Words by Caroline Tonks.
Just a short walk from Angel tube station is LIFT, where a passionate audience has gathered to watch the second edition of London Adavu – The Showcase.
London Adavu is a not-for-profit initiative that creates a safe, low-stakes performance space for creative exploration and experimentation for Bharatanatyam dancers. There is a clear sense of community in the room, filled with passion and support for the artform and the dancers.
On this occasion, three dancers are claiming the studio space, with 15 minutes to showcase their own choreographed works in the Bharatanatyam style. We sit on the floor to watch, creating a deep connection with each work as we feel the reverberations of the dancers’ movements through the floor. Being this close, there is a greater appreciation for the intricate footwork and expressive gestures in each performance.
Mridula Nambiar goes first, followed by Gayatri Munogee. Mridula’s piece Nangeli is powerful and beautiful, full of rawness, pain, anger, and despair, while Gayatri’s Human Nature is soft and meditative, as she performs to sound recordings within nature, with the trills of birds and the rustle of leaves.
Sneha Semaleesan goes last with her piece, What am I doing? She wears a beautiful saree, draped in bright pinks, blues, and greens, with her hair plaited into a single braid down her back.
Her work draws from deeply personal stories and lived experiences, shedding light on the unique ways ADHD manifests and is misunderstood, especially within cultural contexts that expect conformity, discipline and silence. The piece aims to reframe traditional vocabulary to speak to neurodivergent realities, creating space for visibility, empathy and shared understanding.
Sneha starts on the floor, curled around herself. Right away, she portrays someone who is questioning themselves. She has a very rhythmic movement, although it’s often disrupted by a jitter of a conflicted twitch or thought. It’s as if the brain and the body are fighting to come together.
Sneha’s facial expressions alone take the audience on a journey; she looks as if she’s caught up in a mental whirlwind brought on by the ADHD. She’s having a conversation with her own thoughts, shown clearly within her expressions. Looks of annoyance and confusion are stamped on her face without speaking a word. And as she tries to catch those wayward thoughts, she is pulled back and forth by them.
Moments of humour are sprinkled within the piece, eliciting laughter from the audience which connects them even more to the choreography. It’s refreshing to see and even more powerful as it is comedy without words but rather emotions.
The Bharatanatyam style is beautiful and vulnerable, and each dancer of the night completely captured this within their works. Sneha took movements within the technique and made them her own, changing hand gestures to suit her storytelling. It was almost as if she was a puppeteer with her hands.
We live in a world where dance styles of all kinds are not always appreciated, so initiatives like London Adavu are critical in keeping artforms alive. It has created a beautiful community full of talented and supportive dancers.