BHAVAN 50
PERFORMANCES
COLLABORATIONS
FESTIVALS
ARTISTS
Immerse in plethora of art showcasing the bets of artists across Indian classical Arts
STUDENTS
Learn from some of the senior most Gurus.
YOUTH
Indulge your creativity with workshops and events
AUDIENCE
Celebrate with us with performances, art exhibitions, and workshops tailored to suit various tastes.
BHAVAN 50 EVENTS
BOOKINGS OPEN
'GAANER BHELAY JAYATI'
An evening of music with Jayati Chakraborty and team
Jayati Chakraborty, an exponent of Bengali songs with her team of musicians presents an evening of Bengali music, showcasing the variety within the genre. Join us to soak up the beauty of Rabindra Sangeet, Modern Bengali songs, and Bengal folk songs.
Presented by Ruby Bunker
Artists
Jayati Chakraborty – Vocal
Subir Chakraborty - Tabla
Subrata Banerjee - Guitar
Kunal Chakraborty - Keyboard
Kamal Chatterjee - Octapad & Percussion
MAHALAYA
Ruby Bunker presents a traditional ‘Mahalaya’, as part of Bhavan’s Golden Jubilee celebrations. Join us for an evening of soulful music featuring renowned artists from London and India. Please contact us at our reception on the performance day to make further donations to the Bhavan and its activities.
KUCHIPUDI DANCE WORKSHOP BY BHAVANA REDDY
Acclaimed dancer Bhavana Reddy will teach a Kuchipudi workshop at The Bhavan. The workshop is open to all levels.
Students will get to understand a few basic nuances of the art form of Kuchipudi and have the chance to explore its intricacies.
Students will get to understand a few basic nuances of the art form of Kuchipudi and have the chance to explore its intricacies.
SOLO KUCHIPUDI PERFORMANCE BY
BHAVANA REDDY
Bhavana Reddy presents a solo Kuchipudi performance at The Bhavan London.
ABOUT THE ARTIST:
The evening will feature the distinct features of the form of Kuchipudi and a few special choreographies.
ABOUT THE ARTIST:
Bhavana Reddy is one of the foremost Kuchipudi dancers of her generation. Daughter of Raja Radha Reddy, she has presented concerts and workshops in prestigious organisations, embassies, and consulates of India all over the world to critical acclaim. She is the recipient of the ‘Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar’ amongst other awards and a choreography grant from the legendary European choreographer Jiří Kylián’s Foundation.
SAMMILAN – A BHARATANATYAM AND KATHAK JOINT WORKSHOP
Join us for a unique dance workshop that looks at the similarities of Bharatanatyam and Kathak. Open to students of both dance forms, students will have the opportunity to understand the methodology of the two dance forms and learn how a single piece of music can be choreographed and expressed in the two different forms.
This workshop will be taught by Guru Shubha Dhananjay, assisted by Maya Dhananjay and Mudra Dhananjay.
ABOUT THE TEACHER
Smt. Shubha Dhananjay is one of the foremost dancers from Bangalore, India of her generation, equally proficient in Bharatanatyam and Kathak. Trained under Guru Srinivas in Bharatanatyam and Guru Maya Rao in Kathak, she has carved a luminous career spanning over 35 years in which she has performed extensively across the world, trained hundreds of students and presented several solo and ensemble thematic presentations to critical acclaim. The workshop will enable students to learn from her unique methodology and perspective of looking at and performing Bharatanatyam and Kathak.
Maya Dhananjay and Mudra Dhananjay , her daughters and disciples with extensive training in both dance forms, will assist her in the workshop.
‘NRITHYA SANDHYAA’ BY UPAHAAR SCHOOL OF DANCE
One of the core philosophies of Upahaar is that dance & music enhances one’s mental and physical health and can therefore be learnt and performed at any age. The school aims to bring Indian classical dance to every sector
of the community through its various activities and events, highlighting the organisation’s commitment and dedication to promoting arts.
ABOUT THE ENSEMBLE
ABOUT THE ENSEMBLE
The Ensemble is a semi-professional core group of well-trained dancers who undertake intensive training, and will present an evening of natyam in at least two of the three styles taught at Upahaar. The Ensemble present both traditional Margams as well as thematic productions. They have performed in prestigious venues across the UK, including the British Parliament, the Queen’s Gallery (Buckingham Palace), and the British Museum. They have also performed internationally. Through regular presentations, they reiterate Upahaar’s objectives of promoting the arts and making it available to one and all.
BHAVAN PRESENTS - ELEMENTAL GODDESSES
Bringing Goddess and earth systems together, building bridges
between faith and climate action through art.
