The First Step is a ConversationPhilosophy sessions drive our work
“If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe.“ - Carl Sagan This is, sort of, how we approach our productions too. One would think creating a show is just pick a theme, make music, make choreography, logistics, 1-2-3 and done! Not quite how we want it here. |
|
Stop Thinking. Start Moving.Channeling emotions and finding release in movement
Long before words, there was movement. As kids, we didn’t sit with our emotions - we flowed with instinctive expression. As adults, we have lost that connection replacing movement with (over)thinking, structure, responsibilities. This deeply felt post by Navatman member, Dolonchapa Chakraborty, explores why movement is not a luxury but rather the very core of how we process emotion. The body remembers what the mind tends to forget. |
|
Moving Through the NoiseDance is therapy for an uncertain world
In a philosophy session for our upcoming June program, we experienced a connected share that the world feels chaotic globally and personally. How do we find our way back to center? This evocative post by Navatman member, Abha Rajbhandari, explores dance as a means to finding flow, healing, and connection at the intersection of neuroscience and ancient wisdom. |
|
Claim Your Power Through ArtCreativity, community, and the courage to dance through times of upheaval
When the world feels like it’s fracturing, creativity is a vital act of resilience. This insightful post by Navatman member, Sonia Sekhar, reminds us that art is more than a metaphor. For Navatman and Baila, it is the practice of dreaming a better world into reality. |
|
You Don’t Have To Go It AloneReturning to the fold; what it taught me about myself, motherhood and community
We spend lifetimes believing that we have to do it ALL and do it SOLO; thinking that self-reliance is the way and hyper-independence is the ultimate armor. This profound post by Navatman member, Shruti Sharma, reflects on unlearning this. By returning to dance amidst the chaos of motherhood, she found strength in surrendering to the village and embracing the warmth of community. |
|
Decolonize This. Who Decides What Counts as “High Art”?Funding, fame, and why some art forms are protected while others are forgotten.
Decolonizing culture is more than a checkbox. This highly informed academic critique of cultural canons by Navatman member, Johann Moore, discusses how “The Western Canon” maintains its power, who is expected to diversify it, and how non-Western classical traditions (like ours!) exist independently of Western approval. |
|
You’re Not Lazy, Just Burnt Out by the Daily Grind. Here is an Antidote.When productivity becomes a trap, art becomes an act of rebellion.
Written by Lavanya Jagirdhar |
|
The Children Are Leading UsI was surprised to be invited.
Navatman's black box theater holds about fifty people, and I knew every seat would be filled. This was a family occasion, an intimate celebration, the kind of night that belongs to the people who have been there from the beginning. I have only known these girls for a year or two, since BAILA Society's residency at Navatman began. I am a guest in this space, still learning its rhythms... Written by Ahtoy Juliana |
