A lifetime of dancing can lead you somewhere you never expected to arrive. For Maithri Rao, that journey led her to Shiva. As the choreographer and performer of Leela Tandavam: The Eternal Rhythm, Maithri found herself looking inward while creating a production centred on a deity she had not grown up worshipping. Coming from a Vaishnava background, she had always been surrounded by devotion to Vishnu. But through the very art form she had spent her life practising, she discovered an unexpected connection. “Although my upbringing centred around Vishnu, I have spent my entire life dancing — and dance itself is Shiva,” she says.
That personal realisation became an important part of Leela Tandavam, which Maithri sees as more than a dance production. The performance explores the seemingly contrasting energies of Shiva and Vishnu, while asking a larger question about devotion itself. “What truly matters is not which path or energy one resonates with, but the sincerity of one’s devotion,” she says. Whether it is Vishnu’s stillness or Shiva’s dynamism, Maithri believes both ultimately lead to the same divine truth.
The production also looks beyond the familiar image of Shiva as the fierce destroyer. For Maithri, the Tandavam is not simply about destruction, but about transformation. “Destruction, in Shiva’s philosophy, is not merely about endings — it is about dissolving the ego, fear, ignorance, and everything that prevents transformation,” she explains. This allows Leela Tandavam to move through Shiva’s many dimensions — the fierce Rudra, the compassionate Bholenath, Ardhanarishwara as the union of Shiva and Shakti, and Nataraja, the cosmic dancer. The intention is to reveal the deity in his entirety rather than reduce him to his most powerful form.
As both choreographer and performer, Maithri has also worked to create a production that remains rooted in classical tradition while speaking to a contemporary audience. She describes her approach as the ‘Shivansh style,’ one that respects tradition while presenting it with a fresh sensibility. Bharatanatyam forms the visual language, while storytelling by Paridhi Mangalampalli brings the Puranas and poetry behind the compositions closer to the audience. A live 13-piece orchestra, meanwhile, gives the music an expansive new dimension through original arrangements.
“Music is the heartbeat of Leela Tandavam,” Maithri says. Rather than functioning as an accompaniment to the choreography, the live score becomes a storyteller in its own right, shifting between serenity, devotion, celebration and the intensity of Shiva’s cosmic dance. Together, music, movement, storytelling and visuals are designed to create an experience that engages all five senses.
But for Maithri, the ultimate measure of the performance lies in what remains after the final movement. She hopes audiences do more than watch — they feel, reflect and participate. “We want them to chant with us, celebrate with us, reflect with us, and ultimately feel completely immersed in the experience,” she says. In the language of Indian aesthetics, sincere bhava transforms into rasa within the audience. And that transformation is what Maithri hopes to achieve: that Leela Tandavam stays with them long after they leave. “I hope they carry that essence home, not as a performance they watched, but as a feeling they experienced.”
Tickets at ₹399. August 15, 6.30 pm. At Shilpakala Vedika, HITEC City.
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