FORBIDDEN | Dance Information

Through this powerful new solo work, acclaimed dancer and choreographer Aditi Mangaldas explores the fear and taboos associated with female sexual desire that have been historically and culturally inculcated. She poses the question: why are women the world over sanctioned, judged, controlled, hounded and punished when they find the courage to embrace their own desires, in both conservative and liberal societies?

In the words of mythologist Devdutt Pattanaik, “... fantasy frightens us, especially female fantasy… One way of regulating fantasy has been by propagating stories where women who pursue their desires are viewed as dangerous, hence need to be restrained for social good.”

The work is presented in three parts—Awakening roots itself in the words dreams, fragrant flower, and cage, Playing the Game explores denial, adornment, seduction and rage. The work ends with Burning, touching on her story and in her words, “consigning to flames all that is FORBIDDEN.”

Drawing from a gamut of cultures and expressing through her practice of contemporary dance based on kathak, Aditi traverses a spectrum of emotion and states of being, reclaiming and owning her desire. FORBIDDEN is a bold, evocative and charged quest for the liberation of women’s sexual desire.

Concept, Choreography and Performance: Aditi Mangaldas

Dramaturge: Farooq Chaudhry

Light Design: Michael Hulls

Music Composition: Nicki Wells

Costume Design: Kimie Nakano

Mentor: Morag Deyes

Commissioned by: Aditi Mangaldas Dance Company – The Drishtikon Dance Foundation

Co-Commissioned by: Sadler’s Wells, London; National Centre for The Performing Arts, Mumbai; Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay, Singapore

Supported by: Dance City, Newcastle and Rajika Puri, USA

Show Details

• FORBIDDEN
• Date: 24 - 25 Nov 2023
• Time: 8pm
• Venue: Singtel Waterfront Theatre at Esplanade
• Address: 8 Raffles Ave, Singapore 039802

Ticketing Information

• Tickets available on Esplanade
• Price: Standard $40 | Students, NSFs, Seniors & PWDs (Limited) $32
• Recommended Age: 16 and above
• Admission Age: 13 and above

Information Source: Esplanade