It was a privilege to have convened the 40th Natya Kala Conference for the Krishna Gana Sabha, Chennai. With the unstinted support of Sri Y Prabhu the Secretary, Saashwathi Prabhu the CEO, and the creative partner Akhila Krishnamurthy of Aalaap, I was able to bring together some of the finest voices of Indian classical dance. ROOTS - the theme of the conference, attempted to dig deep, to unearth, trace and show case the idea of where dance came from. It celebrated the beauty of genesis, the mystery of heritage and the lure of legacy that has stood the test of time. Through the lecture demonstrations, talks and full length performances, we had a fruitful dialogue between practitioners, scholars and commentators of dance. This year I introduced interesting workshops specifically meant for dancers of all disciplines, that enriched their vocabulary and perspective of their art form. This conference would not have been possible without the generous support of dancer and choreographer Rajika Puri, and she dedicated the conference to her mentor the eminent dancer Indrani Rahman. It was a joy to see the Krishna Gana Sabha teeming with dance lovers, who congregated for five fun filled days of exploring, sharing and celebrating dance.



This year I have the honour of convening the conference for the third time and I invite all dance lovers to head to Chennai between Dec 26 to 30, 2023. This year I plan to feature artistes who have transcended their dance and gone beyond the vocabulary of their art form. It will be interesting to see their work and to also listen to the different journeys that the path of deconstruction and reconstruction took them.