From Delhi, Bharatanatyam dancer, teacher and curator Tanya Saxena has spent her life exploring the possibilities of classical dance as both tradition and inquiry. In 2005, she founded the Abhaya Dance Foundation, which has grown into more than an academy—it is a collective space where students train rigorously, young performers find a platform, and boundaries between disciplines dissolve so that dance becomes a living dialogue.

With her ensemble, Tanya presents Prayer Circle at Abhivyakti, a work inspired by a quiet moment of reflection in Goa. Encountering a sculpture of figurines moving endlessly in rotation, she was struck by circularity as a universal rhythm, one that connects beings across nature. This insight shaped a larger question: if nature unites us through cycles, could faith serve as the same unifying circle for humanity?

Performed in the vocabulary of Bharatanatyam and layered with a soundscape that draws from multiple religions, Prayer Circle does not dwell on difference. Instead, it searches for the essence of faith as shared surrender and yearning. For Tanya, the work is personal—an exploration of religion not as division but as connection. For audiences, it becomes an invitation to pause, reflect, and recognise what binds us together.