How Malavika Sarukkai’s Kalavaahini Trust is redefining support for classical dancers

It was  a warm April evening in 2015.  Malavika Sarukkai was preparing to launch the Kalavaahini Trust to support young and talented classical dancers. Elegantly draped in a sari — as she always is — and seated under the bougainvillea tree facing the rehearsal space in her charming Thiruvanmiyur home in Chennai, she said:, “I want to give back to the art that has given meaning and purpose to my life. I am keen on doing something for the next generation of artistes. As an insider, I know how best to support them.”

This year, the Kalavaahini Trust, which hosts the Dance for Dance Festival, completes a decade. As its curator, Malavika now has much to look back on and more to look forward to. “I knew I was taking on an extremely challenging task because getting funding for classical dance is never easy. When I began, reaching this milestone never crossed my mind,” she says, as she busies herself with the finer details for the 10th-year celebration.

Malavika’s own long and triumphant journey in the arts helped people believe in her vision. “The annual Dance for Dance festival, into its seventh edition now, is not just about selecting outstanding young and established performers; it is also about how dance needs to be created, viewed and perceived,” she explains.

Through its line-up of performances, Kalavaahini aims to reiterate the significance of the festival’s platform. “It’s not just about training and getting on stage. Dance demands deep commitment and focus. The intellectual rigour an artiste brings to a work makes all the difference,” says the senior dancer, choreographer and mentor.

Commissioning new works is a cornerstone of artistic patronage, allowing established dancers and organisations to nurture choreographic voices while removing financial barriers to creation. In the Indian classical dance landscape, where resources remain a persistent challenge, such initiatives become catalysts for innovation and collaborative artistry. The highlight this year at the Dance for Dance festival is the commissioning of an artiste by another.  

Vaibhav Arekar will present his new production ‘Viyoga – Fragments of Light’ at the Dance for Dance Festival 2025.
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

According to Malavika, “It’s a significant gesture to value someone’s work and enable them to channelise all their energy in creating it. I truly enjoyed being part of Vaibhav Arekar’s new work. I travelled to Pune, spent three days exchanging ideas, engaging with his team of dancers and offering my creative inputs. Now, I’m eagerly awaiting its staging. Commissioning calls for mutual trust and respect, but it is essential for the growth of the art form. Imagine having a third person to view your work and make the changes and cuts that enhance the final output.”

Kalavaahini is here for the long haul, says Malavika, encouraging artistes to shed external tags and work from within. While Bharatanatyam and its practitioners feature prominently, given Malavika’s own roots in the form and her Chennai base, the organisation has been extending invitations to artistes across the classical dance spectrum. In embracing this diversity of forms, Kalavaahini seeks to mirror the fractured world itself — bringing together distinct traditions into a shared language of expression. “In a divisive world, you need art that helps viewers empathise with humanity and our planet,” she says, a reminder that dance, like a river, carries not just rhythm but renewal, weaving together hearts and hopes into a continuum of belonging.