Gitanjali Kolanad

My practice of writing developed out of and in relation to my dance practice. When we speak of being moved by a work of art, we are recognizing the intimate connection between movement, perception and conscious thought. What I discovered in my own practice, what present-day research validates and what I want to make accessible: by moving we can create written work that moves others.

​I use ritual, folk and martial arts traditions from South India along with bharata natyam to create contemporary work. My choreography is shaped by an Indian aesthetic sensibility, where the purpose of art is to distil the essence of an experience or emotion into the aesthetic experience of rasa. The story is a means, a spiralling ever closer to a moment of transformation.