Bengaluru-based Nupura School Of Bharathanatyam will host Sakhya, an online dance festival as part of International Dance Day. The event will be streamed live on April 29 at 7 pm and will feature the school’s senior students performing at home.

Nupura was started by Dr Lalitha Srinivasan, who is trained in the Mysore style of Bharathanatya. “The event aims to connect with everyone who is part of the organisation as well as the art form,” says Manu Srinivasan, Lalitha’s daughter and Secretary of Nupura. She has also curated Sakhya, which means together and connected through dance.

“The lock-down came as a shock to the performing artistes as for us the stage is an integral part of our art. Even the learning is done in the presence of the teacher. So when the lock-down happened we started taking online classes and also decided to organise an online dance festival. We felt that social media is another medium that helps us reach out to dancers and the audience,” explains Manu.

“Every year UNESCO gives out a theme for the dance and this year it is ‘Dance for a purpose’ and we felt this is a good time to connect to others through dance.”

The festival will be streamed live on @nityanritya on Instagram on April 29 at 7 pm. “Only Bharatanatya will be showcased as senior dancers from Nupura will perform.”

The event will include a dance performance by Lalitha who will present an Ashtapadi as part of the celebrations. The event will also include a Bharatanatya performance by Deepti Mukund Navile from Washington DC and Malavika Venkatsubbaiah from Canada.

“For the event each dancer will go live in his/her home or studio. We have slotted time for each of them. We decided to go live as there are umpteen recorded dance videos out there. We wanted it to be a live performance. The aim is to connect with others during this time of uncertainty and anxiety,” says Manu.