Pune-based Kathak dancer Ameera Patankar has been immersed in the form for over years. Trained under Guru Shama Bhate at Nad-Roop Institute, she holds an MA in Kathak and often describes herself as “married to dance.” Her path was not always directed towards performance. Having studied French and Economics, she never imagined dance as a career, but Nad-Roop changed that trajectory and anchored her life in rhythm and movement.

At Abhivyakti, Ameera presents Q!-Urban-I?, a city’s lament shaped through Kathak. Constantly travelling for her art, she has observed how cities across India increasingly look alike, shaped by a homogenised idea of “development” and “urbanisation” borrowed from the West. Through movement and rhythm, she questions these definitions and asks what is being lost in the process.

For Ameera, staying rooted in Kathak is a deliberate choice. She believes the form carries everything needed to express even the most contemporary concerns. In Q!-Urban-I? she uses its abstractions, rhythmic layers, and storytelling strength to address one of today’s urgent issues. The performance is also deeply personal. It is her way of proving that classical dance is not a relic of the past but a living voice that can still provoke thought and spark dialogue.