A whirling vortex of energy and grace, accomplished Bharatanatyam dancer, Navia Natarajan, has a luminous presence on stage. Whether she is performing a complex sequence of adavus or a free flowing dramatic piece steeped in abhinaya, Navia embodies impeccable flexibility, rhythm and technique besides stillness and beauty.

But beyond the flawlessness of her craft and the ability to express abstract ideas, the dancer’s performances cast a spell of deep emotion. Neither hybrid nor experimental, Navia’s dance is rooted in classicism, taking its cues and inspiration from the present.

She stays true to the rigors of classical technique but injects her dancing with creativity and vision that are uniquely her own. Approaching her art with a questioning and experimental spirit, she thinks about the dance with a modern mind, energizing the beauty and elegance of its classical idiom with the vitality and vibrancy of contemporary thought. In her performances, the traditional repertoire of movements – the intricate footwork, the deft flicks of the wrist and the neck, the subtle and dramatic flicker of facial expressions and the rapid spins and elegant turns of the waist – are expressed in pristine classical glory. Above all, she is ever so graceful in the rare Vazhavoor style… read more