How Padmini Chettur and Preethi Athreya built a platform for contemporary dance in Chennai

About a decade ago, artistes Padmini Chettur and Preethi Athreya, perceived a discernible vacuum in the city’s contemporary dance scene.

The two performers, whose practice began in the 1990s, tend to engage with art through concepts, conversations, contemplation and multiplicities. Their work seeks not only a fundamental and tangible relationship with the body through movement, but also an intimate philosophy that defines their creativity.

When spaces to engage with this philosophy began dwindling, the two dancers ended up answering a clarion call — one that stemmed from need.

“There seemed to be no platform for choreographers in the city, especially as festivals began moving to places such as Bengaluru. Preethi and I were always just doing everything ourselves — producing our work and organise our own shows,” says Padmini.

Contemporary dancer Padmini Chettur.
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

Over coffee, the two dancers, armed with pencils, papers and laptops, spoke about the birth of March Dance’s first edition in 2017, the growth of the festival and everything that drives them to continue conducting this annual event.

In its ninth edition, March Dance has evolved from a modest showcase of three works to a multidisciplinary platform, spanning three days, facilitating discourse and artistic growth. This year the show has been curated by Basement 21 and Goethe Institut, in cooperation with Alliance Française of Madras, InKo Centre and Prakriti Foundation. It will take place on March 16, 20 and 21 at Max Mueller Bhavan, Chennai.

If one must be reductive, then this edition will see performers from different parts of the world exploring desire, ageing bodies, migration and Mizo folk tales. But that is not all. March Dance promises a week of “dynamic and thought-provoking encounters celebrating contemporary dance in all its diversity”.

Padmini and Preethi had worked together in the Basement 21 collective, established in 2011. “The catalyst for March Dance was to find a framework that could hold Basement 21’s individual initiatives and approaches at dance-making. This led to the idea of a festival that could bring the various strands of B21 initiatives into one space. This was in 2017,” says Preethi. She recalls that dancers expressed a desire to perform in Chennai, prompting her and Preethi to consider a collaborative approach. “Why don’t we just put three contemporary dance works together?” Padmini recounts, explaining their decision to organise each other’s work and foster “a sense of a community curating itself, not just a single artiste.” The inaugural event featured Padmini’s ‘Varnam’, Preethi’s ‘Jumping Project’, and ‘Queen Size’, a piece by their long-time friend and colleague Mandeep Raikhy. They performed two shows each, creating a mini festival that revealed a “real need and necessity for something like this.”

From its humble beginnings, the festival quickly recognised the importance of engaging dancers beyond mere spectatorship. It began conducting workshops, building on the success of the one led by Pravin Kannanur and Maarten Visser, two other founding members of the Basement 21 collective. This move was also strategic. Padmini notes, “the Bharatanatyam community was never interested, and even 10 years later there is zero interest. But we need to build an audience.”

Contemporary dancer Preethi Athreya.
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

Preethi elaborates on the philosophical underpinnings of the Basement 21 collective, which predates the festival. Established in 2011, the collective aimed to address a vacuum for artistes who did not fit into the traditional dance forms. She adds, “There was no discourse around the contemporary. The discussion was really centered around the classical and experimentations thereof. Whereas we see the contemporary as having its own legitimate history and discourse.”

The collective initiated three key activities: Encounters, interdisciplinary workshops and collaborations with art galleries. ‘Encounters’ provided a safe space for young choreographers to present fragile and unformed work. The interdisciplinary workshops, as Preethi describes, were places where “you did not have to be a legitimate anybody to come and try something.” These workshops aimed to break down disciplinary silos, encouraging dancers to engage with visual art and musicians with dance, addressing a “lack of curiosity from other fields”. The collaborations with Focus Art Gallery involved pairing art displays with music and discussions, encouraging a deeper engagement with art objects.

Preethi emphasises, “It is not just contemporary dance, although both of us, being who we are, hold this festival together and therefore it is dance specific.”

Over the years, the festival has evolved to include a “lab” component, recognising the lack of formal education and documentation for contemporary dance in India. Preethi explains, “We don’t have a school or a college where you can go and learn the history of the form or a particular choreographer’s approach.” The lab, which varies each year, aims to bridge this gap, offering mentorship, residencies and opportunities for choreographers to develop their research and practice.

This year’s lab, focusing on “dance dramaturgy,” is particularly unique. Preethi and Padmini have invited Rustom Bharucha, a renowned performance studies scholar, to lead a workshop exploring dramaturgy beyond its traditional theatrical context. The workshop, open only to choreographers, aims to provide a framework for understanding and applying dramaturgy in contemporary dance.

Additionally, Dramaturgy of Production by Danile Kok, Dance Nucleus Singapore, will conduct a workshop on the pragmatic aspects of production for independent artistes.

‘Is’ by Puneet Jewandah and Ajay Parche traces the ever-shifting nature of human desire.
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

The festival’s curation process is meticulous, involving a jury of three to four people who shortlist applicants. This year’s lineup includes ‘Prime’ by Avantika Bahl, featuring dancers in their 60s and 70s, looking at the relationship between movement and the ageing body on March 16. ‘The Double Bill’ on March 20 features ‘Is’ by Puneet Jewandah and Ajay Parche and ‘Paradox of Platypus’ by Joshua Sailo and Abhaydev Praful.

A highlight of this year’s festival is a commission with Korean dancer Jee AE Lim, from Berlin who will collaborate with Indian dancers. Padmini, who was on the jury that awarded Jee AE the Pina Bausch Fellowship for Dance and Choreography, was captivated by her strange project exploring North Korean dance techniques. “We’re not just bringing something readymade but also inviting Jee AE with her questions to open it up”. Jee AE will perform with Akila P, Sravanthi V, Vikram Iyengar and Pallavi Sriram, after a collaborative workshop.

Despite the challenges, Padmini and Preethi remain committed to the festival. Says Preethi, “It’s a responsibility, but it’s also a deep desire.”