Superhero by Raghav Handa is a dichotomy between good and evil
| Photo Credit: Special arrangement
If you want to witness a superhero performing for real, then you are in luck. Superhero by artist Raghav Handa is premiering in Bengaluru on December 12 as part of Attakkalari India Biennial 2025-2026.
Raghav shares how he blended Indian and Australian cultures to create this performance. “It is an inter-disciplinary dance work, with a dynamic movement, blended with great music with vocals by M.D. Pallavi. The performance brings together the idea of camaraderie and the power of people,” Raghav says.
The performance, choreographed by Raghav, includes Australian dancers Kai Linden Taberner and Kiarn Doyle, and Hemabharathy Palani, Snigdha Prabhakar and Shivaranjan NS from Bengaluru. Superhero delves into the complexities of power, resilience, and human connection, he adds.
On the evolution of Superhero, Raghav says, the dichotomy of good and evil was his starting point. “I started challenging conventional ideas of heroism and villainy. Superhero reimagines power as a shared, shifting construct: to be a hero, must one also embrace a touch of the villain.”
Based out of Australia, Raghav has combined dance forms from both countries to mesh the performance together. “The process was not easy. It is not fusion, but both Influence and confluence. Imagine rivers meeting from different sources, but eventually flowing as one. It is about creating an aesthetic that is unique to the work.”
Through dynamic movement and theatricality, Raghav says he has conjured an ambiguous world where the boundaries between the familiar and the surreal dissolve, and where modernity meets history. “Innovation is a part of invention, and a part of everything artistes do. We have to employ a lot of thinking and imagination to bring about a perfect performance.”
A quest for identity
Attakkalari India Biennial 2025-2026 will showcase Enowate, a performance by Dickson Mbi on December 13. The solo performance has been choreographed by Dickson.
Dickson Mbi is a London-based artist.
| Photo Credit:
Special arrangement
In this performance, Dickson stands at a numinous intersection where the mystical traditions of his African heritage meet the contemporary rhythms that shaped his upbringing in London. He says he also draws from the transformative journey to his ancestral home in Cameroon. Enowate weaves together sinuous elements of hip-hop, contemporary dance and original music. “It is the journey of a young person becoming a man, one who is trying to understand himself,” Dickson adds.
Brought up in London, Dickson has tried to make Enowate relatable, blending both his English and African roots. “It is about diversity, moving to other places, and migration. It will connect with people in India, because the theme is universal.”
Performing for the first time in India, Dickson says he had often wondered about his origins. “I returned to my roots, to my ancestry, to the village my parents grew up in. That is where this idea eventually evolved into Enowate,” he adds.
The mood of the performance is fun, animalistic and cosmic, he says. “This is personal to me, an ode to a biographical journey. It is personal and universal at the same time.”
Dickson’s Enowate is a solo performance.
| Photo Credit:
Special arrangement
Enowate requires the artiste to perform solo for 40 minutes straight. “This is physically one of the hardest pieces I have ever performed in my life.”
Superhero will premiere at the 12th edition of Attakkalari India Biennial 2025-2026 at the Bangalore International Centre on December 12 at 7.30pm. Enowate will be performed at the Prestige Centre for Performing Arts at on December 13 at 7pm. Tickets for Superhero and Enowate can be booked here.
Published – December 11, 2025 05:11 pm IST
