It’s taken me a while to write about the last month. How full of emotions it has been! We performed in Kalakshetra for Pushpa Teacher and Jaya Teacher, my teacher’s […]
Kalakshetra Performance – The New Indian Express
Yes, we really performed. Even though the picture does not show it, I was really there too.
Performing at Kalakshetra!
To say that we are honoured, privileged and humbled all at the same time is to say nothing at all. We are going to perform at Kalakshetra, the place where our […]
Paid Artists
I have been learning dance for 22 years. Yes, that is a lot. Often, people ask us whether this means that we have our own dance classes. No. That is […]
Jatayu Moksham
The Kalakshetra troupe performed in Pune for the first time last evening. Finally. When I watch them dance, I understand. I understand why Kalakshetra is such a reputed name in the dance […]
Arangetram – Chaitrali, Diaspina and Purvi
“How was the Arangetram? How did Chaitrali do?” my mother asked. I had one word in response, “Moving.” And it was moving for more reasons than one. When Chaitrali, despite her […]
Arangetram
The Academy of Indian Dances welcomes you to the Arangetram of Chaitrali, Diya and Purvi. Chaitrali is a special girl with a hearing disability despite which she has persevered and […]
Day One: Abhinaya
The day was full of surprises, with just two participants for our workshop. We had questions about whether we should cancel. We decided against it, and perhaps it was a […]
Abhinaya – A Workshop on Indian Classical Dance
This weekend, we bring to you a dance workshop – Abhinaya …
Nayanabhinaya
What is Nayanabhinaya? Divide the word and we get “Nayana” (eyes) and “Abhinaya” (loosely translated as expression). The eyes are an essential part of Indian classical dance, and that is […]
Ashadi Ekadashi at Prashanthi Nilayam
Standing there, behind the backdrop, we held our breath. We had been working with 43 Bal Vikas children with little or no knowledge of dance since May, and this was […]
Hastaabhinaya – expressing through your hands
Classical dance is a language that has the power to express your deepest emotions. When we learn a language from scratch, where do we begin? When you read, you begin with A-B-C; […]
Abhinaya: A Dance Workshop
What is abhinaya? Does it really just mean ‘expression’? Etymologically, abhinaya comes from two words ‘abhi’ (towards) and ‘niya’ (leading). So, Abhinaya leads you, the audience towards something. And what […]
Workshop Coming Soon …
We are conducting a dance workshop (followed by a performance) soon … I will share the details in the next few days!
International Dance Day
It’s International Dance Day! The best day, perhaps, to pay tribute to my guru, Guru Mythili Raghavan. Nobody can quite understand why she means so much to us. Why is […]
Thank you!
For all those who came and watched me and listened to me at Art Hop Pune, thank you! I began with almost no one in my audience. In five minutes, […]
Lecture Demonstration at Art Hop Pune
Nritta is one of the two pillars of the magnificent structure called dance. Nritta is pure technique, with no hidden symbolism, no complex meaning and no detailed explanation involved. What […]
Women of Pride
Women of Pride unravelled a lot of questions before proceeding to respond to them, at least in part . There was so much about the devadasis that I did not […]
Ram Navami
Three years ago, we performed on a beautiful stage as part of the Kannada Sangha celebrations in Pune. I can’t quite believe that it was three years ago. Waiting to […]
Arangetram
Often, invitation cards say that ‘Arangetram’ means ‘ascending the stage’. Theoretically, all of us know that it is our first stage programme. Then why is it supposed to be so […]