British Tamil Bharatanatyam dancers compete in Move It Championships 2026

A team of Bharatanatyam dancers from London are making waves in UK’s dance scene, putting a much welcomed spotlight on the traditional South Indian dance form.

Back in 2025, Navarasa Nayakis, founded by dancer & choreographer Luxika Ellalan made it within the top 10 ranking of World of Dance, London edition. This inspired her and her team to participate in the Move It Championships 2026 in London.

Move It is one of the biggest dance stages in the UK and this was the first edition of the Championships. It brought together top teams from across the country, with an incredibly high standard of training, performance, and choreography, and was judged by some of the most respected names in the industry, including Dame Arlene Phillips.

“We wanted to give our best shot at representing Bharatanatyam on such a prestigious stage. We sent our audition tape in October and in December, we heard back that we’d been selected as part of the top 30 teams to compete at the show in March. We began training & rehearsing from January,” said Luxika.

In early March, the Navarasa Nayakis took to the stage at Excel London. The theme – discovering your voice and having the courage to show your authentic self. The choreography was rooted in Bharatanatyam, and used non-traditional music to illustrate the art form’s versatility as a language.

Judged amongst 30 teams from across the UK, representing a range of different styles, the judging panel were impressed by the performance, selecting Navarasa Nayakis as part of the Top 9 to compete in the finals, held on the same day.

Congratulations to all involved, putting a spotlight on Bharathanatyam on the national stage.

Navarasa Nayakis

Founder & Choreographer: Luxika Ellalan

Nayakis: Keerthana Sasitharan, Subi Chandrakumar , Archie Gajendran, Prethika Jayakumar, Archanna Arunathevan, Supeetha David, Mohana Mahesh, Bharani Manjunath, Rhea Nair