Our Story

Nava Dance Theatre, currently under the artistic direction of Dr. Nadhi Thekkek, uses bharatanatyam dance, experimental movement, and live music to navigate the complicated intersections of racism, feminism, and identity. Past work has delved into unheard refugee voices, the #metoo movement, and a number of other social justice issues. We explore contemporary history, witness statements, interviews, documentaries, news reports - all with the goal of using bharatanatyam movement vocabulary to serve urgent community narratives.

Based in San Francisco, Nava Dance Theatre is in a unique position to present bharatanatyam to audiences who may not be familiar with the art form. By exploring the art form through collaborations with other bharatanatyam dancers, visual artists, musicians, and local dance makers, the company is able to share the power of dance, music and storytelling throughout the diaspora and beyond.

Program Highlights

  • Funding awards from the NEFA National Dance Project, MAP Fund, California Arts Council, East Bay Community Fund, Zellerbach Family Foundation, San Francisco Arts Commission, among others

  • The development of the Unrehearsed (Virtual) Artist Residency Program, supported by the California Arts Council and National Endowment for the Arts

  • Performances at La Mama Experimental Theatre Club (NYC), Bankhead Summer Series (Livermore), IDIA Dance Festival (Los Altos), National Steinbeck Center (Salinas), San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival @ YBCA (SF), The Dance Centre (Vancouver), CounterPulse (San Francisco), ODC Theatre (San Francisco), among others

  • Two consecutive residencies at CounterPulse in San Francisco through the Performing Diaspora Program

  • A residency through the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco

  • Two consecutive commissions by the Oakland Ballet Company

  • Support through Choreographers in Mentorship Exchange by Margaret Jenkins Dance Company

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Nava Dance Theatre is based in Yelamu, also known as San Francisco, on the ancestral, traditional, unceded territories of Chochenyo and Ramaytush Ohlone peoples, who have continuously lived upon this land since time immemorial.

Bharatanatyam is a dance form from the South of India, originally practiced by hereditary dance practitioners who were and are in large part invisibilized in the dance industry today. We acknowledge the continued contributions of hereditary dancers, musicians, and their families to this form as well as the erasure of their contributions throughout history. This acknowledgement is a work in progress.

Photo by Robbie Sweeny