Abandhana by Divya Ravi | The Making

Captured in the studio, this documentary offers an intimate glimpse into the creation of Abandhana, a multidisciplinary dance-theatre work inspired by the Therīgāthā, the extraordinary collection of 73 Pali poems attributed to the first Buddhist nuns. The voices of these women speak of desire, grief, resistance, resilience awakening and the radical act of choosing one’s own path. In the studio, those ancient voices meet the voices of women today. Bharatanatyam, live music and Pali poetry come together, through experimentation, conversation, uncertainty and discovery. This is a glimpse behind the finished work: the questions that shaped it, the moments that surprised us, and the many hands and voices that brought Abandhana to life. ABANDHANA — UNFETTERED Created and performed by: Divya Ravi - Concept, Movement & Visual Design, Dance Sharan Subramanian - Sound Design, Vocals Abhiram Sahathevan - Multi-percussions Liz Hanks - Cello Credits: Lighting Design - Claire Childs Live Sound Engineer - Camilo Tirado Sound Score Producer - Praveen D Rao Video Director - Nandit Desai Videography in Linz, Austria - Arjun Jith Dramaturg - Suba Subramaniam Rehearsal Director - Pallavi Anand Pali Resource Scholar - Suhas Mahesh Touring Producer - Moving Art Management Created with support from Arts Council England, and developed through residencies at The Place, DanceEast, RedSapata Kulturinitiative and Bradford Arts Centre, with generous seed commissions from SAA-UK, SAMPAD and Kadam Dance, and supported by Akademi, Pagrav Dance, East London Dance. Available for touring 2027–28. For programming and touring enquiries: Global: ryan@movingartmanagement.com India: thedancingdivyaravi@gmail.com #Abandhana #TheMakingOfAbandhana #Bharatanatyam #Therigatha #IndianDance #ContemporaryDance #DanceTheatre #WomenAndArt #DanceFilm