Reimagining the Margam: Contemporary Bharatanatyam Choreography
I explore the traditional Bharatanatyam margam by weaving in modern sensibilities and rare, ancient texts. Here are pieces where classic formats meet new choreographic ideas.
This is my favorite Javali, a piece where the choreography explores playful affection and romance. The process of creating it was filled with fun, and it shows how traditional formats can be vehicles for very human and relatable emotions.
This Javali is a piece I reconnected with recently, and it was a case of the students teaching the teacher! I learned it back from a video of a class I taught, a beautiful reminder of how art is a continuous cycle of learning and sharing.
Some compositions are pure lyrical delights. This piece, set to the Nachiyar Thirumozhi, asks, "Do his coral lips smell like the lotus or camphor? Do they taste sweet?" It's a beautiful exploration of sensory details in poetry.
A performance of "Prabho Ganapathe," a playful and profound choreography I learned from my guru. It's a joy to perform this piece, which celebrates the wisdom and strength of Ganesha.
This Varnam is a beautiful example of how our festivals are lessons through metaphors. It tells the story of the Vennai Thaazhi Utsavam, where throwing butter at the deity symbolizes the surrender of the ego.
The flower is a perfect representation of the spiritual and the sensual. This Kalyani varnam explores that beautiful paradox, a theme I am constantly drawn to in my choreographic work.
This Kalyani varnam explores the idea of Cupid's five flower arrows. The nayika, or heroine, in this piece has a wonderful swag; she is unfazed and unabashed, a joy to portray.
About this collection
When I work on a Varnam, I am not just looking for technical perfection. Take my Kalyani Varnam, for instance. I decided to portray the heroine not as a passive lover, but as someone unfazed and unabashed, treating Cupid’s flower arrows as a joke. It is the small, intentional shifts in character that turn a classic, rigid structure into a dialogue that feels relevant today.
The traditional margam (the path or repertoire order) is not a museum piece for me. It is a living, breathing framework. When I approach a piece like a Varnam or a Thillana, I start with a question: what does this text actually mean, and why should we care about it today?
My process involves deep dives into rare literary sources. I move beyond the standard repertoire to source poems from Pāli texts, Marathi Abhangs, and Tamil Pasurams. For a production like VitthāMāi, I had to decipher gender dynamics in Marathi poetry to create a movement vocabulary that felt authentic to the struggle of those poets.
Reimagining the margam is never a solo effort. It is a collaboration with my musicians. We sit down and work on Raga and Tala structures that support the emotion of the piece, not just the rhythm. If a story requires a specific silence, we hold it.
I also focus on the intent behind the movement. Take the Vennai Thaazhi Utsavam. I realized that throwing butter was a metaphor for surrendering the ego. Once that clicked, the choreography changed. It stopped being about doing the steps and became about the act of surrender. If you are looking for a performance that moves away from the predictable and dives into the narrative heart of classical dance, let us talk about your needs.
Divya Ravi
I do not just teach steps; I dig into the stories that get lost in the shuffle of time. Whether I am performing a solo piece or directing a full-length production, my goal is always to find the pulse in the poetry and let that lead the movement.
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