THE VEIL

The Veil explores how patriarchal shame becomes internalised and expressed through the body. It draws on the artists’ own experiences with visibility, identity, and self-censorship in the face of social judgment. Blending digital projections with movement, the piece combines two contrasting dance styles. Kathak is used for its storytelling depth and historical resilience, having moved from sacred performance to cultural stigma and back again. Heels dance incorporates the stiletto, a symbol of objectification now reimagined as a tool of empowerment and sensuality. Working with somatic therapists, the artists examine how shame is stored in the body. Movement becomes a language for release and transformation. Concealment and exposure are not opposites but part of a negotiation between identity and protection. The Veil invites audiences into this emotional landscape. It is a powerful meditation on how women navigate agency and oppression through movement, and how dance can serve as both a shield and a form of protest.