What’s Cooking

ABOUT COOKING VIDEO

This experimentation was born out of an unexpected, almost mischievous provocation. On certain days, I find myself grateful that I don’t live with a fellow dancer—because the questions my partner asks, while seemingly absurd, have a way of quietly unsettling my artistic boundaries. One such question, posed in complete earnestness, was: Can you demonstrate the recipe of a dish using Bharatanatyam abhinaya?

What began as a moment of laughter slowly transformed into a genuine inquiry. What does it mean to “cook” through movement? I began by creating a one-take Instagram video—improvised, unplanned—simply to see what might emerge if I winged a recipe through dance. The response it received encouraged me to carry this experiment into my performance practice.

At its heart, the piece is both an exploration and a gentle subversion. It asks: can the language of Bharatanatyam hold within it the warmth of a kitchen, the chaos of creation, the pleasure of sharing? And perhaps more importantly, can something as ordinary as a recipe become a site of performance, imagination, and joy?

Do note the innovative use of music in a spontaneous “manodharmatic” format.