Free Half Term Dance Activities
Mon 25 and Tues 26 May 9-11.30am at Trestle Arts Base, St Albans
Free for young people who live in St Albans thanks to funding from
St Albans City Council
This May half term, young people aged 9 to 12 are invited to spend two mornings having fun with dance - learning new moves, having the chance to make their own choreography and explore ideas about what it's like to be a young person in St Albans.
Led by Divya Kasturi, the sessions are hands-on, welcoming and designed for young people with no dance experience. Expect movement, storytelling, rhythm and a genuine encounter with a 2,000-year-old tradition that is very much alive.
A film-maker will use the dances made to create a short film which will be shared with parents and residents of St Albans - to give voice to young people.
When: Monday 25 and Tuesday 26 May, 9.00am to 11.30am Where: Trestle Arts Base, St Albans Who: Ages 9 to 12. No experience needed. Cost: Free Places: Limited to 15. Both mornings are included.
The workshops last 2.5 hours with a short break. Everyone is welcome and no previous dance experience is needed.
To book your FREE place(s) please sign up
Divya Kasturi presents
MargaM
MargaM is a hosted, pop-up VR dance installation suitable for foyers, galleries and studio spaces, offering audiences a 20-minute immersive encounter with South Indian classical dance.
MargaM - a VR work in development
A virtual reality dance experience blending Bharatanatyam, South Asian heritage, and immersive technology by Divya Kasturi Company. Welcome to MargaM: A Virtual Journey Through Bharatanatyam Presented by Divya Kasturi Company Created with partners Clemence Debaig, Guildhall Production Studio, Target 3D, Sam Lawrence, Rebecca Evans. MargaM is a groundbreaking first-of-its-kind virtual reality experience that bridges past, present, and future by exploring the rich world of Bharatanatyam, a 2000-year-old classical Indian dance form. Our Journey MargaM - meaning "path" or "journey" - invites you to step inside the sacred world of temple dance, breaking down historical barriers of access and representation. This experience is more than a performance; it's a cultural exploration that: • Democratises traditional temple spaces • Elevates the ‘voice’ of female temple dancers • Connects ancient dance traditions with cutting-edge technology • Challenges historical restrictions of caste and gender in cultural spaces Watch our Residency video which shows the development work we did on the VR experience last summer.
Enjoy an insight into the MargaM VR experience in the Insight film from our Time and Space Residency at Sadler's Wells East (posted on the right).
Co-created with Sam Lawrence, Target 3D, Clèmence Debaig, Rebecca Evans, Guildhall Production Studio.
MargaM - reimagined through Projection Mapping technology
MargaM Reimagined transforms Divya Kasturi Company's virtual reality experience as an immersive architectural projection onto the Guildhall Dance Porch. Classical South Indian dance forms dissolve into light, with sacred gestures, temple motifs and mandala geometries unfolding across the façade. Bharatanatyam (one of India's oldest classical dance forms) rhythms become radiant vectors, weaving culture and movement into the stone. As the architecture glows with echoes of devotion and legacy, audiences are drawn into a contemplative intersection between sacred tradition and digital performance. Set to a pulsating fusion of Carnatic beats and dub textures, the piece meditates on lineage, female artistry and the urban sacred. Event Info: MargaM Reimagined is presented by Vibrance. On 29 and 30 January 2026, Vibrance transformed the City of London, creating unforgettable encounters with light, sound and live performance. Vibrance will feature more than a dozen artworks across five iconic locations, uniting historic monuments with cutting-edge technology. https://www.gsmd.ac.uk/whats-on/vibrance
Divya Kasturi Company presents
new double bill for theatre and studio spaces
Premiere - November 2025- Peterborough and St Albans
Available to tour in 2026 and beyond - contact us for date options
The premiere featured a curtain raiser showcasing DKC Young Talents, DKC's junior dancers performing short works.
The full performance is in two thematic halves blended together.
Act 1 – WiW (Woman-in-waiting)
Inspired by Tamil Sangam poetry, this new solo Dance-Theatre piece by eminent Bharatanatyam artist Divya Kasturi is boldly sensual. In her signature engaging style Divya captures the bottlenecks and breakthroughs of a restless inner journey. Time plays the dominant narrative in this performance. Be it the midnight that sparks off speech, words, thoughts, stories or a stillness that reverberates spiced with a mixture of anxiety, restlessness, hope, memory, despair leading into Act 2.
Act 2 – Genesis
Developing from the themes of WiW, Divya’s ensemble choreography is influenced by Indian poet Arundhathi Subramaniam’s writings. Genesis traces a dreamlike narrative that begins with ‘birthing’, ending with a note of ‘self-discovery’, all weaved with the everyday experience of waiting and searching.
Photo and film credit: Jo Cork
Gallery of past creations
The company's work propels a strong drive to combine classical and contemporary South Asian Dance with elements of Western contemporary dance, Indian and Western music, live vocals, technology and physical theatre. Our aesthetics are articulated from the firm bedrock of Bharathanatyam and Carnatic Music with modern concepts and ideas relevant to everyday life.