Dance
“I was introduced to Indian classical dance when I was 10. It wasn’t love at first step. It was slow, difficult and to begin with, quite dull. But with my mother’s cajoling, I pursued it. And over the years it not only opened for me a window into the rich cultural and artistic heritage of India, it laid my foundation as an artist and shaped my aesthetics. It was through classical dance that I first learnt about the transformative power of storytelling. And my practical experience has molded my understanding that the only way to preserve tradition is by giving it space to evolve constantly.”
A dancer with a movement vocabulary shaped by her training in Bharatanatyam, Mohiniyattam and Kathak, Shereen has trained under eminent artists including Madhurameenakshi Srinivas, Kalamandalam Sujatha and Pali Chandra.
Over the last 8 years she has focused on specializing in Mohiniyattam – the lyrical classical dance form of Kerala, under the tutelage of India’s foremost dancer-researcher Dr. Neena Prasad.
Her exposure to elements of contemporary dance comes from her association with Caroline Marcadé, choreographer and professor at the French National School of Dramatic Arts (CNSAD, Paris) and her collaborations with the US based interdisciplinary performance collective Loom Ensemble.
She has and continues to perform in UAE and India as part of solo and group productions.
Work
Projects
12ve
2020
Rise!
2020
Dear Goodbye
2019
Yukta
2017
Mukharika
2016-17
RaaS
2015-16
Lasya
2010
Natyalaya
2007
Training
Mohiniyattam | 2019
Specialized training in Mohiniyattam mudras at Natanakaishiki under Artistic Director Guru Nirmala Paniker
Contemporary Dance | Dec 2016 to Feb 2017
Trained in contemporary dance under choreographer Caroline Marcade for Trance-Forms: ‘I am my language’ (part of the Louvre Abu Dhabi narrative)
Kathak | 2012 – 2014
Trained at Gurukul (Dubai) underdancer, choreographer and educationalist Pali Chandra
Mohiniyattam | 2011 onwards
Training at Sougandhika Centre for Mohiniyattam (Kerala, India) under dancer, choreographer and researcher Dr. Neena Prasad
Bharathanatyam + Mohiniyattam | 2006-2010
Trained under dancer-choreographer Kalamandalam Sujatha
Qualifications
Mohiniyattam | 2019
Graded Artist of Doordarshan Kendra (Thiruvananthapuram)
Kathak | 2014
ISTD Grade 4, South Asian Kathak (Distinction)
Other Projects
Trishakthi | 2014
Mohiniyattam group presentation, Madras Music Academy, Chennai, India
Sufi Noor | 2013
Kathak group presentation, Dubai, U.A.E
Kathak Festival | 2011
Kathak group presentation, Dubai, U.A.E.
Mohiniyattam Solo | 2009
Surya Festival, Mumbai, India
Bharathanatyam Solo | 2008
World Summit on Innovation and Entrepreneurship (WSIE), Dubai, U.A.E
Conferences
CMTAI 2nd Annual International Conference | 2015
Creative Movement Therapy Association of India’s Annual conference, Bangalore, India
Samavesh I & II – Academic series on Mohiniyattam | 2011-12
Moderated and conducted the conference series organized by Lasyatarangi – online forum for Mohiniyattam at Alliance Française of Madras (2012) and Spaces (2011), Chennai
Writings on dance
Opinion | India Art Review 2021
On Democratizing Dance
Review | Narthaki April 2016
Strength, thy name is woman
Report | Narthaki Jan 2016
Mudra Dance Festival 2016: Day 2
Review | Narthaki Jan 2016
In Step with Tradition