Dance group Natyapriya specialises in Indian classical and folk dance |
Natyapriya is a group of dynamic and energetic women based in Norwich who share a passion for dance. Anne Tiburtius explains how the group was formed and shares her enthusiasm for their art. The name Natyapriya sums up how we feel about our passion. ‘Natya’ means dance in Sanskrit and ‘priya’ means love, so you could say that we are lovers of dance. When the group formed in November 1996 for a five-minute dance act at theNorwich International Club as a part of their Women’s Day celebrations, we fully expected not to dance again. Sharing the spectacle  A Natyapriya dancer |
But we had underestimated the interest that our act generated. Very soon we had a handful of bookings in venues in Norwich - even some which were paid! Our audiences were so enthusiastic and warm about our work that we slowly began to accept that we were quite good. Now the group has been going for four years, the number of performances have increased steadily and we, for our part, are now committed more than ever to sharing the joy and spectacle of dance. Natyapriya specialises in Indian classical and folk dancing. We also perform dance-dramas, theatrical pieces, pure dance forms and compositions that are a synthesis of styles and often incorporate the spoken word. From classical to contemporary 
Founder Anne Tiburtius |
The core group has played a key role in staging two extremely successful Indian fashion shows which had a considerable emphasis on dance. The music that we perform to is as varied as our dances and includes classical composers such as Ravi Shankar and Shahji Maharaj and contemporary composers like Zakir Hussain, Colonial Cousins and Shiv Kumar Sharma. We are constantly widening our repertoire and it is always exciting to see where the next inspiration springs from. Natyapriya performs and runs workshops in schools and educational institutions, tailored to suit the requirements of particular groups. First published: 2002. | 
