibility Nāṭya, Human Formation and the Ecological World - Rohit Viswanath

The discussion of Nāṭya, Abhinaya, Rasa, Sādhanā, and related dimensions of practice in this essay draws substantially upon the writings and reflections of Dr. Padmaja Suresh, whose work has explored the philosophical, aesthetic and spiritual dimensions of Nāṭya. Her contribution is especially relevant here because of her association with Nāṭyaśāstra Gurukulam, where she has contributed to its pedagogical and aesthetic direction. The extensive engagement with her work reflects both its direct relevance to the argument and its place within the intellectual and pedagogical context from which this essay emerges. 

Read more in the site

Please type your name along with your comment. Anonymous and derogatory comments are likely to be removed.

Interview - Bharatanatyam dancer Vinay Tiwari on choreographing Magadh in Kathak - Shveta Arora

I spoke to Vinay at length about his repeated presentation of Bihar in his choreographies, about 'Magadh' and working with Gauri in Kathak and the process of conceptualizing each piece in the function. I also spoke to Gauri about choosing Vinay as this year's guest choreographer and about how he fared in her estimation.

When Gauri invited you, a Bharatanatyam dancer, to choreograph for her Kathak showcase, how confident were you - firstly, about choreographing the disciples of another guru and then, of a different stream of dance altogether?
The idea of such a collaboration had been in my mind for a long time. I had been in Lucknow for 7-8 years - my exposure to classical dance, I would say, consisted more of Kathak than Bharatanatyam. I was a student at Bhatkhande University, and Bharatanatyam in Lucknow was either those people who were in my class or those who were related to that class. But Kathak was more widely present in the form of performance or presentation. So just my constant observation of Kathak spans 12 years to 13 years. I also had some opportunities to play characters in Kathak dance productions by Surabhi Singh Tandon ji. So it was that I understood the body language of Kathak. I have many friends in Kathak and much exposure to it.

Read more in the site

Please type your name along with your comment. Anonymous and derogatory comments are likely to be removed.

Article - In Me - The Shishya and the Guru - Dr. Lata Surendra

Abstract:

In Me - The Shishya and The Guru:
The Dualistic Paradigm of Shishya and Guru in the Eternal Continuum of Learning

The paper explores the epistemological and ontological dimensions of lifelong learning through the dual lens of the Shishya (the perpetual student) and the Guru (the inner teacher). Rooted in the rich philosophical heritage of India, this study unpacks the multi-tiered evolution of mentorship - tracing the spiritual and intellectual trajectory from Upadhyaya (skill instructor) to Acharya (the exemplar of conduct) and, ultimately, to Guru (the absolute dispeller of existential darkness). Drawing upon a shared global tapestry of insights, the narrative synthesises the existential angst of Western thought (Eliot, Sartre, Kafka, Dostoevsky), the abstract spatial geometries of modern painters (Kandinsky, Van Gogh), the humanist architecture of Rabindranath Tagore, and the moral and contemplative rigour of East Asian classical traditions (Confucius and Japanese Zen Buddhist aesthetics). On the occasion of Teacher's Day, and in alignment with the seminal warnings of philosopher-statesman Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, the author argues that true intellect resides not in the accumulation of empirical certainty, but in the radical vulnerability of acknowledging one's own profound ignorance. The paper establishes that the act of giving (teaching) is intrinsically an act of receiving (learning); by interacting with the diverse human "moulds" of life, latent wisdom, historical experiences, and artistic masteries are reawakened and transmuted into immediate tools of comprehension. Ultimately, the paper positions life's inevitable crises - typified by the divine alchemy of Sri Krishna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra - as the supreme catalyst for spiritual unravelling and self-realization. The study concludes with a phenomenological reflection on macro-micro cosmic unity, asserting that the deepest depths of universal wisdom do not require external conquest, but an open, receptive heart capable of listening to the echoing depths of the infinite cosmos mirrored in the most ordinary fragments of nature. 

