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Green Silence

2026

Green Silence is a site-specific research project exploring the human connection to outdoor green spaces through the intersection of choreography, poetry, story, and sound.

The work was first premiered in New Zealand in October 2023. It was later further developed in Kochi, India, and presented on 1 February 2026 at David Hall Gallery, Fort Kochi, with an ensemble of 17 dancers, of which I was one.

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Choreography: Sarah Elsworth
Music Composer: Anita Clark
Venue: David Hall Gallery, Fort Kochi

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Unfair And Handsome

2025

Unfair and Handsome is a solo dance theatre work that satirically examines the obsession with specific aesthetic body images promoted on digital platforms such as Instagram. The piece reflects on how these curated visual standards often conceal the vast potential, diversity, and extreme physical capabilities of the human body.

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Through movement, text, and performative situations, the work also highlights the absurd processes behind creating online videos and the performer’s ongoing struggle with the camera as both a witness and a judge. Drawing inspiration from the performer’s favourite insect, the honey bee, the piece explores alternative physicalities and movement qualities, creating a stark contrast to the polished and controlled bodies typically celebrated on social media. 

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Premiere: 17 December 2025, Serendipity Arts Festival


Supported by: British Council Arts and Attakkalari Centre for Movement Arts


Mentored by: Ashley Lobo and Dickson Mbi

Asap (As slow as possible)

2025

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This site-specific work investigates how moving bodies can transform public space and influence the perception of spectators. The performance took place in two busy public locations in Tonk district, Rajasthan - my hometown, a small third-tier town where encounter with contemporary performance in public spaces has never happened before.

These locations are typically chaotic and crowded, with no traffic lights or strict road regulations. Yet people navigate through the space with an intuitive rhythm, moving past one another with remarkable ease. In this context, six performers moved slowly through the space for 30 minutes at each site, inviting passersby to pause and observe alternative ways of occupying and reclaiming public space.

The contrast was striking: a few slow, harmless moving bodies were enough to puncture the constant flow of the bustling environment and momentarily shift the rhythm of the city.

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Concept and Choreography: Ashish Karnawat
Performers: Avdhesh, Ashish, Ashish, Ashish, Gappi, and Rama
Supported by: Community Theatre Team and DIstrict Administration, Tonk, Rajasthan.

Tanzmesse Dance Festival

2024

I was part of International Visitors Programme at Tanzmesse Festival, 2024 in Dusseldorf Germany. It was supported by Goethe Institut, New Delhi, India.

DId I MAke SEnse?

2023

It is an excerpt of 1 hour performance having the base of Stand Up Comedy, It is an absurd show taht deals with daily relatable activities not linked to each other at all. The idea is to question the human obsession to find meaning out of everything so as soon as 1 story tries to mean i just switch to complete different one. I have been doing it since 2023, 15 shows in 5 different cities in India, this performance helped me to delve ointo the genre of comedy completeley.

Times of Contemporary India

2023

This piece was developed as part of Invisible Dance: The Body in Friction, a dance residency held in 2023 in Ahmedabad, India, with the support of Goethe-Institut India and Indonesia. I was selected as one of nine artists representing six South Asian countries: India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Bangladesh.

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Architect of Self destruction

2023

Architect of Self Destruction is a 70-minute contemporary dance performance choreographed by Abhilash Ningappa (Bengaluru). Originally premiered in 2016, the work was reimagined and recreated in 2023 with a new ensemble of dancers. 

I was part of the 2023 cast, performing the solo section featured in this video.

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Performance Space: Play Practice Artists Residency, Bengaluru, India.

Sparkling कचरा (Trash)

2022

Sparkling à¤•चरा was my diploma project, premiered in Canvas Dance Festival 2022, Bangalore.

This dance theatre performance is based on caste discrimination in India. It portrays a day in the life of an individual whose daily experiences of abuse and mistreatment gradually lead to insomnia.

Undergraduate Dissertation

(2020)

HOW HIP HOP IS EMPOWERING YOUTH IN DHARAVI – A Holistic Research On The Model “After School of Hip Hop”.

© 2026 Ashish Karnawat. All rights reserved.

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