NCPA Spectrum 2026 Dance Festival Unites Global Traditions in Mumbai
The National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) in Mumbai proudly announces Spectrum 2026 – A Festival of Dances from Around the World, its annual celebration that bridges classical heritage with contemporary innovation. Scheduled across three significant dates in early 2026, this festival promises to showcase how dance evolves while maintaining deep connections to tradition, discipline, and artistic exploration.
Festival Schedule and Venue Details
The festival will unfold across the prestigious Tata Theatre and Experimental Theatre at NCPA Mumbai on January 30, February 14, and February 22, 2026. Over the years, Spectrum has established itself as a unique platform where diverse movement languages coexist, allowing classical forms to be reinterpreted through individual artistic voices while contemporary works investigate new relationships between body, space, and sound.
Opening Performances: Bharatanatyam and Odissi
The festival commences on Friday, January 30, at the Tata Theatre with a compelling double bill. First, audiences will experience Bahukriya, a Bharatanatyam presentation by the renowned Rama Vaidyanathan and her troupe. Vaidyanathan, trained under eminent gurus and now developing her own pedagogical approach, is celebrated for evolving a distinctive movement language while preserving Bharatanatyam's structural rigor.
Following this, Khańkhanā—The Sound of Dancing Feet will take the stage, an Odissi ensemble work by Surupa Sen and the acclaimed Nrityagram ensemble. As the first graduate of Nrityagram, Sen brings decades of training, choreographic research, and ensemble-building experience to create works that honor classical frameworks while reflecting dance as a living practice.
Mid-Festival Highlights: Odissi and Kathak
On Saturday, February 14, the spotlight shifts to Odissi and Kathak through two significant performances. Ratikant Mohapatra with Srjan will present Ānanda-Rasam—The Essence of Bliss, reflecting over four decades of institution-building and choreographic practice that has shaped Odissi's contemporary trajectory.
Simultaneously, Shama Bhate's institution Nadroop will perform Ram Lalla in Kathak. Bhate's work is deeply informed by a lifetime of performance, teaching, and musical training rooted in the Jaipur tradition, offering audiences authentic classical expressions.
International Contemporary Finale
The festival concludes on Sunday, February 22, at the Experimental Theatre with BRICKS, a Swiss contemporary dance production by choreographer Nicole Morel, featuring music by Colombian composer Violeta Cruz. Conceived as physical poetry, BRICKS combines sculptural visual design with movement to explore structure, space, and human presence, providing an international perspective within the festival's diverse dance landscape.
Educational Masterclasses for Practitioners
Extending beyond performances, Spectrum 2026 includes two masterclasses presented as part of NCPA's Nrityagurukul initiative. The first, a two-day masterclass by Surupa Sen on January 28 and 29, supported by Bank of America, is titled Techniques for Longevity in an Indian Dance Career. Emerging from Sen's sustained engagement with Odissi, this session explores longevity as the careful cultivation of the dancer's relationship with body, mind, and form over time.
This is followed by Orchestrating Stillness and Movement: Sthāna, Gati, and the Dynamic Function of Cārīs in the Dancer-Actor's Training, a two-day Marga Natya masterclass by Piyal Bhattacharya on February 18 and 19. This workshop examines stillness and movement as foundational performance conditions, positioning the body as an integration site where breath, consciousness, and motion converge.
About NCPA Mumbai
The National Centre for the Performing Arts in Mumbai stands as India's premier cultural institution, inaugurated in 1969 as South Asia's first multi-venue, multi-genre cultural centre. Committed to preserving and promoting India's rich artistic heritage across music, dance, theatre, film, literature, and photography, NCPA also presents innovative work by Indian and international artists spanning drama, contemporary dance, orchestral concerts, opera, jazz, and chamber music. Today, NCPA hosts more than 700 events annually, making it India's largest and most comprehensive performing arts centre.
