As a child, Mythili Prakash was always puzzled by the myth around the goddess Durga, who was created by a panel of male gods to slay the demon Mahisha. Why should a woman be given her power by a man, she wondered. And it’s something she’s still wondering about.
She’s Auspicious is a dismantling of the idea of woman being put on a pedestal, bestowed with value through someone else’s eyes. Being shaped by an outside view of womanhood – even a supposedly flattering one – is a suffocation of sorts. Prakash is an Indian-American dancer, best known in the UK for performing with Akram Khan, who has mentored her. Her brand of bharatanatyam (the traditional dance form comes from southern India) blends classical technique with a questioning sensibility and the freeform structure of contemporary theatre.
Mythili Prakash: She’s Auspicious. Photograph: Daniel Dittus