Elemental Goddess is a live performance of new solo choreographies drawing from rich diverse performance traditions of India.
DANCERS:
Chamundeeswari Kuppuswamy - Bharatanatyam
Mathangi Keshavan - Bharatanatyam
Debanjali Biswas - Manipuri
Amrita Jayakrishnan - Kuchipudi
Katrina Rute - Odissi
Ranjitha Chowalloor - Mohiniattam
Sonia Chandaria – Kathak
KALAKSHETRA IN LONDON
The Bhavan is delighted to be part of this new initiative - a new journey in shaping skills and knowledge in Dance Practice by Partnering with Kalakshetra to deliver the techniques and the core principles of the Kalakshetra Methodology. Through this exclusive collaboration we can provide an opportunity to work with the source teachers and experience the Kalakshetra methodologies here in the UK.
OBJECTIVES
INTERMEDIATE SESSIONS
OBJECTIVES
• Enable the current generation of dancers to engage directly with the source material and teacher from Rukmini Devi's direct Lineage.
• Enhance existing learning processes and present new ways of looking at and exploring material that may already be well known.
• Explore the contemporary relevance of Rukmini Devi’s choreography.
• Support teachers to refresh their Repertoire and an opportunity to engage with the senior professor and connect to the Institute.
A certificate of participation will be offered to all attendees.
OPEN TO ALL DANCERS
Minimum 3 years of experience
LIMITED SPACES AVAILABLE *
To avoid disappointment, please book in advance
ANY FURTHER QUERIES PLEASE WRITE TO
STELLA SUBBIAH - stella@bhavan.net
Dates, Timings and Prices
OPEN TO ALL DANCERS
Minimum 3 years of experience
LIMITED SPACES AVAILABLE *
To avoid disappointment, please book in advance
ANY FURTHER QUERIES PLEASE WRITE TO
STELLA SUBBIAH - stella@bhavan.net
Dates, Timings and Prices
INTERMEDIATE SESSIONS
TECHNIQUE CLASS | RUKMINI DEVI’S CHOREOGRAPHY FROM SOURCE | PRACTICAL AND VISUAL INTERPRETATION OF RUKMINI DEVI’S CHOREOGRAPHY THROUGH ORIGINAL VIDEOS OF HER DANCE-DRAMAS
Sat Oct 8 and Sun Oct 9
Sat Oct 8 and Sun Oct 9
10.30am – 11.50am | 12 pm – 1.30 pm
10.30am – 11.50am | 12 pm – 1.30 pm
TECHNIQUE AND SEQUENCING OF ADAVUS | PRACTICALS
Mon Oct 10, Wed 12, & Thur 13
6.30 pm – 8 pm
PRICING
PRICING
Single weekend session - £30
Single weekday session - £20
All 5 Intermediate sessions - £100
TEACHERS’ REFRESHER SESSIONS
REVISITING BHARATANATYAM PEDAGOGY OF KALAKSHETRA Theory and Practice (All dancers/dance practitioners welcome)
Tue Oct 11
11 am – 12.30 pm | 2PM – 3.30 PM
PRICING
11 am – 12.30 pm | 2PM – 3.30 PM
PRICING
£30
FULL WEEK PACKAGE (Includes all intermediate sessions and teachers’ refresher session) - £130
FULL WEEK PACKAGE (Includes all intermediate sessions and teachers’ refresher session) - £130
SOLO KATHAK RECITAL BY MAYA DHANANJAY
Young danseuse Maya Dhananjay presents a solo Kathak recital. The evening will feature ‘Nrithyabandhas’, traditional pieces of the Kathak repertoire.
About the artist
Maya Dhananjay has been into the sacred dance form of Kathak and Bharathanatyam since her birth under the able guidance of her mother and teacher, Guru Shubha Dhananjay, Artistic director of Natyantharanga, Bengaluru, India. She also received intensive training under Guru Smt. Geethanjali Lal and Sri Raghavraj Bhatt. She is a graded artist for the National Broadcast Media Doordarshan in
both Kathak and Bharathanatyam forms. She has achieved her proficiency/ Videath qualification in both the styles as well. She has extensively performed at various prestigious platforms across India, USA, Dubai, China, Malaysia, Indonesia and UK for which she has been entitled many awards. Maya also practices Odissi dance with equal grace and charm.
She is an engineer, an MBA graduate and currently sharing her love for art and culture through youth and community development projects as a Lead Culture Artist at Young Asian Voices, Sunderland UK.
