Divya Kasturi’s To Varnam With Love’ – another point of view
Image: Screenshot taken from trailer. Melodious singing by Divya heralded To Varnam With Love (30 September, 2021, The Place, London) as a spotlight highlighted a stepped podium on…
A response to Divya Kasturi’s ‘To Varnam with Love’
To Varnam With Love (30 September, 2021, The Place, London) was an evening of multimedia dance performance, exploring projection, props, lighting, music, spoken word, singing and a variety of different…
For the dogs, the foxes, and the cats.
ni nari pnaikkum dhn Indha yeri kuLam kda sonthamadi 'This lake and pond belong to even the dogs, the foxes, and the cats.' Can we bharatanatyam dancers take lessons from…
Making Inroads
Images: Screenshots taken from the works. Links below. The end of the 2021 academic year at dance conservatoires has given opportunities to two South Asian dancer/choreographers to make new works…
SEVENS: Interview with Nina Rajarani
SEVENS, a new triple bill by Srishti, begins its nationwide tour this month. ‘Through bharatanatyam and kathak, and originally composed live music, SEVENS will explore the sacred, and sometimes sinful, significance of…
Aprājita, The Resilient Artist
Aprājita, The Resilient Artist, was a three-day virtual dance festival curated by Kripa Iyer and Neelambaree Prasad. Childhood dance friends in Mumbai who eventually found themselves as neighbours in London,…
On Unlearning
As a dancer, I grew up following the vision of the Temple of Fine Arts, the institution where I trained. Their mission, ‘Art, just for the love of it’ can…
Unsung Stories from the Kitchen
The Kitchen A dance film directed by Vishwakiran Nambi Chamudeshwari Studios, Bangalore 6 February 2021 Reviewed by Veena Basavarajaiah The film opens with the shot of a traditional upper class South Indian kitchen.…
Secular Themes in Bharatanatyam: Ideas for an Inclusive Future – Part III
In the first two essays of this series, I presented the need for more secular themes in bharatanatyam and how we can find inspiration from ancient sangam poetry, which…
Secular Themes in Bharatanatyam: Ideas for an Inclusive Future Part II
In the first essay of this series, I presented my synthesis of the relevance of religion in bharatanatyam in relation to the present day multicultural, multi-ethnic, and multifaith audience, and…