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 […]
Arangetrams and Anniversaries
My dance teacher does not remember the exact date of her Arangetram, but she does remember that it was in 1964. Just for today, I’m going to pretend to myself that […]
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 …
Technician
I have lost track of the number of times I have been in charge of lights and sound. As a small performing troupe, we can’t always afford a professional lights […]
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; […]
Workshop Coming Soon …
We are conducting a dance workshop (followed by a performance) soon … I will share the details in the next few days!
My Friend the Guitarist Veda
I remember when Veda was gifted her first guitar and all of us wanted to touch it. She was kind enough to let us touch it and we played with […]
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 […]
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 […]
Baby Krishna
Finally, here are a few photographs of the baby that everyone loved so much. It’s a doll, yes, a doll, made by my French mother. It’s not a real baby, […]
Kelemen Quartet
What will I remember about this concert of the Kelemen Quartet’s a few years from now? The fact that it was the first time I watched a lady in a […]
PMC Award!
When we introduce my teacher, we always talk about the prestigious Iyal Isai Nadagam award that she received. We have so many things to say about her, about countries she’s […]
Performed Yesterday!
There’s nothing in the world like the thrill of performing. Even if it’s just a tiny performance at my teacher’s place. Nothing much went wrong. There were no black-outs, but […]