March|Dance 2026

Welcome to March|Dance 2026, a festival of contemporary dance conceived and curated by Basement 21  and Goethe Institut/ Max Mueller Bhavan in cooperation with Alliance Française of Madras, InKo Centre and Prakriti Foundation.  Dedicated to exploring the many ways of defining and experiencing contemporary dance, this year’s edition brings a vibrant range of offerings to the city of Chennai — from performances by distinctive and experimental artists to workshops, choreographic lab, talks, and discussions.

The events of this edition, listed below, are presented at the  Goethe-Institut Chennai. Join us for one week of dynamic and thought-provoking encounters celebrating contemporary dance in all its diversity.

PERFORMANCE 

March 16, 7.00 pm @Goethe-Institut Chennai
PRIME - Avantika Bahl   

Prime by Avantika Bahl is a multi-disciplinary Contemporary Dance Performance that looks at the relationship between movement and the ageing body. Watch eight incredible performers over 60 turn time, memory and movement into something powerful, witty and unexpected.

March 20, 7.00 -9.00 pm @Goethe-Institut Chennai
Double Bill
Is  by Puneet Jewandah & Ajay Parche
Iṣ (pronounced icchh) is a contemporary dance work that investigates the ever-shifting nature of human desire. The work traces how desires arise, multiply, transform, and entangle us. Beginning under a pile of clothes that symbolise material and inherited desires, the dancers move through states of ecstasy, imitation, conflict, and surrender.

Paradox of Platypus by Joshua Sailo & Abhaydev Praful
Paradox of Platypus brings a Mizo folktale of the misunderstood outcast Hmuichukchuriduni-nu to life. Inspired by Mizo folk practices and the knowledge systems embedded in them, this whimsical piece takes audiences across a surreal landscape. The musical-choreographic composition unfolds as a dialogue between two performers who continuously change roles, shifting the power dynamics of their relationship.

March 21, 7.00 pm @Goethe-Institut Chennai
Mountain, Tree, Cloud and Tiger- Revisited
by JeeAE Lim, Berlin with
Akila P, Sravanthi V, Vikram Iyengar and Pallavi Sriram

Mountain, Tree, Cloud and Tiger began with an exploration of traditional dance within the currents of migration. The work has evolved through ongoing research and collaborations with Korean diaspora dance communities in different regions, attending to how dance is transmitted through lived experience and embodied knowledge. In its third iteration, Revisited, Lim works with local dancers in Chennai, approaching tradition as an intergenerational practice that is constantly negotiated and reimagined. 


All are welcome, Entry is free and seating on first-cum, first-served basis.

WORKSHOPS  (Registration closed)

March 13-21, 2026 @ InKo Centre and Goethe-Institut Chennai
Collaborative Creation by JeeAE Lim with Akila P, Sravanthi V, Vikram Iyengar and Pallavi Sriram

March 17 & 18, 2026 @Alliance Française of Madras
Dramaturgy of Production by Danile Kok, Dance Nucleus Singapore

March 19-22, 2026 @Alliance Française of Madras
Dance Dramaturgies  by Rustom Bharucha, Kolkatta