8 Years of Nrityakosh: Our Milestones and Artistic Philosophy
We started in 2016 to treat belly dance as a narrative art form rather than just a fitness module. Here is how our journey from a single classroom to a city-wide community shapes the way we teach today.
Our journey began in 2016 with a course that culminated in a showcase built around the concept of Bhava and Rasa, using belly dance for storytelling.
In 2017, we took our storytelling approach further with "The RaS Project," a production that spotlighted the women of the Ramayana, a first of its kind in Bangalore.
A recap of our highlights from 2018-19, including our mammoth production "Safar-e-Raqs," the beginnings of our Indian Fusion repertoire, and our first crowdfunded show, "Papusza."
A highlight from November 2018: "Scheherazade's Web," a fantastical show based on 1001 Nights, which was later retooled as "Arabian Nights."
A look at "Safar-e-Raqs," our 2018 production that charted the historical journey of belly dance and was unique for its collaborative approach with other artists.
A recap of our milestones from 2020 to 2024, including our expansion into online education and multiple locations across Bangalore.
About Our 8-Year Journey: Milestones & Philosophy
Many schools offer belly dance as a repetitive fitness routine, but our foundation is different. When you join us, you are not just learning steps. You are learning to translate Bhava and Rasa—emotion and essence—into movement. This philosophy of storytelling is what we have refined over eight years of producing shows like Safar-e-Raqs and Papusza, and it is exactly what we bring to every student, from your first class to our community performance labs.
In 2016, we noticed a gap in Bangalore's dance scene. Belly dance was widely taught as a weight-loss module, ignoring the rich cultural history and technical depth of the Oriental dance form. We decided to change that by building a structured, progressive curriculum.
Our first showcase set the tone, moving beyond exercise to focus on storytelling through movement. We explored the lives of women from the Ramayana in the RaS Project in 2017 and later expanded our scope with Safar-e-Raqs in 2018, a collaborative production that brought theater actors and belly dancers together. This collaborative spirit remains the core of our school.
We believe in building thinking dancers. Whether it is through our Datura-inspired technical training or our hybrid learning modules that allow you to train from home or in our studios across HSR Layout, JP Nagar, and Indiranagar, the focus remains the same: alignment, expression, and community. Today, our Performance Labs and Company troupe stand as a testament to this evolution. We invite you to join us and find your own voice in the movement.
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