“Over the years drama has moved beyond mere performance. Agusto Boal (author of Theatre of the Oppressed) introduced “forum theatre” in which some one from the audience takes over the role of one of the actors and present her/his idea in performance taking the play to a new direction. This form of theatre is pedagogic, explains Khan. In the past 15 years, Khan has worked in Palestine, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Lebanon and India.

Dance with me
For Tripura Kashyap, one of the first dance therapists in the country, holistic healing begins with movement. “Every human is born with movement in his body. Dance therapy channels the energy of these natural movements to attain therapeutic goals. Since positive movement generates positive emotion, participants at dance therapy workshops are put through various creative motions and drills, during which they become aware of their own bodies and its resilience,” says the Bangalore-based Kashyap, who conducts workshops across India. Kashyap trained in dance therapy at Hancock Centre in the US and holds a degree in psychology.
One session in Delhi for adults, organised by Rainbow Inc, starts with basic activities like blowing a balloon, something many grown-ups haven’t done for ages. As the next step, Kashyap asks the group to keep their balloons afloat n the air using body parts except the hand. The men and women, ranging from the early-twenties to late-forties prance around the room behind drifting balloons, unwittingly using muscles that have not been exercised for years. Other drills include newspapers and dupattas.

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