Nandita Shankardass: Roots to Rise - Celebrating Freedom

Three female dancers from Roots to Rise by Nandida Shankardass — **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.

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, self and collective expression inspired by exchange and co-creation, where we share our stories and harness the power of our lived experience in accessible, engaging and transformative ways.

Creative Team

Creative Team Producer, Director, Choreographer - Nandita Shankardass

Dance Artists - Anjana Bala, Tulani Kayani - Skeef & Adhya Shastry

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