Dance of atoms | Apeksha Niranjan @ Mumbai International Storytelling Festival

Bharatanatyam artist, choreographer and storyteller Apeksha Niranjan will present the inspirational life of Nobel Prize-winning scientist Marie Curie at the fifth Mumbai International Storytelling Festival (MIST), at NCPA, Mumbai, on August 15. Organised by the Mumbai Storytellers Society, the two-day festival explores this year’s theme, Earth Democracy, rooted in the Sanskrit concept Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, or ‘the world is one family’. The programme brings together storytellers from India and abroad, celebrating oral traditions through performances inspired by history, culture, mythology and contemporary life.

About the production, Niranjan says Bharatanatyam has the ability to communicate stories that extend beyond its traditional repertoire. “Through its expressive language of abhinaya, mudras, rhythm and movement, Bharatanatyam has the power to communicate universal human emotions. The dance remains authentically Bharatanatyam, only the story it tells expands.”

Translating the life of a scientist into a classical dance production presented creative challenges. “The classical vocabulary did not contain direct representations for concepts such as radioactivity, laboratory experiments or the Nobel Prize,” explains Niranjan. “The challenge was to remain faithful to the grammar and aesthetics of Bharatanatyam while finding meaningful ways to communicate these ideas.”

The work was shaped by extensive research into Curie’s life and scientific achievements. “My goal was not to explain science through dance, but to express the human values that defined her life.”

—The festival will be held on Aug. 15 and 16 at the NCPA, Mumbai