Centre Stage Festival

Kiran Nadar Museum of Art (KNMA) announces the Centre Stage Festival, a two-day cultural spectacle on December 8 and December 9, 2023 at Sunder Nursery.

Featuring five young performers from the world of dance and music, the festival promises to be a vibrant celebration of creativity and cultural expression. Through this festival, KNMA honours India’s rich and abundant cultural traditions and serves as a platform to showcase and nurture these extraordinary artists.

The Centre Stage festival is set to unfold as a cultural highlight, presenting the exceptional talents of young and emerging artists reshaping the cultural landscape. Aniruddh Aithal, a 25-year-old Hindustani classical vocalist, will captivate the audiences with his soulful renditions, while 13-year-old Bharatanatyam dancer, Akshatha Viswanath exudes incredible energy, displaying a mastery in Bharatanatyam that transcends her age.

In the genre of Western classical music enthusiasts can anticipate a performance by Anuvrat Choudhary, an accomplished musician with accolades in national-level piano competitions and a rich background in music education and pedagogy.

Anuvrat will be performing two duets featuring 14-year-old Martina Charles, a violin prodigy known for completing all 8 grades in violin from Trinity College London and achieving the Fellowship of Trinity College London (FTCL), a rare accomplishment as the youngest in India and the first in Kerala. The second duet will be with Eera Gupta, a dancer, trained in jazz, contemporary and modern dance.

Ramana Balachandhran will present a carnatic veena concert. He is one of the most sought-after instrumentalists in the country, having delivered nearly four hundred solo concerts across leading concert halls and music festivals in India and abroad. He is a multi talented musician who has very quickly risen to great heights in his field.

The festival will culminate in a performance by The Anirudh Varma Collective, led by pianist, composer and producer, Anirudh Varma. They offer an enthralling fusion of innovation and tradition within the realm of Indian classical music. The collective is an empanelled ensemble with the ICCR, and has played with 150 different musicians & artistes from across India, America, and Canada. KNMA’s “Centre Stage Festival ” will give the audience the opportunity to experience some remarkable performers, between the ages of 13 and 30 from all over the country and participate in a unique celebration of artistic diversity and excellence.

Aditi Jaitly, Senior Curator Performing Arts, Kiran Nadar Museum of Art said, ”The cultural vertical of the Kiran Nadar Nadar Museum of Art is committed to promoting excellence in the performing arts, encompassing a wide range of genres -the traditional and the contemporary, the popular and the experimental, from seasoned maestros to emerging artists. As we move towards dedicated spaces for the performing arts in the new museum, KNMA will continue to bring to Delhi’s audiences the diversity and richness of India’s cultural landscape.”

This festival is open to the public, and tickets are available for purchase online on insider.

When: December 8 to December 9

Where: Sunder Nursery Opposite Humayun’s Tomb, Nizamuddin, Sundar Nagar, New Delhi