A Week of Rhythm, A Night of Resonance: Ahmedabad Dance Residency 2026

- Bijoy Shivram
e-mail: bijoyshivram@gmail.com
Photos: Pankaj Sihag

February 23, 2026

Dance rasikas in recent weeks have found themselves carried along by an almost unbroken season of celebration - a time when performances seemed to bloom one after another across Gujarat and beyond. In this atmosphere of artistic abundance, Ahmedabad seemed to pulse with a particularly vibrant rhythm of inquiry and movement. It was within the evocative spaces of the Evoke Center for Performing Arts and the open embrace of the Spandan Amphitheatre that the culmination of the Ahmedabad Dance Residency 2026 unfolded - an evening that felt less like a conclusion and more like the flowering of a shared journey.

Participants of the Ahmedabad Dance Residency

Curated by Sanjukta Sinha, the residency stood as a meaningful confluence of rigorous training, creative exploration and cultural exchange. Over the course of an intensive week, dancers from across India and several parts of the world entered into a rhythm of practice, dialogue and reflection. What gradually emerged from this immersive process was far more than the learning of repertory. It was a space of discovery - where the grammar of classical Kathak was deepened while individual artistic voices were encouraged to unfold with honesty and curiosity.

The finale evening carried the warmth and quiet electricity of that collective experience. The opening itself became a metaphor for the spirit of the residency - a collaborative presentation conceptualized by Sanjukta that brought international participants and members of her company onto a shared stage. In a moment that dissolved boundaries of language and geography, Maiko Okada and Yayoi Kikuchi from Japan joined Krutika Ghanekar in a graceful Shiv Stuti, invoking the cosmic dancer through the resonant refrain, "Damaru har har baje...". It was an image that captured the essence of the residency - dance as a language that moves beyond colour, culture and nationality.

This shared artistic dialogue continued through a captivating Gat in Teentaal. Kristina Luna and Monika Gulbickytė from Lithuania performed alongside Anushka Ekanayake, Hiren Gajjar, and Vihanga Rukshan of the Sanjukta Sinha Dance Company, creating a performance that balanced delicacy with rhythmic vitality. A subtle shift in emotional texture followed with the soulful Thumri "Mohe chedo na...", interpreted with sensitivity and inwardness by Chiharu Sakamoto and Bhakti Dani Shah. The collaborative segment gradually built towards an energetic Tarana, presented by Sarina Motohashi and Tirtha Juwatkar, its rhythmic syllables - tana derena ta re tare - unfolding after a poetic verse that lent both grace and anticipation to the composition.

Sanjukta Sinha Dance Company

The evening then transitioned into the distinctive aesthetic language of the Sanjukta Sinha Dance Company itself. A vibrant Tarana set to raag Kalawati in Teentaal and Ektaal revealed Sanjukta’s choreographic imagination - where intricate footwork, expansive body lines and architecturally designed stage patterns come together in a vocabulary that remains firmly rooted in Kathak yet unmistakably contemporary. Her choreography often carries signature dynamism: swift spatial transitions, layered rhythmic dialogues and a fluid ensemble geometry that allows individual dancers to shine within a larger collective design.

Students trained under the guidance of Krutika Ghanekar, Bhakti Dani Shah and Tirtha Juwatkar - dancers representing different ages, experiences, and journeys - brought this choreography alive with notable clarity and commitment. Their performance demonstrated not only the strength of training but also the transmission of a living artistic philosophy. Following this, the residency participants themselves presented a powerful excerpt from the company’s repertoire. Sanjukta’s idea of exploring fresh energies through collaboration found expression in a compelling Tarana in raag Yaman, where the vitality of newly forged artistic connections was evident in every turn, glance and rhythmic exchange.

Students trained under Krutika Ghanekar, Bhakti Dani Shah and Tirtha Juwatkar

As the evening moved towards its culmination, the core members of the company - Krutika Ghanekar, Bhakti Dani Shah, Tirtha Juwatkar, Pankaj Sihag, Hiren Gajjar and Vihanga Rukshan - offered a commanding presentation in Taal Teentaal set to raag Maru Bihag. This segment reflected years of sustained training under Sanjukta’s mentorship. The performance carried a sense of maturity and cohesion, embodying her pursuit of refinement, clarity of form and expansive expressivity within the evolving landscape of Kathak.

What made the residency particularly remarkable was its truly global tapestry. Participants had gathered from Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai, Tokyo, Vienna, Lithuania, Canada, Sri Lanka, Delhi, Bengaluru and several other cities - each arriving with their own artistic histories and sensibilities. Yet over the span of the week, this diversity gradually transformed into a palpable collective energy. By the time the finale unfolded, one could sense that a community had been formed - temporary perhaps, but deeply meaningful - shaped by shared discipline, mutual respect and the joy of dancing together.

Gracing the evening as Chief Guest was Pt. Divyang Vakil, whose presence added warmth and encouragement to the gathering. Known for his deep engagement with Indian classical music, the arts and holistic living, he spoke appreciatively of Sanjukta’s commitment to nurturing serious dance practice and of the importance of creating spaces where learning and artistry can flourish side by side. His words echoed the deeper significance of the residency - that such initiatives do more than present performances; they sustain, question and gently propel the classical arts into new conversations.

The Ahmedabad Dance Residency 2026 revealed itself not merely as a training programme or a concluding showcase, but as a living artistic encounter - one where tradition, experimentation and global dialogue met on equal ground. The evening lingered with the feeling that what had begun during that week of intense engagement would continue to resonate in the journeys of all those who were part of it.

Son of journalists K Shivram and Amni Shivram, the first Malayali woman English journalist, Bijoy Shivram is an accomplished Indian classical dancer trained in Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi. A passionate promoter of the arts and a skilled graphic designer, he currently serves as the Vice Principal of JG College of Performing Arts and the Assistant Director (Operations) overseeing 17 JG colleges. He is also the founder of Preksha, an organization dedicated to the promotion of art and culture in Ahmedabad. Since 2020, Bijoy has curated the YouTube series 'Gurudakshina - An Ode to our Gurus,' celebrating the legacy of mentorship and tradition.