Dec 16 2025 to Dec 16 2025 7 p.m.

Where

Bangalore International Centre

7 4th Main Rd, Stage 2, Domlur 560071

Event Description

A triple bill of Indian classical dance; turning the negotiations of modern life into electrifying movement.

Play Ball brings together three sharply etched Bharatanatyam pieces that reimagine modern experience through classical form. Premiered in India to wide acclaim at the Natya Kala Conference in 2019, the production showcases an all-female ensemble whose performances move fluidly between playful, tender, and powerfully precise. Conceptualised and choreographed by Nina Rajarani MBE, one of the UK’s leading choreographers, with original scores composed, directed, and sung by Y Yadavan, the evening is lifted further by live music that draws audiences into each world on stage.

Across the three works, the central question unfolds: what does it take to play ball?
“Kadala… Is It Love?” follows a relationship strained by wavering fidelity; “Bend It…” transforms the football field into a rhythmic, high-energy dance of rivalry and camaraderie; and “Quick!” turns the corporate arena into a tightly choreographed contest of ambition and urgency: the piece that won Rajarani the 2006 Place Prize, Europe’s largest choreographic award.

Rajarani’s fusion feels both deeply familiar and strikingly new. These works capture the pulse of contemporary life through the language of classical dance, offering an evening where tradition meets the spirited negotiations of the modern world. 

Concept, Choreography and Artistic Direction: Nina Rajarani MBE
Music Composition and Direction: Y Yadavan
Light Engineering: B Charles
Sound Engineering: Shanthosh Kannan
Multimedia Design: Gaurav Singh Nijjer
Multimedia Operations: Nikhil Bansal

Supported by:

Performers

Nina Rajarani
Artistic Director, Choreographer & Dancer
Nina Rajarani MBE is an award-winning choreographer of classical Indian dance with over three decades of experience. Her work brings Bharatanatyam and Kathak into conversation with contemporary themes, and has been performed widely across the UK, India, Southeast Asia, Europe, North America and Australia. Her piece QUICK! won the 2006 Place Prize, Europe’s largest choreographic competition. Nina runs a long-established dance school at Harrow Arts Centre and has played a key role in the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing, serving as a senior Bharatanatyam examiner and Lead Examiner for vocational and teaching qualifications. She received an MBE in 2009 for her contributions to South Asian dance.

Y Yadavan
Composer & Vocalist
Yadavan is a vocalist trained in Sri Lanka and Chennai, studying under Sangeeta Bhooshanam S. Balasingam and Sangeeta Kalanidhi B. Rajam Iyer. He holds a BA in Indian music from Madras University and a Diploma from the Music Academy of Chennai, where he received the title Sangeetha Rathna. A sought-after vocalist, he has accompanied dancers and musicians across the world. Since 2002, he has collaborated closely with Nina Rajarani MBE: touring internationally, composing for SRISHTI’s productions and teaching Carnatic vocal at the company’s school and beyond. He also teaches the music component of the ISTD Bharatanatyam syllabus.

Abirami Eswar
Dancer
Abirami is a London-based Kathak dancer, teacher and choreographer specialising in the Lucknow gharana. She is the founder of Teentaal Kathak, which trains dancers of all ages and hosts workshops across the UK. Recognised in Akademi’s 40 Under 40 and profiled in The Times and by the BBC, she creates and presents work across performance, education and community settings. Abirami collaborates with companies in the UK and internationally, contributing to a vibrant South Asian dance landscape.

Shivani Jatar
Dancer
Shivani is a Mumbai-born, Leeds-based dancer working across Kathak, contemporary and experimental movement practices. Trained in the Benarasi and Lucknowi angas of Kathak, she holds a Vishaarad degree from Akhil Bharatiya Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, and an MA in Dance and Creative Enterprise from the Northern School of Contemporary Dance. She has performed widely in UK theatres, festivals and public programmes, including work for LEEDS 2023. Her projects, such as Threads of Change, One Dha at a Time, My Dance Starts Here and We Are Other, reflect her interest in developing new movement ideas. She runs Menaka Dance in Leeds and has received mentorship through Arts Council England’s creative development grants.

Preeti Mahenthran
Musician
Preeti is a UK-based flautist who has trained in Carnatic flute for fifteen years under Chittoor Shri T. Raghavaraman and Shri Pitchaiappah Gnanavarathan. Since her debut recital in 2019, she has performed as both soloist and accompanist in concerts across the UK. She also trains in Bharatanatyam with Smt Usha Raghavanand Carnatic vocal under Shri Manipallavam K. Sarangan, sustaining a regular practice across all three disciplines. Her work draws from these complementary traditions, shaping her development as a holistic artist.

Kirsten Newell
Dancer
Kirsten is a Scotland-based Bharatanatyam artist whose training began in ballet and contemporary dance before she studied Bharatanatyam in Edinburgh. She later trained at Attakkalari in Bangalore and at the Kalakshetra Foundation in Chennai. Since returning to the UK, she has worked on projects with artists including Subathra Subramaniam, Leela Samson, Shane Shambhu and Seeta Patel, and co-directed the touring production MaMa. As lead artist for Hebridean Treasure: Lost & Found, she continues to expand Bharatanatyam’s presence in Scotland, co-founding the Cosmic Dance School with Oxana Banshikova.

Kartik Raghunathan
Musician
Kartik is a UK-based violinist whose musical journey began with Hindustani vocal training with his mother and later grew through his father’s interest in Carnatic violin. London’s diverse musical landscape shaped his evolving practice, leading to collaborations with artists and ensembles such as Kavita Krishnamurthy-Subramaniam, Akram Khan, Nitin Sawhney, the BBC Concert Orchestra, Susheela Raman, Yaima and Kaya Project. His work spans studio recording, live performance and cross-genre projects, taking the Indian violin into varied musical settings in the UK and abroad.

Abhiram Sahathevan
Musician
Abhiram is a UK-based mridangam artist trained at the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan in London. He has accompanied numerous eminent Carnatic musicians and dancers from Sri Lanka and India, performing in concerts, orchestral collaborations and arangetrams across the UK and internationally. Comfortable on a range of percussion instruments, he brings a versatile approach shaped by classical grounding and diverse musical engagement. He received the title Kalalayaratnapooshan for Best Mridangam Player at the Bhavan’s Dance Music Festival in Chennai and continues to collaborate widely while supporting emerging South Asian artists.

Greeshma Thilakan
Dancer
Greeshma is a UK-based Bharatanatyam dancer who began training at the age of three and continues to study in the Pandanallur tradition. Over the past decade, she has performed widely across the UK; both as a lead dancer for her Peterborough-based school and with the Watford ensemble Trinetra Nadanam. She has choreographed several works exploring cultural and narrative themes and remains committed to refining her technique through regular training. Alongside performance, she works to present Bharatanatyam across a range of artistic and community settings.