Preethi Athreya

🪔 About

Preethi Athreya, born in 1976, is a prominent Chennai-based contemporary dancer and choreographer with a strong foundation in Indian classical dance. She received her initial training in Bharatanatyam under the esteemed Dhananjayans. Furthering her education, Athreya earned a postgraduate degree in Dance Studies from the Laban Centre, London, in 2001. Athreya's career has been marked by a commitment to redefining the Indian body in contemporary dance. From 1999 to 2011, she collaborated with renowned choreographer Padmini Chettur, inheriting the evolving legacy of Chandralekha, a pioneer in challenging traditional dance aesthetics. Since the early 2000s, Athreya has been dedicated to developing a unique personal movement language, using dance as an agent of change. Her artistic philosophy centers on exploring the body as a functional entity, resisting its commodification and reclaiming it from various forms of desensitization. As a prolific choreographer, Athreya has created and co-produced thirteen original works between 2003 and 2023. Her notable creations include "Kamakshi" (2003), "Inhabit" (2006), "Porcelain" (2007), "Sweet Sorrow" (2010), "Light Doesn't Have Arms to Carry Us" (2013), "The Jumping Project" (2015), "The Lost Wax Project" (2018), "And Indeed There Will Be Time" (2020), "BIRD" (2021), and "INHERITAGE" (2023). Her work has been showcased internationally at prestigious venues such as Szene Salzburg, Impulstanz Vienna, the SouthBank Centre London, and the Esplanade theatre in Singapore. Athreya is also an institution builder in the Indian contemporary dance scene. She is a co-founder of Basement 21, a practice-based performance collective in Chennai, and the founder of CHARCOAL, a platform dedicated to artistic collaboration. Her contributions to dance have been recognized with several accolades, including the Bismillah Khan award for choreographic contribution from the Ministry of Culture, India. She has also been awarded residencies and fellowships internationally, such as the Asia Pacific Performance Exchange (APPEX) residency in Bali (2010), the Charles Wallace Fellowship in London, the Camargo Foundation's fellowship in France (2021), and a choreographic residency at Cite des Arts, Paris/CND (2022). Awards & Honours: Bismillah Khan award for choreographic contribution, Asia Pacific Performance Exchange (APPEX) residency (2010), Charles Wallace Fellowship, Camargo Foundation's fellowship (2021), Choreographic residency CND/Cite des Arts (2022), Grant under IFA's New Performance programme (2012).