Read more in the site

Please type your name along with your comment. Anonymous and derogatory comments are likely to be removed.

Article - Beyond Familiarity: Authenticity, Adaptation, and the Odissi Experience - Dr. Rohini Dandavate

Ever since I migrated to the U.S., I have sought to remain rooted in the authenticity and integrity of the Odissi style while finding ways to connect with audiences unfamiliar with its traditions, aesthetics, and cultural contexts. For me, the tension between authenticity and adaptation has never been about choosing one over the other. Rather, it has been a continuing process of understanding what must remain rooted in the tradition and what can evolve so that Odissi can speak meaningfully within the multicultural context of my adopted home.

Authenticity, as I understand it, cannot be static. Odissi itself has evolved through many historical transitions - from temple traditions and Mahari and Gotipua practices to its modern reconstruction and codification. Authenticity, therefore, is not the preservation of a frozen historical moment, but an ongoing relationship with tradition. My challenge has been to translate the form without losing its grammar, integrity, or cultural memory, while making it possible for audiences to encounter Odissi without first needing to understand all that lies behind it.

My experiments in translation began almost a month after my arrival in Ohio. In one of my earliest presentations, for a class of kindergarteners, I quickly learned from these five-year-olds that I needed to begin with stories and images familiar to them. Their response prompted me to think, learn, and discover new ways of presenting Odissi that could create curiosity about a movement language they had never encountered. 

Read more in the site

Please type your name along with your comment. Anonymous and derogatory comments are likely to be removed.

Interview - We worship Bharata Muni in Thailand: Bharatanatyam dancer Awassada Kilnsukhon - Shyamhari Chakra

She was in her mid-20's when she represented her country in the historic international conclave on Indian dance hosted by the Ministry of Culture and Sangeet Natak Akademi in New Delhi two years ago. The youngest delegate in the meet, she was one of the panelists to speak in the important and interesting session on Indian dance diaspora.

She is Bharatanatyam dancer Awassada Kilnsukhon from Thailand who was in India for two years and recently returned to her country upon completion of her masters in Bharatanatyam from Banaras Hindu University.

How did you get interested in dance?
I was born into a family of Thai classical musicians. Therefore, I grew up surrounded by the arts traditions of ancient Thailand. As a kid, I was quite fond of dancing. I began learning classical Thai dance as part of my school's dance curriculum from kindergarten when I was just four years old.

Read more in the site

Please type your name along with your comment. Anonymous and derogatory comments are likely to be removed.

Anita says...September 2026

 Aaaand... hello again!

Another month goes by. Another capture through my personal lens. Another set of thoughts shared. As Time marches on and tastes shift and change, it is a challenge to find that common ground that you, the reader who can be - dancer, choreographer, guru, teacher, musician, composer, costume designer, lighting director, Arts manager or anyone who is interested or working in the performing arts sector can connect to. Being a senior in the field, I realise that many of my views are shaped by the long decades of learning, performing, producing, curating, mentoring, speaking and writing about dance and society. I write and speak as I see it.

Read more in the site

Please type your name along with your comment. Anonymous and derogatory comments are likely to be removed.

Monsoon showers along with a program deluge - Taalam: column by Leela Venkataraman

PARAMPARA FESTIVAL

Following a fairly barren two months, came a deluge of programmes in the capital starting with the annual Parampara Festival of the Reddys – which this year, considering the vagaries of sudden monsoon showers, was held at the Kamani auditorium, instead of the usual haunt of their own open-air theatre in their Saket home....

 

SARE JAHAN SE ACHCHA

Odissi exponent Ranjana Gauhar’s annual festival Sare Jahan se Achcha, began in the customary way established so far with the first evening being devoted to a presentation by the host institution Utsav. This year’s presentation Chitrangada based on Tagore’s play, with concept, script and direction by Ranjana and music direction by Saroj Mohanty, had Sandeep Dutta’s technical direction, for what has become the institution’s most prolifically staged nritta natika presentation.....

