TEMPLE OF DESIRE ENGAGED 45 FEMALE, QUEER AND TRANS DANCERS OF COLOUR FROM THE SOUTH ASIAN DIASPORA ACROSS MELBOURNE, SYDNEY, QUEENSLAND, TORONTO AND GEELONG REACHING CLOSE TO 2000 AUDIENCE MEMBERS AND 50 COMMUNITY PARTICIPANTS.
FOR MORE INFO ON TEMPLE OF DESIRE (INCLUDING AWARDS AND TOUR LOCATIONS) CLICK HERE!
FOR ALL MEDIA COVERAGE REGARDING TEMPLE OF DESIRE AND KARMA DANCE, SEE BELOW
Press
2026 Temple of Desire Review - STUN Magazine
2026 Archer Asks: Karma Dance’s Govind Pillai on sensual divinity and dance-worship (re: Temple of Desire)
2026 Reclaiming space through movement as a brown woman in Australia (by Suhaniya) (participant in Temple of Desire)
2026 SBS Tamil covers Temple of Desire: Bharatanatyam, Identity, Liberation (with Saranya and Arul)
2026 Temple of Desire: Reclaiming Tradition through Bharatanatyam
2026 Temple of Desire at Sydney Opera House
2026 Temple of Desire heads to Sydney Opera House after award-winning runs
2026 Desire takes center stage in dance show (Geelong Advertiser - Re: Temple of Desire)
2026 A Dazzling celebration of freedom (Re: Temple of Desire)
2025 Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) reviews Temple of Desire, Toronto
2025 Sesaya Arts reviews Temple of Desire, Toronto
2025 The Grind reviews Temple of Desire, Toronto
2025 Karma Dance brings Temple of Desire to Toronto Fringe
2024 ARTS HUB Review: Temple of Desire: Malthouse Theatre
2024 THE AGE: Temple of Desire pre-season coverage
2024 Breaking form in Bharatanatyam: Govind Pillai’s ‘Temple of Desire’ (Indian Link)
2022 THE AGE: Karma Dance at State Library
Victoria
2022 THE CONVERSATION: Govind Pillai in Finucane & Smith’s Future.Joy.Club
2022. AUSTRALIAN STAGE: Govind Pillai in Finucane & Smith’s Future.Joy.Club
2020 We’ve been here before (Arts Centre,
Melbourne)
2019 THE AGE: Go West for the Due West Arts
Festival - Raina and Govind in Kala
2019 Dismantle the colonial institutions of gender
binary
2019 Indian dance traditions smash through gender
binary
2019 Third Nature: Breaking down body stigma
2018 It is bent, it is bollywood it is so much more
2018 Raunchy yet riveting
2018 Smart beyond their bodies
2018 Raina displays power of dance
2018 Bending gender through dance
2018 New twist on Indian dance set to dazzle
2017 Arangetram Next-gen Approach
2016 Deconstructing Bharatanatyam
2016 The Dance of Vedanta
2015 The Beauty and Technical Rigour of Classical Indian Dance Interpreted by a Divine Couple
2015 In Plain Sanskrit - Reviewed
2015 Complexity disguised 'In Plain Sanskrit'
2015 Dance Program on the Precipice of Tradition
2015 Art of the Ancients
2015 Tradition and Modernity: an interview
2015 A Dance Performance That Erases Boundaries
2014 Performers Embrace Universal Language of
Dance
2014 Govind Pillai's Journey of
Social Change Through Art
2014 Classical Indian Arts in a New
Australian Generation
2014 Mother Tongue Opens at Bangarra
2013 Usha Ramanujam reviews Sutra
2013 Tagore Comes Alive
2013 Tagore’s Vision The Poetry of India
2011 Finding the Divine in Dance
2011 Sarvesha
2010 Shakti Dominates Body & Soul
2010 Rare Chance to Watch Two Dancing Siblings
2009 Govind Pillai is a Brilliant Dancer
2009 Govind Conquers Bhava & Bhakti
2009 A Passion for Dance
2008 A Sentimental Yatra
TELEVISION
ABC covers Temple of Desire and its community impact at Sydney Opera House
SBS Spice covers Temple of Desire:
’Breaking Norms, Loving Tradition’
SBS Spice covers Temple of Desire:
’ On Kali performing massacres’
SBS Spice covers Temple of Desire:
’Bharatanatyam is about spirituality and sensuality’
ABC: Midsumma’s BODY champions trans and gender diverse artists
TVNZ Covers our production ‘Sutra Secrets of Classical Indian dance’
New Zealand's Leader of the Opposition speaks in support of our work:
ABC TV (Australia) Breakfast Show:
TVS behind-the-scenes coverage of ‘Sutra: secrets of classical Indian dance’