New Delhi, A series of performances, discussions, and workshops by noted dancers, including Anita Ratnam, Sucheta Bhide-Chapekar and Arundhati Patwardhan, will be held here on April 25-26 as part of the 19th “World Dance Day Celebrations”.
Organised by Bharatanatyam doyen Geeta Chandran and her dance academy Natya Vriksha, the two-day festival at the India International Centre will feature a line-up of workshops, lecture-demonstrations, panel discussions, and performances by both senior and emerging artistes.
“World Dance Day, for me, is a moment to reaffirm the living continuum of our traditions where learning, questioning, and sharing coexist. Through this festival, I hope to create a space where the rigour of classical practice meets curiosity, where young dancers find direction, and where audiences can experience dance as both inheritance and inquiry,” Chandran said in a statement.
The festival will begin with a Yangshak Movement Workshop on April 25 by Imphal-based choreographer and contemporary performing artist Surjit Nongmeikapam, founder and artistic director of Nachom Arts Foundation.
The workshop focuses on choreographing Yangshak – derived from “Yang” and “Shak” – which emerges from the philosophy of Lairen Mathek, rooted in the stories and movements of Manipuri traditions.
The practice also draws from Manipuri martial arts Thang-Ta and traditional dance to further explore movement.
Dance guru Dr Sucheta Bhide-Chapekar, accompanied by Arundhati Patwardhan and Sagarika Patwardhan, will present illustrated lecture-performance titled “Pravāhita”, bringing together three generations of Bharatanatyam dancers.
“To share the stage with my daughter and granddaughter is to witness paramparā in motion, where tradition continues to evolve with sensitivity while remaining anchored in its core values. Bharatanatyam, for me, has always been a process of deep engagement; with technique, with abhinaya, and with the audience that grows alongside the art,” Bhide-Chapekar said.
The opening day will also see “Yuva Nritya Utsav”, showcasing emerging artistes from across the country, including Bharatanatyam dancer Karuna Sagari from Chennai and Kathak dancer Ameera Patankar from Pune.
Day two will witness a panel discussion titled “AI & Dance: Challenges and Opportunities” by Anita Ratnam and Madhu Nataraj. The discussion will explore interdisciplinary engagements between movement arts, virtual reality, and artificial intelligence, “exploring the convergence of embodied expression and cutting-edge technology”.
“I welcome AI as part of our evolving world. It can offer rhythm, patterns and new possibilities. But dance, at its core, is deeply human. It is in the breath, the risk, the moment when a dancer pushes beyond limits that’s what truly moves an audience and leaves them in awe,” Ratnam said.
The festival will come to an end with Odissi performance by Vrinda Chadha and Kuchipudi recital by Avijit Das.
The International Dance Day is observed on April 29, founded by the International Theatre Institute ITI on this day in 1982 “to celebrate dance, revel in the universality of this art form, cross all political, cultural and ethnic barriers, and bring people together with a common language – dance”.
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