India, Nov. 6 -- When the lights dim at Bal Gandharva Rangmandir on November 8, a new kind of lake will ripple into being - one where the icy moonlight of Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake meets the molten grace of Odissi. Hansika, choreographed by Sharmila Mukherjee with music by Praveen D Rao, invites two classical worlds - Russian ballet and Indian classical dance - to converse in the language of longing.

The production, presented by the Sanjali Centre for Odissi Dance, reimagines Swan Lake through the sculptural poses and expressive abhinaya of Odissi. Odette's anguish and Odile's guile find new articulation in the flicker of eyes and the eloquence of wrists. "Since childhood, I've been fascinated by Western ballet - especially Swan Lake," Muk...