Founded in 2025, Forgotten Footsteps is a social initiative concerned with questions of access, visibility, and engagement in relation to minoritized Indian dance forms, alongside broader considerations of participation in the performing arts among girls from underserved backgrounds.
The project is organized around a particular set of functions and aims, namely:
Through introductory workshops and creative educational materials, the initiative is oriented toward creating opportunities for students to encounter diverse Indian dance forms, with attention to their movement practices, historical contexts, and cultural significance.
By engaging with dance practitioners and related scholarship, the project seeks to document and reflect on the origins, meanings, and contemporary conditions of minoritized traditions, situating these practices within wider discussions of culture, gender, and heritage.
By considering performance-driven fundraising formats, Forgotten Footsteps explores ways in which underrepresented dance practices might be shared with broader audiences, while acknowledging the economic and institutional constraints faced by practitioners.
Taken together, these strands frame Forgotten Footsteps as an evolving inquiry into how cultural knowledge is transmitted, how practices are valued, and how young learners might encounter and more meaningfully engage with India’s diverse dance traditions, enabled by educational and community factors.