"The stage is not merely the meeting place of all the arts, but is also the return of art to life." - Oscar Wilde

Performing Arts such as theatre, dance, opera, mime, or puppetry are all forms where artists use their voices and bodies to express ideas and emotions. As some of the oldest forms of media, these are practices that rely on speech, gesture, music, movement, sound and spectacle. Performing arts enrich and expand the appreciation and understanding of communication, informing contemporary artists across a range of media.

Each performance in a specific space with its viewers is a unique event. And beyond the stage or the screen, contemporary performance artists are pushing the boundaries of performativity. Through site-specific work, interdisciplinary collaborations and performance interventions, performance practices are being constantly reimagined. Improvisation and spontaneity are important aspects of these practices, as is the relationship between the work, the space and the “live” audience.

Performance places the body at the center, making it a site for creativity, investigation, expression and learning. At Srishti, the performing arts inform many of the programs of study by providing the students a context to engage with the body as a creative and expressive element in art and design practice. In this way, the performing arts enable a unique way of making meaning of and in, the worlds that we inhabit. The current global focus on embodiment is reimagined here through the practice of making with the body.