From 1994 to 2016, I served as Rehearsal Director for Sankalpam, a UK-based Bharata Natyam company. I was invited by Vidya Thirunarayan , one of the founding Co-Artistic Directors, to work on the company’s first production, which featured choreography by Stella Uppal Subbiah and Ellen Van Schuylenburch. This initial collaboration sparked a lifelong engagement with Bharata Natyam and a 30-year professional relationship with the company’s directors.

Sankalpam’s work reflects a deep respect for tradition combined with a desire to expand the choreographic possibilities of Indian classical dance. Over more than two decades, I have been honoured to rehearse each of the company’s productions, sharing a journey of discovery and exploring how diverse cultural knowledge systems inform our understanding of the body in performance.