Choreographer/Performer: Mehek
Choreographer: Echoes
Aditi Mangaldas is a leading dancer and choreographer in the classical Indian dance form of Kathak. With extensive training under the leading gurus of Kathak, Shrimati Kumudini Lakhia and Pandit Birju Maharaj, Aditi is today recognised for her artistry, technique, eloquence and characteristic energy that mark every performance. Besides dancing and choreographing classical productions, both solo and group, she has broken new ground by using her knowledge and experience of Kathak as a springboard to evolve a contemporary dance vocabulary, infused with the spirit of the classical. Considered a maverick in India, she has consistently broken ground, unafraid to confront social and present-day concerns. Celebrated around the world for the startling richness and intricacy of her dance and choreography, she was nominated in the category of outstanding performance (classical) by the National Dance Critics Circle awards – 2017 in the UK. She was awarded the Gujarat Sangeet Natak Academy award, India 2007 as well as the National Sangeet Natak Akademi award, India 2013, that due to compelling reasons, she declined.
She has won much critical acclaim in major dance festivals across the world. As quoted by the Guardian, London, 2017, “Mangaldas owned the stage without trying to earn it……” Or at the Perth International Arts Festival, 2016, “Her artistry and poise, her dramatic gifts and unshakable technique are truly astounding; dance as effortlessly compelling as this is a joy to watch in itself, but underpinned by the questioning intelligence of Mangaldas, it becomes something transformative.” … and at the Edinburgh International Festival, 2012, “Her concept of the intangible embraces the divine and the profoundly human: love and freedom, truth and beauty being as cosmically mystical as god.” More recently in 2023, The Guardian gave her new solo FORBIDDEN a four-star rating and in the words of Seeing Dance post the Sadler’s Wells performance… “Marvelous performer who commands the stage throughout… she dances with great passion, sometimes with ferocity. With abandon too… exceptional performer. Quite compelling in every way. Every moment is imbued with meaning. Even the stillness seems charged.”
In a recent video shared by Akram Khan, one of the world’s most celebrated dancers and choreographers, he said, “Aditi is one of those artists who is a high-level performer. High performance is never about lying to yourself, it is about becoming yourself. She is an inspiration to all of us.” …or Shanta Gokhale, eminent Indian cultural writer and dance critic, “Her dance demonstrates what it means to be utterly free in body, mind and spirit to explore the world”.
Aditi heads the Aditi Mangaldas Dance Company – The Drishtikon Dance Foundation (www.aditimangaldasdance.com)
Follow Aditi Mangaldas – @aditimangaldas
Photo credit: Von Fox Promotions
Page last updated December 2023