ISSUE
Friday, August 15, 2025
Volume 16 . Issue 72
It was traditional with a contemporary twist: that’s how Swaroopa Unni—an Indian classical dancer originally from Calicut who has been running the only Indian classical dance school in Otago called Natyaloka—described the weekend showcase of Kathak as part of Dunedin Fringe Festival. Called Rang—Colours, the Indian classical dance rendition was performed by Ms Unni, in collaboration with her teachers and internationally acclaimed artists Nirupama and Rajendra who run the Abhinava Dance Company in Bengaluru. Rohini Prabhath, one of their students, also participated in the performance held on March 18 and 19.
“As I am trained in both Kathak and Bharatnatyam, we decided to give audiences a taste of both Indian classical dances. So one segment, which was very well-received, was me performing Bharatnatyam and Rohini showcasing Kathak on the same song, with [the] same story and same emotions. Trained eyes can gauge the difference between the two art forms by different hand gestures [and] subtlety of expressions, as Bharatnatyam has exaggerated motions and half-sitting postures, [and] unlike Bharatnatyam, Kathak has only standing positions,” Ms Unni informed.
The dancers also made the performance interactive in the final segment, which was extempore in nature. “Nirupama and Rajendra created rhythms and foot works according to [the] wishes of the audiences. They also shared their wealth of knowledge about Indian dances by explaining in detail how the famous flamingo dance form has its origins in Kathak,” Ms Unni added.
Looking towards the future, Ms Unni concluded, “After Rang, my focus now is Natyaloka’s annual dance recital scheduled in September, which all our students eagerly look forward to.”
“Last year was our fifth anniversary. So our performance was special. Called Yatra, it was based on the theme of tracing the journey of all migrants in New Zealand. Additionally, we had made use of traditional Maori musical instruments—taonga puoro—in our performance to indicate the fusion of cultures as is happening in modern New Zealand now.”
It was traditional with a contemporary twist: that’s how Swaroopa Unni—an Indian classical dancer originally from Calicut who has been running the only Indian classical dance school in Otago called Natyaloka—described the weekend showcase of Kathak as part of Dunedin Fringe Festival. Called Rang...
It was traditional with a contemporary twist: that’s how Swaroopa Unni—an Indian classical dancer originally from Calicut who has been running the only Indian classical dance school in Otago called Natyaloka—described the weekend showcase of Kathak as part of Dunedin Fringe Festival. Called Rang—Colours, the Indian classical dance rendition was performed by Ms Unni, in collaboration with her teachers and internationally acclaimed artists Nirupama and Rajendra who run the Abhinava Dance Company in Bengaluru. Rohini Prabhath, one of their students, also participated in the performance held on March 18 and 19.
“As I am trained in both Kathak and Bharatnatyam, we decided to give audiences a taste of both Indian classical dances. So one segment, which was very well-received, was me performing Bharatnatyam and Rohini showcasing Kathak on the same song, with [the] same story and same emotions. Trained eyes can gauge the difference between the two art forms by different hand gestures [and] subtlety of expressions, as Bharatnatyam has exaggerated motions and half-sitting postures, [and] unlike Bharatnatyam, Kathak has only standing positions,” Ms Unni informed.
The dancers also made the performance interactive in the final segment, which was extempore in nature. “Nirupama and Rajendra created rhythms and foot works according to [the] wishes of the audiences. They also shared their wealth of knowledge about Indian dances by explaining in detail how the famous flamingo dance form has its origins in Kathak,” Ms Unni added.
Looking towards the future, Ms Unni concluded, “After Rang, my focus now is Natyaloka’s annual dance recital scheduled in September, which all our students eagerly look forward to.”
“Last year was our fifth anniversary. So our performance was special. Called Yatra, it was based on the theme of tracing the journey of all migrants in New Zealand. Additionally, we had made use of traditional Maori musical instruments—taonga puoro—in our performance to indicate the fusion of cultures as is happening in modern New Zealand now.”
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