Magdalen Gorringe

🪔 About

Magdalen Gorringe is a distinguished Bharatanatyam dancer, teacher, choreographer, writer, and independent researcher, primarily based in Britain. She began her Bharatanatyam training as a child in the South Indian temple town of Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India. Upon returning to the UK, she continued her studies under Prakash Yadagudde of the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan in London, where she performed her arangetram, or debut performance, in 1999. Her training further extended with renowned artists such as Mavin Khoo (for three years) and Stella Subbiah (for a further year, and continued training with her later). In 2003, she received a Lisa Ullmann Travelling Scholarship to train with the then-Kalakshetra director, Leela Samson. Gorringe has dedicated over twenty-five years to working as a Bharatanatyam dancer in Britain, encompassing roles as a performer, teacher, workshop leader, and producer. She has choreographed original works, including her solo piece "Litany," performed at venues such as the Purcell Room, RFH (as part of Akademi's Daredevas 2005) and the Robin Howard Theatre (The Place) as part of Resolution! in 2006. In 2016, she choreographed "If I Could Reach Home…," interpreting poems by Birmingham-based asylum seekers, a project supported by an Akademi Choreogata Award. Beyond her performance career, Gorringe holds a B.A. in Theology and Religious Studies from Cambridge University and an MPhil in Classical Indian Religions from Oxford University. In 2021, she earned a PhD from the University of Roehampton, supported by a Vice-Chancellor's scholarship, for her thesis "Towards a British Natyam: Creating a 'British' classical Indian dance profession." This research was subsequently published as a book in 2025. Her academic work critically examines the professionalization of classical Indian dance in Britain and its role in decolonizing knowledge formations. She has also delivered workshops for numerous arts organizations, including Akademi and Shobana Jeyasingh Dance Company, and worked with early years initiatives. Awards & Honours: Lisa Ullmann Travelling Scholarship (2003), Akademi Choreogata Award, Vice-Chancellor's scholarship.