Himadri Madan (She/Her) is a performer, choreographer and dance teacher with training in Bharatnatyam and Kathak along with Bollywood. in Choreography from Bangalore University, India and an MFA in Choreography from Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance (as a Leverhulme Trust Scholar). Her choreographic practice is situated in creating socially and politically relevant work through the vo
cabulary of Indian classical dance, in turn exploring contemporary ways to understand and enjoy this traditional art form and making a space for North Indian classical dance in Scotland. As a dance educator, she teaches Indian classical dance forms with an emphasis on fostering creativity and ensuring that the classes have an inclusive environment where every student can find their own connection with the art form. She is the co-lead of the choreographic division at Theiya Arts and the lead choreographer for Theiya Arts’ youth dance group. Dr Nandini Manjunath (She/Her) is a Choreographer, a Kathak dancer, a Dance Movement Psychotherapist and a Arts-based Researcher, with a Doctorate in Counselling and Psychotherapy, and is currently a Part-time Lecturer in Arts Therapies at the Queen Margaret University and an Interpersonal Learning Facilitator at The University of Edinburgh. She also holds a Diploma in Kathak and BA Hons. in Choreography and is the co-lead of the choreographic division at Theiya Arts, Edinburgh. As a dance educator and choreographer, she has worked in various artistic contexts in Edinburgh and Scotland and have been involved in multiple Arts-based research explorations creating and producing mixed media presentations and varied community based outreach activities. In her present artistic practice, she explores the in-between spaces of the creative and the academic, and is passionate about bringing all of her dancer, psychotherapist, social activist and Decolonial Feminist researcher selves into the different spaces she resides and works in. Her current artistic work draws from her commitment to using 'Arts as Activism' and initiating dialogue about contemporary socio-political issues through the medium of South Asian Arts.
