Something to Say was a production born out of my need to say something as an Indian Classical dancer to the world that may not necessarily understand the art form or us. It was born out of the need to speak up and say something. Joining me in this quest were Prateeksha Kashi, Shruti KP, Shwetha Krishna and Christopher Gurusamy. The show was raw, they spoke their hearts and danced their hearts out while a documentary involving artists from genres other than Indian Classical dance shared their views on the art form. This was followed by a panel discussion which involved all the artists who performed along with Vyjayanthi Kashi, Roja Kannan, Anusha Subramaniam and Avijit Das. The discussion was mediated by contemporary dancer Aparna Nagesh Something to Say was staged in Chennai in 2015.  The production was a combination of Stage and Screen. Below are some photographs from the event. The panel discussion of the event can be seen on Shastram TV

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Something to Say was inspired by my previous production Naatya Vandhanam that I staged in Perth WA in 2005. Naatya Vandhanam was the very first time I had combined the mediums of Stage and screen. A documentary played as dancers burst into interludes of live dancing. The idea had actually come to be back in 1992 when I did a Kuchipudi performance for Indian Independence day in Burswood Theatre. I stood back stage alone behind the cyclorama fully clad in my dance costume, awaiting my turn to perform and an Incredible India documentary played. I stood there alone watching the documentary in the huge screen before me and felt walked through India. I couldn't help but move during this process. The idea of being able to use the screen to transport the audience but at the same time presenting a live performance really embedded deeply in me. Through this I understood the relationship between the screen and the stage and played with the idea of signified (and the signifier.  So many years later the idea materialised. Naatya Vandhanam happened. On screen were  Nadhini Ramani, Parvathi Ravi Gantasala, Revathi Ramachandran, Urmila Sathyanarayanan, Girija Akka, Roja Kannan and Uma Muralikrishna. While on stage artists from

India, Singapore and Perth brought the stage to life. Artists included Madurai R Muralidharan, Kavya Muralidharan, Girish Panicker, Temple of Fine Arts, Bremini Ganeshan, Namitha Mangalath, Sharon Selvanayakam and myself. Below is a trailer of Natya Vandhanam staged in Perth in 2005.  The documentary of made for Naatya Vandhanam can be seen on Shastram TV 

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