Exhibition: Stillness in Movement

Pranita Choudhry is a talented Dancer & Dance Photographer and has been practicing the art of dance photography for the past 13 years having photographed many eminent artists across India and the UK. Pranita understands the depths of Indian classical dance and is able to apply her understanding and knowledge to capture the intricacies of movement and storytelling through the lens.

The ‘Stillness in Movement’ exhibition is a journey of dance and dance-making through the lens, as Pranita shares her decade long experience in off stage, and the ethos of their dance experience. Her photographs are a depiction of 2 sides of classical dance- The performance & the process. Images around the performance include the beauty the dancer creates on stage through Nritta (Pure dance movements) and dance photography, capturing images of many eminent dancers and artists both in India and the UK.

Through her photography, she aims to capture the essence of dancers both on stage and Abhinaya (Expressions), but also the variation in costumes, make up, stance across styles such as Bharatanatyam, Kathak, Kathakali. Each image is carefully selected to emanate the stillness that the dancer is able to create on stage through movement, a sense of calm and bliss amongst the chaos. Whilst on the other hand, images around the process include the not-so-visible and behind-the-scenes aspects of Indian classical dance, of years and decades of teaching & learning and the gestation period; Guru Shishya parampara; the passing on of tradition & knowledge; as well as the rigor and rawness of rehearsals. Whilst it primarily covers these two aspects, Pranita also tries to create a unique body of work by showcasing images of Indian classical dancers against Indian and Western architecture to create something new, experimental and unconventional, revealing a sense of timelessness and fluidity of Indian classical arts.