Newcastle-based Kuchipudi dancer and choreographer Payal Ramchandani will premiere her powerful new dance-theatre work Just Enough Madness at Dance City on 22 November, before taking the production to Bradford and Salford in March 2026.
Blending the expressive grace of Kuchipudi with bold contemporary storytelling, Just Enough Madness confronts often-unspoken themes of motherhood, miscarriage, and mental health, creating space for dialogue through movement and silence alike.
Through poetic text, ritual, and a striking live musical score, the piece moves through presence and absence, joy and rupture, asking what we carry, what we lose, and what we dare to reclaim in becoming – or unbecoming – a mother. Just Enough Madness sees Payal perform alongside live musicians in this raw and haunting confrontation between internal grief and external judgement.
As one of the very few artists representing Kuchipudi in the UK, Payal is at the forefront of bringing the form to new audiences, committed to ensuring its continued relevance today. Her work merges classical technique and tradition with contemporary themes, using Kuchipudi both as a lens and language to engage with pressing social and emotional narratives.
An award-winning artist with a growing national and international profile, Payal’s work has been showcased across theatres, festivals, galleries, and digital platforms. Her practice fosters empathy, encouraging audiences to see themselves in the work, where movement becomes a catalyst for reflection and resonance.
Kuchipudi, a South Indian classical dance form originating in Andhra Pradesh, is primarily performed to Carnatic music. Known for its rhythmic footwork, fluid movement, and expressive storytelling, it weaves gesture, mime, and characterisation into powerful dance-theatre.
Of Just Enough Madness, Payal Ramchandani said:
“Kuchipudi is often seen only as a classical tradition, but for me it is also a language to express what is unspoken. In Just Enough Madness, I use the form to explore the silences around motherhood – what it means to become, or to un-become, a mother. I hope audiences glimpse something of their own journeys in the work.”
