Tribute to Chitra Visweswaran's dance legacy

CHENNAI: To celebrate the 75th birthday of Chitra Visweswaran, founder of the Chidambaram Academy of Performing Arts (CAPA), a special exhibition titled ‘What Anchored Me, Let Me Fly’ and a performance ‘Panchali’ have been organised.

The exhibition, which will be open from September 20–28 at Alliance Française, celebrates her extraordinary journey, from her early years as a gifted student to her collaborations with her husband, her vision for a dance academy, and her lifelong pursuit of research and teaching. Through her performances and pedagogy, she has continually foregrounded beauty, rigour, and the transformative power of art, inspiring generations while honouring the roots of her tradition.

In addition, the ‘Panchali’ performance will be held on October 12 at Bharata Kalakshetra, Kalakshetra Foundation. Panchali is a magnum opus dance-theatre production inspired by Subramania Bharati’s Panchali Sabadam. Through a powerful blend of classical Indian dance and theatre, it captures the fateful dice game between the Pandavas and the Kauravas, a turning point in the Mahabharata that reshaped kingdoms and generations.

“The genesis of my bani is deeply imbibed in my desire for freedom, deeply grounded in tradition and culture. I still needed to fly. And thus, was born an oxymoron of a style,” says Chitra Visweswaran about the upcoming event.