I love when I write in detail about a performance shortly after the show! The emotions are fresh, and so many details that we slowly forget are still crystal clear. In April 2023, we performed Chandalika, which was an exceptional experience. Even though I wrote about it in detail, I didn’t mention twisted ankles, work schedules, […]
Chandalika 2023
The four roles I played – dahiwala (curd seller), farmer, king’s messenger, and mother’s disciple What does one say after a performance? Performing is like a drug. We’re high on it for days after, and we can’t wait to do it again. And elaborate dance dramas? They’re special. Many of us have been part of […]
Dashami – Version 2020
Dashami is special. Each year, we have a small performance for all the children at dance class. They wear nice clothes and jewellery. Their faces glow with the anticipation of a dance programme. It’s the one day in the year that parents are allowed to come for class and watch them dance! Dressed in their […]
Bangalore 2020
Bangalore is probably among my favourite cities in the world. I love the weather, I love the trees (even though so many have been cut), and most of all, I love the mood of the city. As a child, I used to spend every summer there, at my grandparents’. Now, I continue to go there […]
My Year in Dance
2019 was not an easy year for me as a dancer. In February, I fell and sprained an already weak ankle and nursed a swollen ankle for three months or more. I continued to teach, but practising and performing were out of the question. I was restless, of course, but I do know that I […]
World Dance Day 2019
What did you do on World Dance Day? We put up two performances! To be completely honest, we did not plan the performances keeping World Dance Day in mind; things just fell into place that way. We were scheduled to perform in Udupi on the 28th of April, and one of the dancers in our […]
Experiences on Stage – Udupi
Performances, performances. So often, the joy of dancing on stage comes from the story it creates, which can be told and retold ad infinitum. I’ve written about this before, so many times. My first performance with the ‘big girls’, when we got so immersed in the drama that we ignored the recorded music The time […]
Performances Ahead
Why do we dance? And why do people suspend their lives for a couple of hours to watch? Performing arts seem to exist in a world of their own, with their own rules and rigorous demands. What other field has a saying like ‘The show must go on’? I think the joy of a performance […]
Performing in Varanasi
The last time I visited Varanasi, I was nearly run down by a charging bull. Not surprisingly, when the planning began for a dance trip to Varanasi, I was not overly excited. Varanasi, for me, was a place where religion was elaborately performed, as if every day was a festival. I was also utterly put […]
Why Performances are Fun
Anyone who has ever performed knows about the adrenalin rush, the energy, the feeling of having achieved something. But more than all of these, I think performances are fun because they’re full of stories. Some are dramatic stories that we tell and retell, like when we performed in Chidambaram, and the time when Nisha and […]
Urja – A Classical Dance Festival
Maharashtra Cultural Centre has invited the Academy of Indian Dances to perform for Urja, a classical dance festival. For this performance, we’ve taken an old theme, one that we presented in 2012, Naaritva: Exploring Womanhood. The performance explores the journey of a woman through traditional pieces, both classical and folk. We begin with girlhood, associated with fun […]
Our Performance Last Week
Many things went wrong. Too many things went wrong. Mahatma Phule Sanskrutik Bhavan informed us on the 5th of December that the mayor required the hall on the 18th, so all performances scheduled for that day had been cancelled. And yes, our performance was scheduled for the 18th. 59 children were to perform. We had […]
Performance at Tirupathi
As a child watching a cricket match live on television, I remember asking my grandfather, “How does the camera know where to look?” Two days ago, looking at five people sitting together and ensuring that our performance was screened live all over the world, I remembered my question and smiled. Performing in Tirupathi was an experience that […]
Kalakshetra 2015
One year ago, three of us had the privilege of dancing at Kalakshetra in front of my teacher’s teachers. I can’t believe that a year has passed since that wonderful day that was so filled with emotion. We were scared, but our teacher was terrified – she had to play the nattuvangam on the same stage that […]
Performing on 8 May!
I’ve lost count of the number of times people have asked me when we’re performing in Pune. Finally, here we go! The senior students of the Academy of Indian Dances bring to you a traditional Bharatanatyam programme, featuring a range of pieces that explore nritta, nritya and natya. Beginning with an invocatory dance, we move on […]
Our Performance on Sunday
Performing for three minutes is often more trouble than it’s worth … not this time, though. People often assume that a three-minute performance is no big deal. Let’s look at it this way, though. Leaving aside the time we take to choreograph, learn, coordinate and practise, we could just look at the day we perform. […]
Paying a Tribute – Sakal Times
Thank you, Sakal Times, for the article about our Kalakshetra performance!
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 beloved guru became the dancer and person she is … What words of mine can begin to touch upon all our thoughts and feelings? Like […]
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 not the only reason to learn dance. “How much would you charge for a performance?” is the next question. “It depends on what sort of performance […]