Grantee Database
NAVA DANCE THEATRE
Grant Year
2025-26
Grant Program
Impact Projects
Award Amount
$20,750.00
Project Description
With support from the California Arts Council, Nava Dance Theatre will produce our fifth iteration of Unrehearsed: Artist Residency and Commissioning Program (URP) which uplifts and supports critical dialogue across South Asian traditional, contemporary, and experimental dance genres, while also confronting systemic structural prejudices in the Indian performing arts community. Through this program, we curate art-centered interactive work in progress showings, performances, and discussions to make dialogue around these issues more accessible.
Unrehearsed will center in-person presentations in San Francisco, along with public workshops by the residents for community members/dancers and non-dancers. CAC funds will support three California based resident artists and their production expenses, project personnel and project venue costs for presenting their work in San Francisco.
Organization Summary
Nava Dance Theatre (NDT), led by Artistic Director Nadhi Thekkek, is a Bharatanatyam company using South Indian dance as a medium for reflection and discovery. We focus on two main programs: original dance works and our Unrehearsed: Artist Residency and Commissioning program. We also offer subsidized workshops, co-produce the Varnam Salon, and organize classes as part of our community engagement.
Highlights include residencies at CounterPulse and A.C.T., two commissions from Oakland Ballet, and support from the New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Dance Project. Our work has also been funded by the MAP Fund, National Endowment for the Arts, California Arts Council, San Francisco Arts Commission, and more. Since 2013, we’ve performed nationally at venues such as La Mama (NYC), National Steinbeck Center, SF Ethnic Dance Festival, Yerba Buena Gardens Festival, UC Davis Mondavi Center, and UMass Amherst Fine Arts Center.
NDT creates immersive, community-centered performances rooted in South Asian storytelling through Bharatanatyam and experimental movement. Our blend of dance, music, and narrative reflects the lived experiences of Indian and South Asian communities. Drawing from oral histories and interviews, we explore themes like migration, identity, and justice. Through responsible, culturally responsive storytelling, we center underrepresented voices and invite audiences to reflect, connect, and take pride in our shared histories.
Organization
Nava Dance Theatre
Address
80 Turk Street
San Francisco
94102
County
San Francisco
Region
Bay Area – San Francisco
Phone
(925) 457-1140
Congressional District
12th congressional district
State Assembly District
District 17
State Senate District
District 11
