Masterclass: The Yoga of Dance and Film

Drawing from their artistic practice of directing, choreographing, and producing dance films rooted in Indian dance traditions, Vajrasara and Prem share their inspirations, methods, and approaches to visual storytelling. The session looks closely at Indian dance on screen, examining how choreographic logic informs cinematic choices such as framing and camera movement, and how the camera can respond to and be shaped by the dance itself. Through inspirations and excerpts from their work, we are invited to look at Indian dance as a guiding visual principal, offering alternative ways of approaching physical storytelling for the screen.

Prem (Abhyuday Khaitan) has studied film in India and the UK and has worked across the Indian film industry and international independent cinema for over two decades. His artistic practice spans filmmaking, painting, photography, lighting, set design, and poetry. His films have been screened at major film festivals in India and internationally, and have received awards including the IDPA Gold Award for Student Films and a Special Mention at the Mumbai International Film Festival. He is the co-founder and programmer of the Manifest Dance-Film Festival, South Asia’s only annual international dance-film festival. He creates dance-films in collaboration with Vajrasara for AuroApaar and runs a dance-film residency focused on Indian dance practices.

Vajrasara (Ashavari Majumdar) is a trans-media artist working with image, movement, and text. Trained in Kathak, she has received scholarships in both dance and academics from premier Indian and American institutions. Her work spans classical dance as well as interdisciplinary practices at the intersections of theatre, video, and photography. Her projects have been presented at leading dance and film festivals, as well as off-grid venues across India and internationally. She has received numerous grants from Indian and international organizations and is the co-founder of the Manifest Dance-Film Festival in India.

The masterclass is part of the program FOCUS: India, which highlights the richness of Indian dance and traces the recent development of dance film as an innovative art form in the country. A curated selection of Indian dance films will be presented on Saturday 28 March at 16:30 in Cinema 2, with a complementary collection available on the Cinedans WEB Festival from 26 March to 5 April at cinedans.nl.