Despite its ancient origins, dating as far back as the fourth century BC, the traditional Indian dance form of Kathak has emerged in recent years as a surprisingly fertile foundation for contemporary dance makers. Internationally revered choreographer Akram Khan has been a major pioneer in folding the distinctive language of Kathak into a more modern vernacular of dance theatre, and Khan’s protégé, Aakash Odera, has begun to earn an increasingly global reputation as the natural successor to Khan’s bold reimagining of this classical Indian choreography.

By contrast, Aditi Mangaldas, one of the world’s most highly regarded Kathak danseuses, is more of a purist. The vocabulary of her dance works is derived almost exclusively from the characteristic break-neck swirls, percussive foot stamps and sharply carved, outstretched gestures found in the classical iteration of Kathak, but that’s not to say that this dance doesn’t communicate with a contemporary audience with the same immediacy as its more progressive practitioners. Fundamentally, Kathak is rooted in storytelling, transcribing the emotionally vibrant narratives of Indian folklore into movement, so even when this highly structured dance technique is used to explore a more abstracted model of expression, the result is saturated with a powerful narrative intention.

Mangaldas’ Within...