Dance Heritage in Modern Movement : Harini Nilakantan Explains | TRUST ME I KNOW WHAT I'M DOING

How does dance evolve beyond tradition? Harini Nilakantan joins the podcast to explore movement as a mosaic, bridging Bharatanatyam with modern expression. In this episode of TRUST ME I KNOW WHAT I'M DOING, we sit down with Chicago-based dancer and choreographer Harini Nilakantan to discuss the intersection of heritage and innovation. Harini, a movement artist and award winning dancer and choregrapher shares her journey of reimagining ancestral storytelling for the modern stage. Instead of viewing dance as a "frozen" time capsule or a rigid discipline, Harini describes her practice as a "mosaic"—a refractive, evolving language that allows different cultural vocabularies to speak to one another without hierarchy. In this episode, we cover: Why "purity" can be a problematic label in artistic evolution How to use traditional move sets, such as Tattamettu, to build new rhythmic dialogues Navigating the pressures of being a "winner" vs. finding success through honest expression How Harini’s upbringing in a polyglot, multi-disciplinary household shaped her identity and movement vocabulary -------------------------- Chapters- 00:00 Introduction to Harini Nilakantan 03:29 Defining her identity as a movement artist 06:49 Early dance memories and her "why" 11:52 Reimagining tradition through the art of kintsugi 14:58 Challenging inertia in classical dance forms 17:25 How her dance practice has evolved 20:16 Sponsor break: Travelopod 21:37 Unlearning audience preconceptions 27:41 Cultural influences and Harini's upbringing 33:15 Redefining success beyond trophies 36:59 Observer, student, teacher of dance 39:35 Building trust and expanding the lexicon Connect with Harini: https://harini-nilakantan.com #Dance #Bharatanatyam #Innovation #HariniNilakantan #MovementArt #ContemporaryDance #TrustMeIKnowWhatImDoing #DanceAsAMosaic -------------------------- Trust Me I Know What I'm Doing | Dr. Abhay Dandekar A mirror and window for global Indians and South Asians through conversation. Every week, we share chats with artists, leaders, musicians, chefs, experts, change makers, and innovators from the home and diaspora - sharing their journeys and motivations. Support our sponsors: Start your journey with personalized travel support at https://vacation.travelopod.com/ For enquiries 📧 Email : [email protected] About TRUST ME I KNOW WHAT I'm DOING: My name is Abhay Dandekar and I share conversations with talented and interesting individuals linked to the global Indian and South Asian community. It’s informal and informative, adding insights and perspective to our evolving cultural expressions, where each person can proudly say “TRUST ME I KNOW WHAT I’m DOING.” New episodes weekly! Find us on Instagram/ LinkedIn:   / drabhaydandekar     / abhaydandekar   https://abhaydandekar.transistor.fm/ Listen to the podcast on your favorite podcast platform: 🎙️ Spotify : https://open.spotify.com/show/4ZReYDw... 🎙️ Apple Podcast : https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... 🎙️ Amazon Music : https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/ace...