Workshop | Pali Chandra | Embodied Traditions: Indian Classical Techniques for Today’s Dancer

The Moynihan Institute’s South Asia Center presents a dance workshop with Pali Chandra, Ph.D., renowned Indian classical dance artist, visiting us from Switzerland. Chandra has been honored by the UK, UAE and Indian governments for her contributions in spreading Indian classical dance around the world. 

In this movement-based workshop, Chandra will explore the Navarasa: nine emotional states from Indian classical arts.  Participants will explore how emotion reshapes physicality—how intention alters timing, how feeling changes weight, how internal states create texture and presence. Through structured improvisation and compositional tools, dancers discover how to embody emotion rather than perform it. Students will work physically with concepts such as articulation, rhythm, expression and spatial awareness, translating traditional tools into contemporary and personal movement vocabularies. 

This is not about learning a new style. It’s about expanding your own expressive vocabulary. This is for those seeking to deepen artistry, emotional intelligence in performance and cross-cultural dialogue in contemporary practice. The workshop emphasizes application and integration rather than stylistic replication and explores how the techniques of Indian classical dance can be applied to a variety movement practices and choreographic processes. 

Open to all who enjoy dance, regardless of your experience level. Those interested in physical theater are also welcome!