Hi! I’m Radha. 

This blog is something I’ve wanted to do for a very, very long time. The material I’ve posted– and that I’ll be posting– represents bits and bobs that I’ve been collecting for years, as I made it through almost two decades of ballet, a short off-off-off Broadway stint, four years of a biological sciences degree, three years of a dance degree, and now a journey into (almost) professional classical Indian dance. Suffice to say that I’ve come across a lot of fascinating information that’s helped me become the dancer that I am today, as well as fueled my interest in science and the human body. 

One of the things that’s always irked me is the general stereotype that dancers aren’t “smart.” This couldn’t be further from the truth! My passion for dance is what fueled my degree in molecular biological sciences, and what continues to fuel my journey in the medical field. The ballet instructors I’ve had have been some of the smartest people I’ve ever interacted with, and my Kathak gurus are– beyond a shadow of doubt– the sharpest, mathematically and rhythmically gifted individuals. 

That said, it’s a sad truth that there are few people who sit at the intersection of dance and science. And within that, there are virtually no dancers who sit at the intersection of Indian Classical dance and science. There’s so many layers to this disparity, and most of them are rooted in oppressive and colonialist frameworks. What’s even more serious is the fact that most Western dancers are totally unaware of the fact that virtually all the body postures that form the fundamentals of dance originated in India, and are documented in the ancient Natya Shastra.

Like most facets of today’s world, this is a complex, multifaceted issue made more difficult by centuries of Western dominance. 

So how do we combat this, while becoming better, healthier, more dynamic dancers at the same time?

Enter: Anatomy-based Classical Dance. (Surprise!)

Education is how we dismantle centuries of oppression, and education is how we build the understanding needed to dance bigger and better. 

Each of the posts that I write is curated towards addressing a specific topic or muscle group that is commonly used and commonly misunderstood in dance practice. These posts are guided by combinations of commonalities I see between science and dance; Western and Eastern dance; even things that I wish I knew as a student. I corroborate each topic with hours of research, and sometimes even drawings from my own anatomy and physiology journal geared towards providing a visual understanding of what’s being discussed. I hope that I’ll have the resources soon to provide dance visuals with their corresponding anatomy superimposed, but for now, you’re stuck with my rudimentary drawings. 

This is as much my journey as it is yours. I hope you’ll continue to return to this page, just as I will. 

When we understand movement, we move fearlessly. When we understand dance, we dance freely.

Hope to see you around.

Radha