World Dance Day Festival curated by Geeta Chandran

Geeta Chandran’s Natya Vriksha is marking World Dance Day with a two-day festival at India International Centre in New Delhi on April 25 and 26. (broadwayworld.com) (iicdelhi.in) The 19th edition is presented by Team Natya Vriksha, supported by India’s Ministry of Culture, and built around workshops, lecture-demonstrations, panel discussions and stage performances. (broadwayworld.com) (hindustantimes.com) Day one opens with a Yangshak Movement workshop led by Imphal choreographer Surjit Nongmeikapam, whose practice draws on Manipuri traditions, breath work, weight shifts, momentum and the martial art Thang-Ta. (broadwayworld.com) (hindustantimes.com) The programme also includes “Pravāhita,” an illustrated lecture-performance by Dr. Sucheta Bhide-Chapekar with Arundhati Patwardhan and Sagarika Patwardhan, bringing three generations of Bharatanatyam dancers to one stage. (hindustantimes.com) A Young Dancers festival, listed by Natya Vriksha as a core feature of the event, is set to showcase emerging performers from across India, including Bharatanatyam dancer Karuna Sagari and Kathak dancer Ameera Patankar. (natyavriksha.com) (hindustantimes.com) Day two turns to technology with a panel titled “AI & Dance: Challenges and Opportunities,” featuring Anita Ratnam and Madhu Nataraj in a discussion on movement, virtual reality and artificial intelligence. (hindustantimes.com) (etvbharat.com) India International Centre’s programme listings also show the festival continuing on April 26 with Nongmeikapam’s workshop and a lecture-demonstration by Dr. Nandini Ramani on the music and dance heritage of Tiruvarur. (iicdelhi.in) Natya Vriksha says its World Dance Day event has been a fixed part of Delhi’s arts calendar since 2008, and has grown from evening performances into a two-day platform for talks, films, workshops and seminars. (natyavriksha.com) Chandran said the festival is meant to hold classical rigour and curiosity in the same space, with room for young dancers, senior artists and audiences to treat dance as both inheritance and inquiry. (hindustantimes.com)