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Indian classical dance conference to debut at MIT and Harvard
The Intersections Conference 2025 will highlight both the preservation of traditional forms and the innovative directions emerging in the diaspora.
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Malvika Choudhary - Sat, 13, Sep 2025
- 15:40 EDT
- 16
The Anubhava Dance Company / mittalsouthasiainstitute.harvard.edu
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University will host a conference on Indian classical dance on Sept. 27–28, focusing on dialogue, research, and professional development in the field.
The Intersections Conference 2025: Traditions and Innovations in Indian Classical Dance is a first-of-its-kind event that aims to spotlight U.S.-based Indian classical artists as innovators in movement, research, and pedagogy as well as a forum for critical dialogue and professional exchange.
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Organized by Haribabu Arthanari, president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Heritage of the Arts of South Asia (MITHAS); Shriya Srinivasan, assistant professor of bioengineering at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences; and Joshua George, co-director of the Anubhava Dance Company, the eventis co-sponsored by the Lakshmi Mittal and Family South Asia Institute at Harvard University.
Explaining the motivation behind the initiative, Srinivasan said the goal is to “bring an analytical lens to the evolution of Indian dance, especially in the diaspora,” where distance from the art form’s cultural context has created space for “introspection and divergent evolution.”
She added that the choice of a conference format over a festival was deliberate: “Festivals already exist as vibrant spaces to showcase artistry, but what’s often missing is a forum for critically engaging with the art form—asking why artists are creating the work they do, how they are shaping choreography, and what ideas and influences are driving their practice.”
The program will feature panels on abhinaya across contexts, sustainability for dancers, and the role of curation and funding in shaping the field. The Anubhava Dance Company will also present its new work Explorations on Sept. 27.
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