“Dance is that unfathomable human experience which can never be suppressed”, says Maya and that, there’s a constant growing need for
that direct contact with life which is felt through DANCE!!
SITAR AND SAROD JUGALBANDHI – THE MOHAN BROTHERS
The Bhavan presents a scintillating evening of the best of classical instrumental music. The Mohan brothers Lakshya Mohan and Ayush Mohan present a jugalbandhi concert of Sitar and Sarod. The first Indians to perform at the Grammy Museum at Los angeles, the brothers have achieved critical acclaim for their art.
They will be accompanied by Pt. Rajkumar Misra on Tabla and M Balachandar on Mridangam.



UPCOMING EVENTS
The Bhavan's SUMMER SCHOOL
Sat 16 July - Sun 7 August
TUTOR PERFORMANCES
Sun July 17 - Sat July 31
SUMMER SCHOOL FINALE
Sat August 6 & Sun August 7
UPAHAAR SCHOOL OF DANCE
Sat Oct 1
DURGASTAMI
Mon Oct 3
Sat 16 July - Sun 7 August
TUTOR PERFORMANCES
Sun July 17 - Sat July 31
SUMMER SCHOOL FINALE
Sat August 6 & Sun August 7
UPAHAAR SCHOOL OF DANCE
Sat Oct 1
DURGASTAMI
Mon Oct 3
GLIMPSE INTO OUR UPCOMING GALLERY EVENTS
PAST GOLDEN JUBILEE EVENTS
'The Art of Tabla' - Recital and lec - dem with
PT. SANJAY MUKHERJEE *CANCELLED
NOTICE - DUE TO TRAVEL COMPLICATIONS AND UNAVOIDABLE CIRCUMSTANCES BEYOND OUR REACH, WE UNFORTUNATELY HAVE HAD TO CANCEL BOTH THE EVENTS - THE LEC - DEM ON SAT, THE 25th OF JUNE AT 11 AM, AND THE RECITAL ON SUNDAY THE 26TH OF JUNE.
WE APOLOGISE FOR THE LAST MINUTE CANCELLATION AND ANY INCONVENIENCE CAUSED.
ALL TICKET HOLDERS WILL BE REFUNDED FOR THE TICKETS PURCHASED
The Bhavan is proud to present a first of its kind event – ‘THE ART OF TABLA’.
Featuring a stalwart of the Farukhabad Gharana, the maestro Pt. Sanjay Mukherjee accompanied by Sri Hiranmay Mitra on Harmonium, the event offers a unique opportunity for all to witness the precision and the rhythmic vitality of the Tabla.
This is a wonderful opportunity to watch a performance as well as attend a lecture demonstration by the artists and interact with them.
RUKMINI VIJAYAKUMAR PRESENTS - TALATTU
Raadha Kalpa Dance Company presents – Talattu – a mother’s song and a lover’s farewell
* SOLD OUT *
By Rukmini Vijayakumar
Talattu addresses two very strong bonds of love that we share in our lives – the bond between a mother and child and the bond with a lover. The two bonds are very different, and we are seen very differently by these two very important people in our lives. Talattu takes the examples of Yashodha and Radha and their love for Krishna. It shows their personal journeys of joys and sorrows and how they deal with Krishna’s departure in very different ways.
Parents give up a part of themselves from the time a child is born. Both men and women take on the joys, sorrows, victories and defeats of their children as their own. The role of a parent is immense in the growth of a child and the emotional attachment that parents have to their offspring is incomparable. This relationship of caregiver and child is immortalised as Yashoda and Krishna in Indian mythology. Their relationship is nuanced with the complexity of Yashoda being Krishna’s adoptive parent. Yashoda’s sense of ownership is questioned when she realises that Krishna is not her own son. Talattu, addresses the complexity of this relationship and the love that permeates through this confusion.
The second relationship that is explored in Talattu is that of a lover. The bond of love is the strongest bond that one shares in life. The romantic relationship offers comfort, and togetherness. The ability to sacrifice for another within this relationship is paralleled with the idea of spiritual surrender.
* SOLD OUT *
'FINDING SHIVA' - Q&A with RUKMINI VIJAYAKUMAR
Join a candid conversation and Q&A session with Rukmini Vijayakumar about her new book publication 'FINDING SHIVA'.
A book that strives to give you a glimpse into the inner journeys of the performative experience, Rukmini's new book has seen great acclaim.
The conversation will be lead by dancer/choreographer/teacher Stella Uppal Subbiah. The session will follow her performance of 'Talattu' (details above). Entry is free for all ticket holders of the performance.
