Dansa Rickshaw
Priya Shrikumar seamlessly merges Bharatanatyam choreography and music with Scottish tradition.
Attended 6th August 2025
Edinburgh FRINGE: Venue 22
Dance Base
In Dansa Rickshaw Priya Shrikumar seamlessly merges Bharatanatyam choreography and music with Scottish tradition, showcasing her dual heritage and creating a love letter to the experience of the Indian diaspora here in Scotland.
Barefoot, with thick anklets adorned with a multitude of bells Bharatanatyam places great emphasis on the intricate footwork and rhythm of the dancers – a single mistaken step or shifting of balance would be incredibly difficult to hide when it makes so much noise. Taking its name from its most basic elements; bhara/feelings; rasa/essence; tala/rhythm; and natyam/dance Bharatanatyam is one of the ‘oldest among the contemporary classical dance forms of India’ – Kapila Vatsyayan, leading dance theorist & historian – and uses the basic adhamandli (postures) more rigorously then its contemporaries. A highly codified form of dance-theatre it utilises what could be considered exaggerated expressions, alongside the various combinations of mudras – hand gestures rooted in sacred performances dating back to 1500 BC – to create bhavas, a physical language which conveys meaning and allows dialogue between each other and the audience.
Dance Ihayami’s six dancers gave a passionate, invigorating performance bringing real life to the choreography Priya Shrikumar created, moving from a busy Indian street scene soundscape and traditional classical Indian music, to the bagpipes synonymous with Scottish culture today, and finally interweaving the two musical backgrounds together to create something new.
Photos taken from Dance Ihayami's facebook page