DASAMAHAVIDYA: THE SEARCH FOR WISDOM to Open at Gibney Dance

Silambam Phoenix will present the New York City premiere of Dasamahavidya, a new dance play created by mother daughter team Dr. Srimathy Mohan and Vaibu Mohan, on Thursday, October 15, 2026 at 7:00 PM in Studio U at Gibney Dance. The piece brings together Bharatanatyam, a classical dance form from South India, and the structure of a stage play, with a protagonist, spoken dialogue, and a story that carries the audience from start to finish. No prior knowledge of Indian classical dance is needed to come and be a part of this experience.

Dasamahavidya follows the Devotee, a woman who has spent years doing everything she was supposed to do and still feels an ache she cannot name. She walks away from her life and sets out on a pilgrimage.

On the road she meets ten powerful, strange, and sometimes terrifying women drawn from the Mahavidyas, the ten wisdom goddesses from Hindu Tantric tradition. One quiets her racing mind. One tempts her with comfort and wealth. A cranky old widow hands her a broom and tells her to sweep. Another freezes her mid-step and silences her. Each strips away something she has been holding onto: her restlessness, her wanting, her fear of aging, her ego, her need to be pure, her need to know, and finally her fear of death. But what comes after we are emptied of fear?

'I've spent my life moving between two worlds: Bharatanatyam on one side, and playwriting and musical theater on the other,' says Vaibu Mohan, writer and Associate Artistic Director of Silambam Phoenix. 'Dasamahavidya is where they finally meet. It's a dance play, and it's for everyone. If you can follow a story, you can follow this show.'

The premiere is part of Silambam Phoenix's season-long celebration of Sangita Kalanidhi Sri R.K. Shriramkumar, the acclaimed Carnatic musician who composed the production's score. Dasamahavidya arrives during Navaratri, the festival season that honors the feminine divine in her many forms, making it a fitting time to meet these ten remarkable figures.

The performance will be followed by a short talkback with Dr. Srimathy Mohan, Vaibu Mohan, and Sri R.K. Shriramkumar.

Dasamahavidya was originally created by Dr. Srimathy Mohan, Sangita Kalanidhi Sri R.K. Shriramkumar, and Kalaimamani Priya Murle. This version features a new script by Vaibu Mohan, choreography by Srimathy Mohan, and direction by Srimathy Mohan and Vaibu Mohan.

Featuring a dynamic company of dancers including Miriam Anderson, Srividhya Chandramouleeswaran, Nethra Gururaj, Prithvi Mohan, Srimathy Mohan, Vaibu Mohan, Shreeya Suriyanarayanan, and Keerthana Venkatesh.

Tickets are available at www.silambamphoenix.org.

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