Our people
Our Space
We started with using the rented space on our terrace for our classes and rehearsals. We created bamboo walls and filled it with palms and ficus plants to create an earthen and rooted atmosphere for our practice. Our student community grew, our rehearsal hours became longer and our performances increased. Then came the rains. We renovated the space, rainproofed it, created a performance area, a change room, washroom and equipped it with the facilities for a community art space.
So, we welcome you to our home which we have created with all our heart and labour of all kinds. We wish that it brings to you all the creativity, kindness and rigour, that you hope for.
Message us to visit or enquire about the space.
Our Dream &
Our Culture
At Nirali, the culture of the space and practice is very important to us. The tradition of Indian classical dance can be prescriptive and hierarchical. We like to decentralise power and responsibility. Each person is a respected ‘guru’ and a ‘shishya’ in their own right. We carefully tread the politics of the form and its history in our stories and representations. We are mindful of our body and the training pedagogy adapts to our individual needs and desires.
We are friends. We dance together but more importantly, stand together.
Our dream is to create a space where we can be ourselves and engage deeply in the arts; we can learn from one another and connect in more ways than we could have imagined. We want to build a community of reflective and intuitive bodies that dance and enjoy it. We wish to create a repertoire of new work with the Indian classical dance vocabulary relatable to us and our World. Our art is a medium to express and resist.
