At a time when the debate over gatekeeping in art and the need to diversify forums is gaining credence, there is a need for artistes to step up and embrace experimental mediums. Prachi Saathi’s upcoming performance at the NCPA later this week is a similar experiment that is in its second year. The voice artiste and Bharatanatyam exponent will perform her one-person production, When Walls Dance.

The story, she reveals, began in the pre-COVID days. “I had wanted to create something that blends Warli art with the mainstream of Bharatanatyam,” Saathi shares. A key influence was a debate between urbanisation and deforestation that germinated the story of a young girl, Champa, and her love for a tree. “I have a close connection with the community. The language is also a familiar one. In fact, as dancers, when we draw stick figures to choreograph Bharatanatyam routines, it is not very different to Warli figures. That struck a chord.”