Avantika Bharati / Akhila Vimal C is a performance theorist, ecocultural strategist, and dancer whose work spans the intersections of performance studies, cultural studies, ethnochoreology, dance pedagogy, and disability aesthetics. Her research critically engages with intercultural performance traditions from India, focusing on choreographies, training systems, textual narratives, and contemporary practices.
She holds a PhD in Theatre and Performance Studies from Jawaharlal Nehru University and was awarded the Fulbright-Nehru Postdoctoral Fellowship (2022–2024). During her tenure at the Department of World Arts and Cultures/Dance and the Center for Disability Studies at UCLA, she developed a practice-led pedagogy for blind and low-vision performers, exploring inclusive frameworks grounded in embodied inquiry, cultural specificity, and accessibility.
Avantika currently holds several leadership roles, including:
Vice President
Access, Equity & Inclusion, Association of Asian Performance
Guest Editor
Conversations Across the Field of Dance Studies
Guest Editor
Journal of Emerging Dance Scholarship
Executive Committee Member
Dance Alliance India
She is the Founder and Managing Trustee of the Sapta Foundation, an interdisciplinary initiative dedicated to accessibility, sacred ecology, cultural continuity, equitable education, integrated well-being, and justice across India’s cultural and knowledge landscapes.
Her work is situated at the intersection of research, pedagogy, and performance, combining deep critical engagement with longstanding community-based practice and more than two decades of experience in classical and ritual performance traditions.