Manjari Chaturvedi performs The Courtesan Project

Conceptualized and directed by Manjari Chaturvedi
The Courtesan Project has become one of the most successful dance revival movement in today’s time. Giving a voice to the women and 100s years of creative contribution to theatre, cinema and performing arts, the Courtesan Project is recognised, loved and appreciated globally for its unique story telling and the highlights the forgotten legends of music and dance.
Manjari Chaturvedi has taken her obsession with classical dance and turned it into more than expression: in her hands, it is cultural renaissance and syncretism; narrative form and dialogue.
Nothing is more evocative of this than “The Courtesan Project”, a unique research and documentation exercise via which Manjari seeks to chronicle the historically remarkable role of the ‘tawaif’ in artistic life: as muse to poets and painters, writers and kings, musicians and leaders.
And in so doing, she seeks to claim for these maligned women the reverence due them for their learning and their performance art; their intelligence and wit; their talent and raw sensual power."
This project is a medium to draw the attention of the society towards our erstwhile courtesans and how discriminatory practices impacted NOT only their life but also of their families. Thus, advocating and creating much required space for them as an ‘artist” in the society through cultural activism and social change..
This is an exhaustive research as it brings alive dance and stories of women who were stigmatised by the society for being performers both music and dance and in an unfortunate society ridden by gender discrimination were not even part of the documentation history of the performing arts.
Hence it becomes imminent we tell their brilliant stories to the world and show their their art, their music, their dance. This is a part of the gender in arts, and how the gender of performer shapes the art for future. Those forgotten dancers called tawaif & nachnewali who do not find space in the documentation of performing arts, whereas their counterpart men performers are referred to as "Ustads" and the incredible women merely as "Nautch Girls". These were the women who moved from the Kotha and formed the part of the Parsi theatre and then subsequently were the first women performers for the big Hindi Film Industry. And their contribution to art largely remains un acknowledged. This project brings their art to the foreground.

[@SimranUS]

Subhan allah... kya khoob. just discovered MANJARI JI & am her greatest fan... love from simran USA...🎉🎉🎉

[@vishalshukla3153]

Beautiful, the way you present this beauty of dance form it's adorable,I am as a student can't describe in words ❤❤My professor suggested me to watch this , now I realise why he ask me to watch this ....

[@anniesharmaaa]

So beautiful ❤️

[@surbhisoni5297]

👏👏👏👌