Welcome to Indrani Datta Dance. We wholeheartedly celebrate and showcase Indian classical Kathak dance and the works of Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore.
Enjoy reading about the various classes and events we hold weekly and annually. If you want to know more then please get in touch.
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indranidattadance@gmail.com
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Writing, choreography, acting and singing are all very much part of the Kathak repertoire. The dancer needs to be an independent thinker and creator while having the finger on the pulse of humanity and human endeavour.
My lead roles have incorporated a mix of pure classical Kathak and Nobel Laureate Rabindrabath Tagore’s extensive dance and dramatic repertoire. Performances have taken me to Europe, India and the U.S. Over the years I have specialised in writing new full length dance musicals and productions commissioned by exhibitions, festivals and events. Paintings from India’s historic kingdoms, epic stories from the classical literature, Shakespearean heroines, theories of physics and so much more have been the spine of new scripts I have created for V&A, British Museum, Science Museum, Edinburgh Festival, Sadler’s Wells and so many more institutions.
Intimate classical Kathak recitals and workshops are now part and parcel of the ethos of Indrani Datta Dance. Site specific and thematic recitals showcasing live music and vocals along with the dynamic Kathak repertoire brings the history and heritage alive for the multicultural and multi-faith audience. Our events are interactive, immersive and relaxed so that you go home humming the tunes and remembering the twirls of the music and dance.
“Meet Radha”, a 60 minute solo dance piece written and directed by Indrani Datta is a sharp rediscovery of the colours and depth of Radha’s love for her Krishna. New Kathak choreography and English love poetry are partnered with ancient Sanskrit text translations. Alongside deeply expressive and atmospheric Kathak performed to recorded music by North Indian Classical vocalists, this piece features live songs by Indrani Datta. The recitation is by Nick Howard and is fused with live tabla accompaniment from Himanish Goswami.
A collection of nine dance solos that was born from The Kathak Series, a photographic oeuvre by Vinita Agarwal which captured Indrani Datta’s unique movement in the classical form of Kathak. The viewpoint of the piece is from an inanimate object of art and the human experiences that may or may not have taken place around it from its creation till the present day. The narrative uses several expressional and abstract dance items providing glimpses of the many people needed to make art timeless whether it is the starving artist, the wealthy art collector, the enamoured masses or the uninformed viewer.
Part of The Kathak Series by Vinita Agarwal. Dance choreography by Indrani Datta. Life of Art followed this series as a stand-alone solo performance piece.
A sumptuous Kathak performance and workshop series originally devised for the Maharaja Exhibition and Family Festival at the Victoria & Albert Museum. Paintings, sculpture, music, poetry, architecture and gardens all flourished under the patronage of the Maharajas in India. Even to this day, palaces in Rajasthan (the land of kings) and other parts of India are embellished with formal gardens abundant with peacocks. The royal palaces of Jaipur, Jodhpur and Udaipur influences the narrative of the piece. A research trip to Rajasthan shaped the choreography echoing its palace paintings, stories of pageantry, duty and heritage as well as royal pursuits such as hunting, sword fighting and polo. The piece features Sanskrit, Hindi and pure instrumental music and live vocals to accompany the dance.
An hour long selection of solo Kathak performance commissioned by Nehru Centre, Cultural Wing of the Indian High Commission based on Mughal and Hindu themes of love. Inspired by the court of Wajid Ali Shah, the greatest royal patron of Kathak, the piece features the most lyrical and poetic style of Kathak. Pure raga based dances like Tarana and Sargams are placed with romantic and expressive Thumris and Ghazals. Live recitation of poetry in English, Hindi and Urdu.
Commissioned by Nehru Centre London and written and directed by Indrani, this hour long dance musical features Rajasthani Folk, Darbari Kathak and Sufi. From the desert dunes to the palace of promises came the young heart. A tale of a desert girl and her rise as a powerful courtesan in a world of men and wars. Which choice will bring ultimate supremacy? Will her soul remember the path to the garden of love?
Commissioned by the Mayor of Islington in London to mark the centenary of historic charity Manor Gardens Trust, Into the Garden is a bilingual musical written by Indrani Datta. Essentially Into the Garden can be described as Shakespeare meets Rabindranath Tagore in a new play celebrating family, education, independence and nature. Two romantic and female led stories by these writers are woven together through new characters, dialogue, choreography and live music. The 90 minute piece was created with children and families in mind and premiered in Lillian Baylis, Sadler’s Wells London.
