A classical Indian dancer from Bradley Stoke took to the stage at this year’s Glastonbury Festival to perform a beautiful solo dance, which was also broadcast on BBC television.
Nandini Girish, who works as a chartered accountant in Filton Abbey Wood, is a Kuchipudi classical dancer from India, who has lived in Bradley Stoke for 14 years with her husband, who is an NHS doctor.
Although Kuchipudi was traditionally performed by male dancers, contemporary artists like Nandini have evolved the tradition. Her performances showcase the dance’s signature graceful movements, intricate footwork and expressive storytelling through nuanced gestures and facial expressions.
Nandini explains: “Kuchipudi is an Indian classical dance. It touches base on literature, it covers history, and the history of how the Indian literature used to be. In India, we have many deities and those deities are shown in the hand gestures, because within the dance it has to be shown in the symbolic way. So that’s performed in the dance moves steps, the facial expression, rhythmic footwork and the costume, hairdo and make-up. So these are all different elements which you can noticeable in Indian classical dance.”
She is extremely passionate about dancing, which she first took up when she was just five years old and practised for many years, although she took a break for a while when bringing up her child. But now she has returned to Kuchipudi and has no plans to stop again.
“Dancing is like a stress buster for me,” Nandini explains. “It’s helps keep my inner energy calm. It’s good for mental wellbeing as well as physical wellbeing, and it gives you a social connection, too. It is a good way of socialising with people and giving something back to the world. Whatever I have gained in the past, that needs to be given to the world back in the form of dance, such as spreading the literature, spreading the culture, to the people who have come from miles away from their hometown.”
The invitation to perform at Glastonbury Festival happened after the festival organisers contacted the Avon Indian Community Association (AICA), of which Nandini is a member, and said they would love to ask an Indian classical dancer to perform and the AICA immediately thought of Nandini.
After sending over a few auditions, Nandini was invited to perform an 11-minute solo dance at Glastonbury Festival, which she did in front of a crowd of about 500 people at midday on Thursday, 26 June. This was then included in a broadcast on BBC Points West the following day, bringing Nandini’s talent to an even wider audience. Her husband was among those in the crowd watching her and was very proud of what his wife had achieved.
“It was a really nice opportunity,” says Nandini. “Not that many people from Bradley Stoke even knew my performance was happening, and not that many people from Bradley Stoke have even been given the opportunity to perform at the Glastonbury Festival. It’s a big milestone for me and it’s a great achievement in my lifetime.”
However, Nandini is no stranger to dancing at significant events. For example, in 2022, to mark the Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II, Nandini was invited to dance at Westminster Abbey in London, and in 2023 she danced at an event in Bristol to mark the coronation of King Charles III.