Finding Shiva
After high school, I was not sure about whether I should pursue dance or a technical subject. Awaiting clarity, I spent many months considering my options.
A book that strives to give you a glimpse into the inner journeys of the performative experience, Rukmini's new book has seen great acclaim.
The conversation will be lead by dancer/choreographer/teacher Stella Uppal Subbiah. The session will follow her performance of 'Talattu' (details above). Entry is free for all ticket holders of the performance.
Finding Shiva
After high school, I was not sure about whether I should pursue dance or a technical subject. Awaiting clarity, I spent many months considering my options.
While I was in the midst of this confusion, someone asked me, “What brings you closer to yourself?” I didn’t respond immediately, but in my mind the answer was clear. “Dance brings me closer to myself,” I thought. It was such an odd question, yet strangely it influenced a life decision. How can one be closer to or farther from oneself?
I knew that dance would begin to reveal something to me at some point in time, but I wasn’t sure of what this thing would be. The act of dancing holds something within it that I wanted to discover.
What if I could imbibe my life with the clarity of thought, precision, control and simultaneous surrender that I am able to wield as a performer? Wouldn’t life change inexplicably for the better?'
- Rukmini Vijayakumar
*SOLD OUT*
*SOLD OUT*
ADAVU EXPLORATIONS -BHARATANATYAM WORKSHOP WITH RUKMINI VIJAYKUMAR
This 3-day workshop is a unique opportunity to learn from Rukmini Vijaykumar and get a glimpse into her unique approach to Bharatanatyam. The class will work with the traditional adavu system (the basic movement sets of Bharatanatyam) and see how one can find different ways of utilising the adavu in sequencing and choreography by changing some essential parameters.
* Open to intermediate and advanced students.
*SOLD OUT*
LALGUDI KRISHNAN & LALGUDI VIJAYLAKSHMI
A scintillating recital by the Violin world's giants Sri. Lalgudi Krishnan and Smt. Lalgudi Vijaylakshmi.
Join us for a recital to soak up the Lalgudi Bani.
Accompanists - M. Balachandar on Mridangam, Pirasanna on Ghatam
* EARLY BOOKINGS OPEN *
Join us for a recital to soak up the Lalgudi Bani.
Accompanists - M. Balachandar on Mridangam, Pirasanna on Ghatam
* EARLY BOOKINGS OPEN *
LALGUDI PATHANTARA -
A 2-day workshop on Lalgudi compositions.
SHRADDHANJALI TO
PT. BIRJU MAHARAJ
BY PADMASHRI
PRATAP PAWAR MBE
Padmashri Pratap Pawar MBE - India's divine dancer - turns 80 this year. Still dancing after 65 years, Pawar has created this celebratory work honouring the spirit of his Guru, Padmavibhusha Pt. Birju Maharaj.
This work is commissioned and produced by Sri Balbir Singh.
* EARLY BOOKINGS OPEN *
This work is commissioned and produced by Sri Balbir Singh.
* EARLY BOOKINGS OPEN *
'SHRADDHANJALI'
A tribute to Bharat Ratna
Lata Mangeshkar by
Smt. Swati Natekar
Renowned artist Swati Natekar presents a very special collection of immortal songs of Bharat Ratna Lata Mangeshkar, who has left a huge treasure behind. The evening will feature songs ranging from Classic Bollywood (40’s to 90’s), raag based film songs to melodious Ghazals.
ACCOMPANISTS:
ABOUT SWATI NATEKAR
ACCOMPANISTS:
Sunil Jadhav : Keyboard/Accordion
Amar Sarl : Tabla
Siddharth Singh : Guitar
Jonathan Mayer : Sitar
Nishit Patel : Octopad
ABOUT SWATI NATEKAR
The voice behind hit songs like Nadia (with Nitin Sawhney), Khwaab (with Niraj Chag) & Jakatta American Dream (#3 in UK main charts), Swati Natekar is one of the most respected voices in Indian Music in U.K. Swati is the daughter and disciple of renowned Hindustani Classical academic & scholar Dr. Smt. Sushila Pohankar. She is also known for her collaborations with Ustad Zakir Hussain, Talvin Singh, Craig Armstrong, Sonu Nigam & Muzaffer Ali. She has released several acclaimed albums and has performed extensively at reputed international venues. Swati has recorded “Vaishnav Jan” to represent U.K. for the 150th year of Gandhi Jayanti. Also, she composed & sang poetry for an exhibition at The Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace, London.
This event is supported by Krybaby
This event is supported by Krybaby
* EARLY BOOKINGS OPEN *
Join us now