UNUSUAL KUCHIPUDI/KATHAK PERFORMANCE
Performing for a Delhi audience for the first time, Ritusri Chowdhuri and Amrita Singh settled in Kolkata, provided an evening of Kathak and Kuchipudi respectively, at the Stein auditorium....

REGALING TWOSOME FOR IIC’S MONSOON FESTIVAL

Geetanjali Acharya, a student of Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra, trained in Srjan, the Guru’s Odissi institution, performing at the IIC , given the brief recital, comprising the first half of the first evening, for the two-day Monsoon Festival, showed in her dance the unmistakable stylistic impact of the Guru. 

The Odissi recital was followed by a superb Bharatanatyam presentation by Apeksha Kamath, a student of Indira Kadambi of Bangalore. For the first time after a number of years, one found a dancer stressing the idea of the Monsoon (in the title of the event) as a central theme, while planning the recital....

Read more in the site

Please type your name along with your comment. Anonymous and derogatory comments are likely to be removed.

Article - The Ethics of Dance Critique: Why it matters who writes - Anita Vallabh

(The article first appeared in Global Indian Artist™ LLC, dated July 19, 2026)

In an interview, the former New York Times chief dance critic Alastair Macaulay described his work this way: “To reconcile heart and head; to show how emotion and intelligence can combine when absorbing works of art. To report on and to evoke an event for those who weren't there. To provoke and enrich discussion of dance. To help people show how many elements - how many values - go into the process of judgment.”

It's an apt description of the critic's role: feel deeply, think clearly, write truthfully. But behind those thoughts, lies an ethical terrain every dance critic must navigate.

I started critiquing in 2014 for no other reason than my love for writing and dance. My first critique was on a performance by my gurus, The Dhananjayans and published in Narthaki. Soon after, I had a conversation with my Gurus about what I had written. In that exchange, I understood the power of words and the responsibility to choose them with care.

It was then I realized that if I wished to write honestly and critically, I could not also remain a performing artist in the same spaces. I made a conscious decision to step away from the stage and commit to critiquing. In the eleven years since, apart from the occasional performance for a non-profit or community event, I have not danced publicly. My love for dancing will never vane, I think of my transition form dancer to writer as expanding the artistic canvas. 

Read more in the site

Please type your name along with your comment. Anonymous and derogatory comments are likely to be removed.

Prism - Mohiniyattam: Identity and Aesthetics - V. Kaladharan

Kerala, the south-west tip of the Indian sub-continent, can boast of giving birth to several highly evolved traditional performing arts viz. Kutiyattam, Krishnanattam, Kathakali, Mohiniyattam and Thullal, a semi-stylized solo dance-theatre narrative. Except Kutiyattam the first stage performance of which is deemed to have taken place between the 10th and the 11th century AD, the rest of the artforms came into being in the 17th century AD. Thullal dates back to the 18th century. While there are convincing evidences to establish the period of origin of Krishnanattam, Kathakali and Thullal, the history and development of Mohiniyattam prior to the establishment of Kerala Kalamandalam in the early 20th century is still shrouded in mystery not withstanding multiple references from various sources made by genuine and pretentious scholars over a period of time. Even the so called Mohiniyattam which poet laureate, Vallathol Narayan Menon, resurrected at Kerala Kalamandalam way back in the 1930's, was the remnant of its glorious past. 

Read more in the site

Please type your name along with your comment. Anonymous and derogatory comments are likely to be removed.

Interview - Odissi's Ambassador to Peru - Maria Laura Valdez Usseglio - Shyamhari Chakra

In one of the episodes of Mann Ki Baat, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed her contribution for popularising Odissi dance in the South American nation of Peru.
"In Peru, Herlinda Gonzales and Maria Valdez are popularising Bharatanatyam and Odissi dance respectively; showing how Indian classical dance is creating waves of popularity in South America," he had mentioned.

For Maria Laura Valdez Usseglio, the first and only Odissi dancer from Peru, such an important acknowledgement from the head of a country - that was her home-away-from-home for two decades - has been the ultimate honour that she could have ever aspired for as an Odissi dancer. 

