An expression of dissent through dance and movement

Unafraid to delve into the political, Bengaluru’s Diya Naidu uses dance as a medium to explore the dynamics of touch, intimacy, connection and violence

Artistes often hesitate to portray themselves as overtly political. They declare they want to swim in the pure sea of creativity, unhindered by socio-political crests and troughs. Bengaluru-based dancer, choreographer, and arts and culture facilitator Diya Naidu says she has always believed in jumping right in and letting the murky waves wash over her.

"Everything is political. There is a power dynamic and hierarchy everywhere, be it within our bodies or in the society around us," says the 40-year-old artiste, who, for nearly a decade now, has been exploring what she terms "somatic implications" of contemporary issues. "This is not something exotic or removed from our everyday lives — my work stems from concerns that are real and happening around me," she explains.    

Essentially, Diya is fashioning a movement form, which, while stemming from contemporary dance traditions, has a broadened scope and deeper possibilities for questioning and scrutiny. 

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Through touch, intimacy, and dance, she aims to look at the physical body as a key site of the integration of multiple worlds. This is why she is unafraid to state that the very core of her work is to explore the connections between the self and the challenges we face in our socio-political realm.

"Although I feel strongly that no work is apolitical, I do believe we need to give space to people, artistes or otherwise, who do not want to engage. That is also okay — I may see politics in a work termed apolitical but enforcing my views on the artiste would be just another form of tyranny. Sometimes, we need to pause and think if our lofty liberalism is as unyielding as rigid conservatism," she says. 

As a choreographer, Diya's projects have dipped into themes such as violence against women, the politics of touch, intimacy as a tool of resistance as well as how longing is intertwined with shame, fear, guilt and love. For instance, in both Rorschach Touch and Ceremony of Longing, Diya explores how we often have an uncomfortable relationship with touch. 

"Gender, sexuality and caste play subtle but crucial roles in our decisions about who we touch and who we do not." With Rorschach Touch, an interactive and participatory project, Diya says she was re-educated about the "frigidity of masculine men" and how they longed for touch and yearned to be nurturers. 

She tells of women whose bodies remembered the guilt and shame they felt, even if their minds had forgotten. She speaks of fathers who felt uncomfortable cuddling their teenage daughters because that intimacy is no longer approved; and of being intimate with the elements, with nature and with yourself.

Credit: DH Photo

"Intimacy has been hijacked and sexualised to a great extent. For instance, with popular media, the touch we see is either sexual or violent. The only way to be able to comprehend what is going wrong seems to be to really go to war with it publicly and legally. However, this sometimes means the idea of touch for connection becomes problematic (between colleagues, for instance). So when we go to war like that, one wonders if we tend to lose some of the nuances around this conversation and end up throwing the baby out with the bathwater!” she says. 

Nicole Seiler, a Switzerland-based dance and theatre artiste who has worked with Diya in movement workshops as well as choreography residences, says what makes her a stand-out artiste is her keen political awareness and a willingness to stick her neck out, despite the prevailing atmosphere in India which is not exactly conducive to dissent. "Contemporary dancers are usually in a cocoon of their own but Diya has broken out. Importantly, there were no compulsions for her to do so, it was just her conviction," says Nicole.

It is in Red Dress Wali Ladki, a solo dance-theatre piece, that the dancer is at her guttural, nerve-wracking best, adds Ronita Mookerji, a fellow contemporary dancer Diya has performed and collaborated with. 

"Red Dress... was born of sheer anger and impotency. It began to take shape after the brutal gang rape incident in Delhi. I felt a fury within me that wanted to rage and destroy. I set up all the archetypes of women — ‘the mother’, ‘the whore’, ‘the warrior’, ‘the lover’ and pulled them apart. Performing this is a shuddering, immersive experience for me, and I have been told, for the audience too," says Diya, who was born in Kolkata and schooled in Delhi, before she shifted to Bengaluru. 

She obtained a Diploma in Movement Arts and Mixed Media from the Attakalari Centre for Movement Arts, Bengaluru in 2007. She continued to work with Attakalari as a repertory member until 2014 after obtaining her diploma, post which she went independent.

Credit: DH Photo

Deepthi Bhaskar, a 30-year-old Bengaluru-based classically trained vocalist, has followed Diya's works for a few years now. "Every time I watch one of her productions, I feel more connected with my emotions. Her shows are not about understanding everything that is happening on the stage but about experiencing it in one's own space. I do not feel the need or pressure to be an 'intelligent' audience...I can be human and myself," she says. 

Talking about Red Dress... Deepthi says though it has been a few years since she watched the show, the images, the dialogues and the sets are still etched into her mind. "There were so many moments in that show where I felt they were playing out something that has happened to me personally, being groped in a bus for instance. Seeing such uncomfortable things on stage along with other members of the audience is a cathartic experience. We consume so much media and the fact that I can still distinctly remember how I felt speaks for itself," she says.

What sets Diya apart from other artistes, in Ronita’s perspective, is her open mind. The artiste can easily dip into her thoughts and feelings and convert them into something meaningful and creative. "She does this with sensitivity and she is naturally gifted with flow," says Ronita. 

It is with the same conviction that Diya began her initiative Citizens of Stage Co Lab, an idea that emerged out of the isolation and despondency of the pandemic lockdowns. "This is a passion project...a collective of independent dancers who share movement and dance with the community at large, including students, amateurs, homemakers and professionals. The collective conducts workshops, seminars, and movement classes in a bid to not only introduce the joy of contemporary dance to anyone keen but also to create, sustainable, paying jobs for independent dancers so that they do not have to get by teaching in gyms or working behind a desk when they do not want to," says Diya. 

She adds that success for her would mean being able to carry on this collective through which she can continue to share her passion and skill as well as "shift the energy" in the community. "We all need art, we all need movement — when we respect our body and let it lead us, our minds evolve."