Location 64-84 Chisenhale Rd, London E3 5QZ
Overview
Akankshya Padhi is an Odissi dancer with over sixteen years of training under Guru Madhavi Mudgal, performing both as a solo practitioner and as a touring member of her Guru’s critically acclaimed ensemble. She understands Odissi as a convergence of Indian aesthetic traditions, where poetry, music, ancient sculpture, and practice meet in the dancing body. Akankshya holds a Madhyama Purna diploma with distinction from Akhil Bharatiya Gandharva Mahavidyalaya and has been recognised as an artist with Doordarshan since 2023. She says:
Indian classical dance carries a dense cultural and artistic context. Forms such as Odissi are not merely systems of movement for performance; they emerge from centuries of poetry, music, sculpture, philosophy, and ritual. To practice Odissi is to enter a rich aesthetic universe already imbued with meaning, structure, and depth.
Today, however, classical dance often enters spaces where it is expected to prove its relevance. Performers are encouraged to incorporate contemporary themes or create visually dramatic works to “reach wider audiences.” While such approaches can open new conversations, they also risk simplifying the form’s complexity. When focus shifts toward spectacle or immediate accessibility, the nuanced histories and layered aesthetics of the tradition can be diluted, sometimes leading to appropriation within contemporary works that reference classical vocabulary. What is slow, subtle, and layered is compressed into something quick and easily readable.
My practice resists this pressure to fit in. I focus on the internal logic of the form, attending to gesture, rhythm, and stillness, allowing its depth to unfold through sustained practice. I am interested in sharing this perspective during South Asian Heritage Month at UAL through a short performance that highlights the larger context, aesthetic richness, and enduring legacy of Indian classical dance forms.
Accessibility:
Chisenhale Dance Space is on the second floor, accessed by a staircase only, and therefore, regrettably, is not wheelchair accessible.
The staircase to the lounge and two studios has 40 steps and an uninterrupted banister on the right-hand side. There are no steps or stairs once you are on studio level. We regret that the buzzer is too high to reach from most wheelchairs.
Our external fire exit is a straight line of 40 steps with a banister along both sides. Please get in touch if you need to use this exit to enter the building, or if you have any other access requirements.
CDS has two bathrooms, one with two cubicles, and the other with one cubicle and one urinal. Both are gender neutral.
We acknowledge the limitations of the building and would be happy to discuss any ways that we can help you access the event. If you would like to talk to us please contact z.cowan@su.arts.ac.uk so that we can help facilitate your needs in collaboration with the venue.