The Natya Ballet Dance Festival, 2016, was crafted towards exploring and experiencing the varied dance vocabulary of the Indian Subcontinent and to ignite a dialogue on the survival and relevance of traditional and unique dance forms in the present day.

Whilst the festival showcased established artists like Aditi Mangaldas, Astad Deboo and Lubna Marium, it also presented little known dance forms like Gotipua, Tibetan Opera, Seraikella Chhau and Ottanthulal. The festival had a power-packed 2-day conference with several discussions, lecture demonstrations, film screenings and talks by prominent artists like Anita Ratnam, Sadanand Menon, Gowri Ramnarayan, Ashish Khokar, Mandeep Raikhy, and Helen Acharya & Shashadhar Acharya.

“With this festival we are hoping to initiate a step towards better understanding of our traditional dance practices; furthermore reflecting on the evolution of dance over the past century. Conceptualized with the vision to build a wider audience for classical and traditional dances of the subcontinent, dance enthusiasts and lovers have much to experience.”