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Creativity, 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.
Bruce Springsteen opened at a recent concert by calling “upon the righteous power of art“ to help get us through these terrifying times. It’s a striking declaration - because in a moment of crisis we tend to focus on how we can ensure physical safety and provide basic human needs. But for the students of Navatman and Baila Society, art is critical to our survival. “Art is a service.” “Art is a form of dignity.” These aren’t abstractions. They’re the convictions of Navatman and Baila Society students of all ages and backgrounds - from those who grew up dancing in New York City to those who began as adults, from people raised in India to those who found movement as a second language. What unites them is not biography, but in belief: that art can be “a form of self preservation” and “a declaration of love”, and that they need art when the world feels unwelcoming and unsafe to so many.  So when politics and power feel captured by money and disinformation, does art have any real influence? In every period of upheaval, artists are among the key messengers of moral clarity and advocates who bring us back to our collective humanity. James Baldwin, Langston Hughes, Nina Simone delivered profound messages directly, with rhythm, and brutal simplicity. We are all human. Can we not show each other humanity? That clarity - that insistence to meet each other as our true and raw selves beneath all that meets the eye and our biases - is what made their work break through. Art also widens the circle of movements, bringing in and gathering those who may not look or sound or move like those in power. Art reaches deep into spaces that policy cannot. It bypasses rational (or irrational) arguments into feelings, our core.  Sarah Sentiles puts it plainly “Artists were made for moments like these. This is what we have been practicing for. This is why we’ve been exercising our imaginations. So we can come up with alternatives. So we can dream up a better world. So we can remember who we are.” We cannot absorb the misery and suffering of these moments in silence. We must paint it, dance it, sing it, in community, into reality the world we want. For the Navatman and Baila Society community, this isn’t a metaphor, it’s practice. Together, we keep the music going, dancing toward a world where love is what moves us. About this post This post is part of an ongoing series reflecting on cross-cultural community, ancestral memory, and the ways dance carries both joy and resistance. These stories are not separate from the work on stage. They ARE the work. When the Sun Rises brings these threads together in a live experience. Join us June 26–28 at Ailey Theater. Be part of what we are building. About us
Navatman and Baila Society joined forces in 2024 for a uniquely New York City experience: a place where two women-led arts organizations based in the cultural traditions of Afro-Latinx arts (Salsa, Latin Hustle, Afro-Cuban) and Indian arts (Bharatanatyam, Kathak, Hindustani and Carnatic music) come together. In this shared space, we explore how the force of artists and students working together can promote, define, and create a sense of stability and strength, joy and love within communities at large - particularly through artistic endeavors. Written by Sonia Sekhar
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June 2026
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