Month-long Mudra Dance Festival 2025 kicks off today at NCPA Mumbai

The Mudra Dance Festival is a celebration of classical dance and folk traditions around the theme ‘Aharya’

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Published on:

03 Apr 2025, 3:44 am

Updated on:

03 Apr 2025, 3:44 am

3 min read

Stalwarts of Indian classical dance come together to showcase their performance at the National Centre for the Performing Arts’ (NCPA) Mudra Dance Festival which begins in Mumbai from today. This year, it goes by the theme ‘ aharya’ which translates to dance or expressions through enactment, costumes, narrative and more. Held across four locations – Experimental Theatre, Tata Theatre, Jamshed Bhabha Theatre and Dilip Piramal Art Gallery, it also commemorates the essence of International Dance Day through an immersive line-up of female performers, workshops, talks and exhibitions throughout the month.

What does the month-long Mudra Dance Festival performance line-up have in store for the audience?

The Mudra Dance Festival opens on April 3 with Shobhita, a Kuchipudi production by Vyjayanthi Kashi and troupe. The performance aims to capture the costume, ornamentation and sculptures in Kuchipudi dance form. This will be followed by an Odissi performance by Aruna Mohanty and troupe which follows the narrative of mythical women seeking answers. April 10 will see the Rangasri Little Ballet Troupe present the dance drama titled The Ramayana, retold through visually gripping masks and puppets.

A Kathak piece by Saswati Sen bringing to life some of Pt. Birju Maharaj’s most memorable works and an energetic performance of Gujarati folk forms like Garba, Dandiya Raas, Tippani will be performed by Avani Shah and troupe on April 11. Padma Shri Malavika Sarukkai will close the performances on April 27 with Beeja – Earth Seed through Bharatnatyam.

There’s more to the Festival with talks, workshops and exhibitions

With the NCPA, one can be assured of going in depth of art and creativity. Hence, apart from the performances, there are several curated talks , exhibitions and workshops that one can be a part of to understand the aesthetics of ‘aharya’ in depth.

An exhibition by Avinash Pasricha titled Dance Through the Lens: A Visual celebration will take place at Dilip Piramal Art Gallery till April 29 showcasing pioneering works in dance photography. On April 27 one can attend an interesting talk by Sandip Soparrkar on Step in Style: The Art and Importance of Dance Shoes. The ballroom dance exponent will be talking about the significance of custom made footwear to provide comfort and strength during performances.

April 28 will see a workshop by Subodh Poddar , Ink and Elegance: Capturing Dance Through Sketches. The multi-disciplinary artiste is known for capturing live dance movements through sketches.Durign the workshop, participants will be able to understand how to freeze moments of rhythm, movement and expression through sketches. Lastly, on April 29, Malavika Sarukkai would be giving a talk on Visual Storytelling in Dance: Decoding Aharya.

Spanning over different dance forms – from folk to classical to broadening the scope of dance through photography, sketches, and footwear, the Mudra Dance Festival line-up is truly inter-disciplinary and interesting.