Bradford Arts Centre Awards Kala Sangam Commission to Trio of Dancers.

Following a competitive process, Bradford Arts Centre (formerly Kala Sangam) has awarded the second Kala Sangam Commission to dancers Kavya Iyer, Devaki Rajendran, and Sneha Semaleesan for a project inspired by computer games.

The £10,000 Commission was launched in November 2023 to mark the company’s 30th birthday and supports the creation of new performance work that features classical Indian artforms (including dance, music and theatre). The first round was awarded to Akshay Sharma and Meera Patel for projects which premiered at Bradford Arts Centre in 2025.

Inspired by their childhood love of games, Kavya, Devaki and Sneha are interested in exploring what happens when Bharatanatyam, a form with its own intricate movements and meanings, is placed with the structure of a video game. At their core, games are systems of rules, roadblocks and rewards. These structures often strikingly echo the experiences of women in today’s world: constantly adapting to shifting expectations, negotiating obstacles, while being asked to perform with certainty, resilience, and grace.

The work will explore choice and control through improvisation and repetition, asking what it means to move through a maze when the maze itself keeps changing. The artists will also develop elements of audience interaction, inviting people to not only witness the maze, but to momentarily control its unpredictability, playfulness, and stakes from within.

The Kala Sangam Commission received over 40 applications from artists working across classical Indian artforms including Bharatnatyam, Kathak and Kuchipudi dance and both Hindustani and Carnatic music traditions. The decision making panel was led by Dr. Geetha Upadhyaya (founder and former Artistic Director of Kala Sangam) and included Bradford Arts Centre Trustee and Dancer Rashmi Sudhir, CEO Alex Croft, Programme and Artist Development Manager Alex Corwin, and former commission recipients Akshay Sharma and Meera Patel.

Kavya Iyer, Devaki Rajendran, and Sneha Semaleesan, said: “The Kala Sangam commission gives us the space to dare and question, exploring new ways of working while giving voice to things we care about. With the support of Bradford Arts Centre, our early inquiry can finally grow into the deeper research and development this work needs.

Dr. Geetha Upadhyaya, founder of Kala Sangam, said: “It is truly gratifying that the Kala Sangam commission will provide a great opportunity and support to upcoming dancers to create and showcase their talents and innovation at the start of their performance careers.”

Alex Croft, Bradford Arts Centre CEO, said: “We are really excited to be supporting Kavya, Devaki and Sneha through the second Kala Sangam Commission. The panel were captivated by the question of what happens when Bharatnatyam enters a video game, and how the three dancers will each be bringing their voices and experiences together to create the work. This has the potential to develop an innovative new way to tell stories through Bharatnatyam.”

Kavya, Devaki and Sneha will begin work on the project this summer with the aim of a premiere performance at Bradford Arts Centre in 2027.