London Margazhi: An Immersive South Asian Dance Experience

Although the Tamil month of Margazhi had concluded months earlier, London Margazhi, created and curated by London Adavu, transported audiences into its distinctive artistic atmosphere over a single, resonant weekend. Drawing inspiration from Chennai’s iconic Margazhi season which transforms the South Indian metropolis into a dance-music theatre, London Margazhi reimagined the Bharatanatyam stage as an immersive, inclusive space for performance, dialogue, and mentorship. More than an array of solo performances, it offered a layered artistic experience that brought together discussions, live music, and thoughtfully curated pieces, presenting Bharatanatyam to the London audience. Furthermore, the festival demonstrated its commitment to equity by offering mentorship and compensation to artists, creating a model that overturns the financial burdens typically placed on Bharatanatyam dancers.

At the heart of the festival lay abhinaya, which emerged as a unifying thread across performances. The festival spanned two evenings featuring eight soloists, each paired with a mentor and supported by live musical accompaniment. The selection of artists provided opportunities to both up and coming and established Bharatanatyam artists from and around the UK. The emphasis on this synergistic collaboration resonated with the festival’s vision: to create a stage for tradition, talent, and togetherness while nurturing thoughtful artistic development.

Day One opened with Adhya Shastry who balanced youthful sensitivity with clarity of intent. Her pièce de résistance, in the raga Dhanyasi, revealed an assured grasp of rhythm and understated expressional nuance, allowing abhinaya to complement, rather than overwhelm, the nritta.

Dublin-based Anjali Sivanandakumar followed with a presentation marked by elegance. Her embodiment of the heroine’s yearning demonstrated a clear engagement with emotive storytelling, although the sthayi bhava and its articulation could have been better sustained.

A deeply personal tone shaped Supritha Aithal’s thematic work Matru Nivedanam, which centred on motherhood, loss, and resilience, engaged with grief as the dominant emotion. Supritha demonstrated sincerity and restraint in the tender depictions of maternal care. Her willingness to share a vulnerable, autobiographical narrative added an introspective dimension.

The evening concluded with Adithi Raviprakash’s robust nritta balanced by passionate and at times playful abhinaya. Her engagement with emotive expression sparkled through a sequence where the lovelorn heroine writes a letter to her beloved. The performance was supported sensitively by Poorna Hariharan’s nattuvangam.

Day Two continued the festival’s thoughtful arc. Rachana Suresh Kumar’s performance was marked by a delightful portrayal of abhinaya in a sequence wherein the dancer-protagonist fashions an idol of her beloved Krishna. Her expressive strength lay in her ability to shift gently between emotional registers without fracturing the overarching theme of the piece.

Rajeswari Ramasamy brought philosophical inquiry, using abhinaya to explore light and wisdom in her layered invocatory piece. Her central piece in raga Bhairavi resounded with a subtle secureness, supported by the flautist’s mellifluous interludes which enhanced the narrative sequences. Although the nritta seemed forced at times, the artist demonstrated a strong potential through refined facial articulation and rhythmic confidence.

This was followed by Kavya Iyer’s performance, which explored narrative ideas with artistic curiosity. While some choreographic choices invited further refinement, her engagement with abhinaya reflected a willingness to take creative risks within the traditional framework.

The festival concluded memorably with Varun Shivakumar, who’s commanding nritta and earnest abhinaya resulted in a good performance.

The initiative distinguished itself through its novel mentorship model of symbiosis. It was evident that the artistic collaboration between the mentee and the mentor extended beyond correction or supervision, fostering dialogue, reflection, and shared growth. The festival’s commitment to remunerating both the dancers shifts the prevailing norm in which dancers, both in India and abroad, most often bear the full expenditure, including paying the musicians. London Margazhi’s alternative model not only alleviated the economic strain on artists but also enabled them to devote their focus entirely to the performance and the collaborative mentorship. 

Taken together, London Margazhi emerged as a thoughtfully curated South Asian dance festival executed by its founder Amritha Jayakrishnan, and her team. Equally commendable were mentors Amritha Jayakrishnan, Poorna Hariharan, Pallavi Anand and Meghna Raju for their work with the artists and able rhythmic support on stage. The melodious vocals by Pooja Narayan and Vamshikrishna Vishnudas, mridangam accompaniment by Prathap Ramachandra, and flute by Vijay Venkat elevated the festival as a whole.

 By 

Giridhar Raghunathan

(the author is a London-based Bharatanatyam dancer and research scholar)

Photo credits - Bheem Adavikolanu and Thamarai UK