Contemporary Dance Season 2025 - Day 1

Atirathis – The Valiant Brothers  

Multiform Dance by Sangeeta Sharma & Anveshana Society for Performing Arts

Creative Dance by Kohinoor Sen Barat & Troupe

Sangeeta Sharma is a pioneering figure in Indian Contemporary Dance Theatre, with an artistic journey spanning over 38 years. Based in New Delhi, she has developed a distinctive movement vocabulary that blends classical Indian forms, folk traditions, martial arts, and western contemporary techniques. A disciple of Late Pandit Narendra Sharma, she further honed her practice through the study of Limon and Laban techniques at the American Dance Festival (North Carolina), alongside comparative explorations in Kathakali, Kalaripayattu, Yoga, Chhau, and folk forms. Her contributions have been recognized with both Junior and Senior Fellowships from the Ministry of Culture, Government of India, and she has been invited to prestigious international platforms, including the American Dance Festival residency in the USA. As an educator and collaborator, Sangeeta has worked extensively with Sahitya Kala Parishad, the National School of Drama, regional theatre groups, and numerous cultural organizations. She has conducted workshops across India, with a special focus on dance methodology, movement research, actor-body training, and creative improvisation. Her most significant community initiative has been in Andretta (Kangra, Himachal Pradesh), where she has spent over a decade nurturing a hub for rural creativity and dance education. By training village children, choreographing plays based on local folklore, and evolving a grassroots-to-stage pedagogy, she has empowered rural performers with both cultural identity and professional artistry. Sharma is the Founder–Director of Anveshana Society for Performing Arts.

Atirathis – The Valiant Brothers is a story with a universal appeal that still resonates with audiences because it is a reflection of everyday internal conflict of each individual. The wonderful choreography blending martial arts with the finer nuances and aesthetics of the Indian classical dance, is like poetry on canvas. The presentation is soulful and infused with robust performances of its impeccable cast who are not only talented and skilled but are equally experimentative.

Kohinoor Sen Barat is an acclaimed artistic director, choreographer, teacher and dancer, internationally recognised for his powerful choreography in dance-dramas. He is the founder of the Shinjan - Institute of Bharatnatyam & Creative Dance and is a recipient of several prestigious honours including the Uday Shankar Award (1996). Barat served as one of the Dance Directors for the inaugural and closing ceremonies of the Biswa Banga Sammelan (2000) in Kolkata, and in 2005, delivered a solo performance at the Biswa Banga Sammelan organised by the North American Bengali Conference at the Manhattan Center and Madison Square Garden, New York. 

Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.

Get App

Host or Publisher Event Navigator