ADITI Mangaldas was only 11 years old when she visited Bali. She was instantly captivated by the Balinese legong dance—the facial expressions, the eyes, the body in rapid motion, much like the Indian classical dance of kathak she was then learning to master.

Mangandas was introduced to the tradition of kathak at the very tender age of 5. She remembers how, as a child, she was "so difficult to control" and how she used to ju