Gender in Motion: Bijayini Satpathy in Conversation at Asia Society

Photo Credit: instagram.com/bijayinisatpathy/

Acclaimed Odissi dancer Bijayini Satpathy comes to Asia Society for a conversation exploring gender, identity, and movement within Asian dance traditions.

Drawing from Odissi — the classical Indian dance form shaped by both feminine histories and male lineages — Satpathy examines how movement can express identities beyond rigid gender binaries. The program expands the conversation beyond India with two dancers demonstrating examples from Chinese opera and Javanese classical dance, creating a broader exploration of how gender is embodied across Asian performance traditions.

The discussion also offers a fascinating introduction to ideas behind Satpathy’s latest solo work, Trikāyā, which receives its New York City premiere at Asia Society on November 5 with live musical accompaniment.

For NewYorkWala, this is an especially interesting event at the intersection of Indian classical dance, LGBTQ+ and gender conversations, and contemporary performance in NYC.