Śiva Bhāva: Love, Care, and the Cosmos

Śiva Bhāva: Love, Care, and the Cosmos is an intimate performance of South Asian dance and music dedicated to dance and love. Performances take place February 20–22, 2026, at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn St., Chicago.

A fusion of three South Asian classical dance styles, Bharatanatyam, Kathak, and Odissi, Śiva Bhāva explores how Shiva, a deity revered across South Asian spiritual practices, embodies both collective and individual expressions of love through sacred art forms. This force is understood as both form and formlessness, as expansive as the five elements of earth, water, fire, air, and ether, yet as intimate and personal as breathing. By invoking this divine energy, the program honors dance as a spiritual offering, an embodied experience, and a timeless expression of love.

This 75-minute production features original choreography by dancers and choreographers Anindita Anaam, Shruti Parthasarathy, and Misha Talapatra, with Shruti Parthasarathy serving as creative director. The work is accompanied by a live South Asian orchestra featuring vocalist Siddhesh Kudale, mridangist Siddharth Devarajan, and violinist Sri Perangur, enriching the performance with a dynamic musical landscape.