Celebrating Dr Maya Rao’s vision, this conference creates a space for dialogue between innovation and performance

Well, for one, it is commemorating the memory of Dr Maya Rao, who is our guru and also a pioneering figure in the world of dance in India and internationally. This conference happens as a biannual event. This year is more special because it’s the 62nd year of Natya Institute of Kathak and Choreography, which was birthed by her and Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay. What differentiates it from other conferences, or rather, from other performances is that it is a conference which, in equal measure, has performances also. So, it’s not too heavy or too cerebral. Of course, it has gravitas and is cerebral, but it’s not something that is unavailable or inaccessible to a person who wants to know more about dance, even if they are not a dancer. It’s dance-centric, but we’re also looking at cross-illuminating through dance. For instance, there’s a talk with Datuk Ramli Ibrahim and Dr Anita Ratnam, speaking about legacy: Your Presence in Your Absence. What happens after first-generation artistes are gone and what is their legacy? That’s a pressing question for anyone who has created something. They want to know how it will carry forward.

We have a retrospective, recreating Dr Maya Rao’s choreographies from 1956 onwards and a performance called the Project Abhinaya exploring expression in dance, performed by three senior artistes. The marquee event is a choreography I’ve done with Flamenco Sin Fronteras from Singapore called Esperanza (Hope), looking at hope and harmony in a globalised but polarised world. Alongside this, there is a sensory, spatio-temporal exhibition curated by Sandhya Raman and Shreedevi Deshpande Puri, which recreates dance history for the past 62 years through the lens of the Natya Institute and Dr Maya Rao.

Young dancers should come and attend conferences and performances. They will be riveted. There can be fabulous conversations and performances and they can look at it as a germination board for ideas and inspiration to create their own work. I love the younger demographic because they’re open to change. They can see historical archival material, possibilities of creativity and high production standards. They’re privy to all of this. From this, they can imagine how their own work could make an impact.

For me, dance itself is a warm memory. Choreography was in my DNA even before I fully embraced dance professionally. Even the way I lay a table, look at a composition or speak has a choreography to it. I can’t separate choreography from life. To be a choreographer, you need holistic thinking — you have to be a comprehensive collector of thoughts and a communicator. I’m constantly in choreographer mode, even outside the studio. If I see a beautiful piece of jewellery or architecture, anywhere in the world, I immediately start thinking of a choreographic idea.

I became an entrepreneur and mentor very young, when I started my company, STEM Dance Kampni. I trained dancers from scratch and revisited Indian dance forms, modern disciplines and martial arts. I had to do everything — from fundraising to marketing — to make it work. Now, I’ve become a wiser, more understanding mentor. My dancers, some of whom have been with me for 25 years, were trained under strict standards, because perfection is non-negotiable on stage. But now I see the company as family. I’m available for them not only for dance but also for life. Mentorship, for me, is a meeting point of life and art.

I’m excited to see what young dancers explore, how they create work that impacts their lives, society and community. Dance can bring communities together and help build a more aware, harmonised world. That’s the future I’m looking forward to.