Nandidta Shankardass – ROOTS TO RISE
Celebrating Freedom, Resistance and Community.
Nandita Shankardass brings together three women, each absorbed in the chaos of their own world. Blending folk and contemporary movement with Indian classical dance, this new work follows their journey back to the land, the soil, and the stories written in the stars. Set to polyrhythmic musical scores and guided by embodied memory, they confront personal and collective histories, learning from one another and from those who came before. In this shared journey, they reconnect with the earth, ancestral wisdom, and to the futures emerging on the horizon, celebrating freedom, resistance and community.
About Nandita Shankardass:
Nandita Shankardass is the founder of Welcome Movement® centered around wellbeing, creativity and freedom of expression through movement and dance. Nandita trained at The Royal Ballet School and has performed with Zürcher Ballet, Ballet Black, Scottish Ballet, Compañia Nacional de Danza and in venues such as The Royal Opera House, Sadlers Wells, Camden Roundhouse and The Royal Albert Hall. She nurtures her creative practice with communities, professional artists and companies and young people, in a range of settings from theatres to public space, including museums, galleries and the outdoors. Nandita is curious about human connection and ecology and she is inspired by the act of exchange and co-creation, where we share our stories and harness the power of our lived experience an accessible, engaging and transformative ways. The Dance Artists who perform in the work are female and of South Asian Heritage.
Creative Team
Producer, Director, Choreographer - Nandita Shankardass
Dance Artists - Aishani Ghosh, Anjana Bala, Tulani Kayani - Skeef
Music - Amrit Kaur, Alam Khan, Arjun K.Verma, Del Sol Quartet,
Flux, Nilan Chaudhuri, Ojas Adhiya, Sabiyha
and additional music by Shammi Pithia
Dramaturge - Poonam Brah
Visual Vernacular Consultant - Zoë McWhinney
Set Fabrication - Mike Pattison
Costume Design - PINANKI
Artwork - Nandita Shankardass
Poetry - Nandita Shankardass
Set Design Consultant - Arjun Assa Singh
Production Manager - Chris Burr
Stage Manager - Mithun Gill
Audio Description - Meera Patel
Audio Description Consultant - Lester Woo