Jayachandran Palazhy, Founder and Artistic Director of Attakkalari Centre for Movement Arts is an internationally sought-after dancer and choreographer at the forefront of the contemporary Indian movement arts scene.
Driven by Attakkalari’s underlying philosophy “Traditional Physical Wisdom, Innovation & Technology”, Jayachandran is deeply committed to extending the reach of contemporary movement arts. His path breaking work makes Indian movement expressions of contemporary reality more visible both nationally and internationally. A Physics graduate from Kerala, Jayachandran trained in India in Bharatanatyam, Kathakali, Indian folk dances and the martial art form of Kalarippayattu. Moving to London, where he lived for 15 years, Jayachandran trained at the prestigious London Contemporary Dance School and studied Classical Ballet, Tai Chi, Capoeira and African Dance. During his time in London he established the Imlata Dance Company which was supported by Arts Council of England and several UK based national dance agencies. While in the U.K., he was awarded the Barclays New Stage Award for innovative work and selected to represent the UK as an emerging choreographer in an international forum.
A gifted and innovative choreographer, Jayachandran’s collaborations with international artists whose works involve digital arts and interactive technology have resulted in some very exciting multimedia dance productions of a unique genre. “City Maps”, “TransAvatar”, “Purushartha”, “Chronotopia”, “For Pina…” and “MeiDhwani” to name a few of his productions – have received widespread critical acclaim and toured extensively internationally and within India.
Jayachandran has undertaken research on subjects such as ‘Teaching Methodology in Performing Arts of Kerala’ and as part of a collaborative project at the Arizona State University he worked on the ‘Role of Interactive Technology and Telematics in Performance’. At Attakkalari Jayachandran has directed an exhaustive research and documentation project NAGARIKA – on the movement principles of Indian physical traditions. This seminal research series is the first such initiative in India in the field of traditional performing arts and is historically important.
A man of many talents, Jayachandran works extensively as a consultant in different parts of the world. He has led several artistic residencies, presented papers and delivered lecture demonstrations on a range of allied subjects related to movement arts. In 2010 – 2011 alone, Jayachandran Palazhy was invited as a respondent for seminars and residencies in Switzerland (through Pro Helvetia Swiss Arts Council), in London (at the South Bank Centre), China (to lead a workshop on “Tradition and Innovation”), Germany (by the International Tanzmesse nrw & the Free University of Berlin), France (by the French Embassy for the Biennale de Lyon), Israel (by the Suzanne Dellal Centre), Japan (by the Kobe – Asia Contemporary Dance Festival), South Korea (for a collaboration with Dance Theatre CcadoO), Sweden (by the Museum of World Cultures and the Swedish School of Textiles) and the U.S. (for the Philadelphia Live Arts Festival).