Navras in peril proposes to depict through the medium of Indian classical dance the reimagining of the navrasa and its interpretation given our current reality of the pandemic, movement control, surveillance and domestic entrapment. Navras in Peril is a dual channel moving image performance which seeks to discover the triangulated relationship of dancer, audience and site.

Dance is usually accompanied by music, however, in this public-space installation, the absence of music is a direct reference to the use of sight as the most significant sensory organ to interpret body language and movement. The lack of sound emphasizes the over dependence on vision, creating a linear relationship between the viewer, dancer and the site in which the movements are situated. The work also generates a feeling of incompletion – a metaphorical depiction of the present. Movement is confined in the world just like music is taken away from dance.

According to Sanskrit aesthetics and as described in the Indian literature of Natyasastra (written by Bharat Muni), sensory communication as an outcome of performing arts is rightfully known as ‘rasa’. The rasas are emotional and mental states expressed through dance that link the artist and the audience. The formal constituents of rasas, namely ‘bhava’ are depicted along with gestures called abhinaya (Chmiel). The Navras is typically used in classical Indian dance forms to convey emotions and sentiment. As per Natyasastra, there are nine states of mind which together form the ‘navras’.