For 22 years, Raghav Handa has been captivating audiences with his dancing. This April, he won the coveted Green Room Award, adding yet another feather to his cap.
Reflecting on his journey, Handa says, “I came to dance through the back door.”
That is because Handa did not attend a traditional dance school. Originally from Punjab, India, he moved to Australia, where he attended high school and became active in drama and the arts.
However, he didn’t start dancing seriously until after graduating. While studying international relations at university, he began training in contemporary dance, aiming to pursue it as a profession.
“This was about 20 years ago. There were independent studios, but you could also take dance courses at university or be seconded to a choreographer, where you essentially learned your craft on the job—which is what I did,” explains Handa, who is based in Sydney.
By chance, he landed a role in the musical West Side Story. “That was my first professional job,” he shares over Zoom with The Indian Sun.
During this time, Handa met iconic Indigenous choreographers like Vicki Van Hout, who invited him to take free classes at the Bangarra Dance Theatre. He would develop a long-standing relationship with the Indigenous community.
Later, Handa attended the London Contemporary Dance School for three consecutive years, participating in programs while working as a dancer in Australia.
He has held various roles in dance, including choreographer, performer, collaborator, lecturer, and mentor for young artists. His notable works, such as Tukre’ (2014-15), Mens Rea (2016), and Folly & Time (2018-19), have received critical acclaim both in Australia and internationally.
In 2019, with support from the Australian Council, Handa completed a residency with the Attakkalari dance company in Bengaluru, India. “Every opportunity is a chance to diversify and grow,” he says about the residency.
In 2020, he participated in the Sydney Festival premiere of Double Delicious, an immersive theatre work by Contemporary Asian Australian Performance and Asia TOPA festival in Melbourne.
Handa’s short work was featured in the Sydney Opera House’s digital season of Unwrapped, which he describes as a smooth transition to technology.
“The idea is to diversify and adapt. Even before COVID, I had done Folly & Time, which was presented on dual screens with three characters having a conversation in that space. In Mens Rea, we used 3D motion technology, allowing people to watch some of the work through 3D glasses.”
His piece Follies of God, showcased in Performance Space’s 2002 Livework’s Festival of Experimental Art, is a demanding performance that blends Kathak and contemporary Western dance. It critiques how the Bhagavad Gita has been misused by Nazis and Hindu nationalists to justify war as a matter of “duty.”
Handa has also collaborated with tabla player Maharshi Raval on a dance piece called TWO, which toured various festivals in Australia and contributed to his Green Room Award win.
“Each work is different and has a purpose,” he says.
Growing up in India, Handa dabbled in Kathak dance. “If you reflect on the cultural diversity of India, dance is a vital part of everything. In some ways, Indigenous Australia has similar cultural elements. I was open to influences that felt familiar.
“What inspires me now is my way of thinking, my experimentation with form and concepts, and the language I develop through my work, all shaped by my experiences in Kathak and contemporary dance.”
He doesn’t label his work as fusion. “I feel my form carries that inspiration. When I look at Kathak dance, I’m inspired by the theatricality, the setting, and the rhythm. I incorporate those elements into my creations. I’ve placed myself in a continuous loop of exploration.”
With two decades of dancing behind him, Handa is still touring several works. He recently created The Assembly in collaboration with dance artists Victor Zarallo and Josh Freedman at the Campbelltown Arts Centre, which will tour soon.
Handa also conducts workshops and mentors young dancers and choreographers. Most recently, alongside his former mentor, Vicki Van Hout, Handa conducted a workshop exploring the use of Indian Kathak principles as part of FORM Dance Project’s IDEA’24 dance festival.
“These are some of the ways I feel I can give back to the community,” he says.
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