Krishna Devanandan

This Foundation Project implemented by IFA under Arts Platforms will create a year-long choreography lab, offline and online, to nurture the creative processes of emerging choreographers in India that will seek to bridge the gap between artistic training and independent research in contemporary dance. Krishna Devanandan is the Coordinator for this project. 

Krishna Devanandan is an accomplished dancer and cultural manager, with a background in Bharatanatyam, having graduated from Kalakshetra College of Fine Arts, Chennai. Her career began with a decade-long collaboration with renowned choreographer Chandralekha, followed by nearly two decades of working closely with Padmini Chettur on choreographic development. Krishna is currently based in Auroville, where she teaches Tai Chi Chuan and engages in arts management, particularly with the International Talent Agency, a unit of Auroville Foundation. She has played a pivotal role in organising workshops, leading the AV Improv Lab, and managing the biennial Auroville Film Festival. Krishna's expertise extends to running Auroville Art Service and serving as a trustee of the Magic Lantern Trust, which supports contemporary dance and theatre initiatives. Given Krishna’s experience she is best placed to be the Project Coordinator of this Foundation Project of IFA.

The project Choreographers' Lab 2025 will be an initiative designed to nurture the creative processes of emerging choreographers in India, providing them with a unique platform to explore embodied practices and contemporary choreography. This year-long lab, which will include offline gatherings in various art institutions in Chennai, followed by online follow-through, will seek to bridge the gap between artistic training and independent research by focusing on the development of choreographic projects over time. Unlike traditional residencies, the Choreographers' Lab is not oriented toward immediate performance outcomes but emphasises the process of artistic discovery over a period of time. Through a combination of intensive workshops, mentorship, and critical reflection, participants will engage deeply with their choreographic concerns, transforming intellectual questions into embodied, choreographic practices.

The Lab will begin with an open call with a deadline for applications in November 2024, inviting proposals from dancers across India. The languages for dissemination will be Tamil, Hindi and English. Following a jury selection process, four choreographers will be chosen to participate. The lab's first phase will take place in March 2025 during the March Dance Festival in Chennai, where participants will engage in on-site workshops, discussions, and performances. This month-long intensive provides access to leading professionals, offering guidance on how to frame research questions, develop choreographic methods, and integrate historical and cultural narratives into their practice.

After the on-site program, participants will enter an extended mentorship phase lasting from April to October 2025. During this period, the artists will engage in regular online sessions with mentors who will offer personalised feedback and instruction based on the participants' evolving research. This phase is crucial for allowing artists to deepen their understanding of choreography as a practice, rather than merely focusing on performance outcomes. By encouraging a sustained, reflective approach, the Lab will seek to create a supportive environment where choreographers can explore their craft at a deeper level.

A central component of the Choreographers' Lab will be the creation of Digital Notebooks, as a multi-sensory documentation of each participant's journey throughout the lab. These notebooks will serve as a record of their artistic process, combining text, images, video, and other media to capture the complexity of their research. The notebooks will be presented during a public dialogue in October 2025, providing a platform for participants to share their work with a wider audience. This presentation will not only showcase the participants' achievements but also contribute to the growing archive of contemporary dance practices in India.

By the end of the project, the Choreographers' Lab will have provided four emerging choreographers with an unparalleled opportunity to develop their artistic voice. Through a combination of intensive learning, mentorship, and public engagement, participants will leave with a rich understanding of choreography as an embodied research practice. The Digital Notebooks, public dialogues, and personal connections formed during the lab will serve as lasting contributions to both the participants' artistic journeys and the broader field of contemporary dance, fostering innovation and energising the future of contemporary dance in India. 

The outcomes of the project will be a year-long choreography lab, including intensive workshops followed by online sessions, digital notebooks/journals, and public dialogues. The Project Coordinator’s deliverables to IFA, along with the final report, will be audio-visual and photographic documentations of the workshops, public dialogues, and digital notebooks.

This project suitably addresses the framework of IFA’s Arts Practice programme in the manner in which it attempts to nurture emerging Indian choreographers by addressing the lack of choreography training in India and by fostering deep artistic research and embodied practices through mentorship, workshops, and digital documentation, that will expand choreographic methods, creating lasting contributions to the discursive field of contemporary dance choreography in India.

IFA will ensure that the implementation of this project happens in a timely manner and funds expended are accounted for. IFA will also review the progress of the project at midterm and document it through an Implementation Memorandum. After the project is finished and all deliverables are submitted, IFA will put together a Final Evaluation to share with Trustees.