Mandeep Raikhy

Mandeep Raikhy

Mandeep Raikhy is a dancer and choreographer based out of New Delhi. He pursued his BA (Honours) in Dance Theatre at Laban, London, and worked with the Shobana Jeyasingh Dance Company, London for several years. He has created three full-length works, 'Inhabited Geometry' (2010), 'A Male Ant has Straight Antennae' (2013) and 'Queen-size' (2016). Mandeep divides his time between creating and touring his artistic work, and being a dance administrator at Gati Dance Forum.

  • Main photo long description: This first (main) photograph shows a performance of Mandeep Raikhy’s choreographic creation ‘Queen-size’ under way at Sitara Studio in Mumbai. The setting is typical for a ‘Queen-size’ show – Lalit Khatana and Parinay Mehra, the two dancers are performing around a charpoy, which is placed in the centre of the performance space – a studio room or small hall. The audience is also seated around the charpoy in an intimate arrangement that is a complete departure from a proscenium setting. The performers are on the right side of the bed, touching each other intimately as they pass by slowly and gaze into each other’s eyes. The lighting is dim, but the charpoy roping is a bright white, especially compared to the audience figures shrouded in darkness. Lalit Khatana, facing the camera, is to the right; he is tall, somewhat heavy built and hirsute, wearing an orange shirt with sleeves folded up and dark trousers; Parinay Mehra with his back to the camera is a shade shorter, slightly built and is in a grey t-shirt and cream coloured trousers. The photograph is taken from behind a few people in the audience seated on chairs. Photo credit: Kavi Datt.
    Clickhappy!, Creations Mar '17

    Coming out on the charpoy

    By Mandeep Raikhy

    Mandeep Raikhy on the spaces that his choreographic creation Queen-size has occupied across India in resistance against criminalization of queer intimacies. I made Queen-size in order to take it OUT. Out of theatres...

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