Read the interview in the site

Please type your name along with your comment. Anonymous and derogatory comments are likely to be removed.

Article - Gaudiya Nritya: Analyzation on the subjects of debate - Adrita Misra

Gaudiya Nritya, at present is among the most debated dance forms of India which are yet to be considered strictly 'classical'. Despite covering the technical criteria of a classical dance form, Gaudiya Nritya faces strong criticism and opposition due to several reasons which we attempt to address and analyze here.

Gaudiya Nritya was denied the recognition based on various reasons... 

Read more in the site

Please type your name along with your comment. Anonymous and derogatory comments are likely to be removed.

Of Chinna Nadam and periya talents! - Dance Matters: Column by Ashish Mohan Khokar

Nartanam Academy of Dance and Music (NADAM) is among Bangalore's best Kathak and Bharatanatyam teaching and performing society. Coconut is a fruit of which no part is wasted! Tender water, add protein rich fruit, even the shell makes Fab India buttons now! Then there's coir mat, rope, carpets, beds and more. Add the tree itself... Dancing in the winds when you see it! That's why NADAM is aptly located on Coconut Street! In where else? Centre of Bangalore's traditional culture - Malleswaram, the other bastion being Basavangudi. R.K. Narayan's famous book that Shankar Nag and wife Arundhati Nag made into a beautiful DD teleserial - Malgudi Days - partakes of these two wor(ld)ds Mal - (from Malleswaram) and Gudi from Basavangudi. Great ideas are simple; clutter leads to confusion. Or Confucius!

Confucius sounding, read 'sorted,' are NADAM founders Murali Mohan Kalvakalva and Nandini Mehta. Stable, sensible and solid, both have trained many, performed much and steered 25 years of Bangalore's best dance festival, nay, two festivals - Chinna Nadam for children under 13 and Periya Nadam for grown up talents in December.

It's a sheer delight to watch the young ones, all dolled up like - dolls!  

Read more in the site

Please type your name along with your comment. Anonymous and derogatory comments are likely to be removed.

Bharatanatyam and Neuroscience for Creative Aging - Sloka Iyengar - Not just anyBODY: a health and fitness column

I came to creative aging a few years ago through neuroscience and a series of losses in my family. Growing up in Ahmedabad, I learned Bharatanatyam at the Darpana Academy of Performing Arts. My doctoral and postdoctoral work has been in neuroscience, more specifically in epilepsy; my clinical experience was with children who have refractory epilepsies. After my postdoctoral appointment, I lost my mother, mother-in-law, and a close older friend. Seeing formerly vibrant women being treated with pity and condescension when they were sick and frail, I was moved to think of ways to use my scientific and dance training to alleviate suffering, especially in older adults. I wanted to see if I could use Bharatanatyam as a vessel to provide a space where older adults can exercise their full human potential.

Read more in the site

Please type your name along with your comment. Anonymous and derogatory comments are likely to be removed.

Book Review - Kathak and Sanskritisation? - Leela Venkataraman

At the IIC, it was an evening with a scholarly gathering to mark the release of the book by Shubhi Publications on Speaking Sculptures - Karanas in Kathak, authored by Kathak specialist Shovana Narayan.

The Natya Sastra Karanas (Hasta-pada samayogah karanamiti samjnitam), we know, are not stances, but units of movement in a coordinated conjunction of hands and feet operating in a prescribed fashion. Shovana (as other scholars), understandably looks at sculpture as the best indicator of dance movement in history. One must remember however, that the Karana is a whole unit of movement - which has been arrested at any one point of a whole movement cycle, to be captured on temple walls by the sculptor's chisel. In other words, sculptural representations comprise frozen moments of whole units of movement prescribed as a Karana. And what is caught on stone arrested at any point -and what is seen in sculpture may not necessarily show the start or the culmination. 

Read more in the site

Please type your name along with your comment. Anonymous and derogatory comments are likely to be removed.