Padmini Chettur | Kochi-Muziris Biennale 2016

Born in 1970 in Mumbai, Padmini Chettur began her training in the traditional Indian dance form of Bharatanatyam. Between the years 1991 and 2001 she worked with the choreographer Chandralekha, performing in the productions Lilavati, Prana, Angika, Sri, Bhinna Pravaha, Yantra, Mahakaal and Sharira. Commencing her own artistic practice as a choreographer and researcher in 1994, Chettur’s work departs from the classical repertoire of gestures, postures and mythical tales, to shape an alternative, no less strict, but condensed and abstract style of performance. Looking to detach herself from her classical formative years, she resists the temptation to seduce the audience, choosing instead, to convince. At the core of Chettur's work is resistance. It unveils a taut vision that takes the contemporary dance of India, from what it is and how it should look, to radical dimensions. She lives and works in Chennai.