Into the Dreams of Heroes | Vipin’s eyes are full of wonder. “The best moment is when Bhima kills Doussasana, rips out his heart and drinks his blood - you see it all - it is very scary.” Vipin is 12 and a new boy at the Kerala Kalamandalam, the famous academy of Kathakali, the great dance drama of Southern India. He and his friends at the school are allowed backstage to see their teachers, experts in their fields, preparing for a version of the Mahabharatha, a classic tale of good and evil. Kathakali, like Vipin’s breathless account, is a vibrant and rich celebration of India’s imagination.

Read more here

Arun, a student at the Kerala Kalamandalam, the State academy for kathakali, stands in a shaft of light after practice
Boys practice at dawn at a dance class
Boys practice eye exercises at dawn
A boy is corrected by his master at the Kerala Kalamandalam
Boys oil themselves before a massage by a teacher
A boy is massaged by his teacher
A boy sweats after a morning dance class at the Kerala Kalamandalam
Professor Balasubramanian corrects senior pupils postures
Two students, one admiring himself in a mirror, relax in their room at the Kerala Kalamandalam
Two boys relax in their dorm
Boys chat in their dormitory after class
Professor Balasubramanian, a senior teacher of Kathakali, rests as he applies make up before a performance at the Kerala Kala...
An actor offers a prayer before commencing his make up
A Kathikali performance at theKerala Kalamandalam
An actor leaps into the audience during a production of the Ramayana at the Kalamandalam
A dusk, two students practise dance moves in the grounds of the Kerala Kalamandalam