'Winged' is an ode to nature and to the human capacity to find rhythm together. A sensory experience that takes you along as if on a flight. 

In this sensory experience, choreographer Kalpana Raghuraman translates the behavior of bird flocks to the stage. Just as birds in the air constantly respond to their neighbors to move as one organism, five dancers and two percussionists from HIIIT (formerly Slagwerk Den Haag) continuously listen and watch each other. The result is a choreography that is simultaneously free and extremely precise. 

The movement language of Kalpanarts is hybrid and unique. Raghuraman, also Creative Associate at Dutch National Ballet, combines South Indian classical dance Bharatanatyam with contemporary dance and urban influences. In this style, tradition and innovation reinforce each other through rhythmic footwork, expressive hand gestures, and powerful body lines. The dancers also perform as musicians; their bodies create rhythm and function as an instrument. 

This rhythm forms the beating heart of the performance. Inspired by Indian rhythm systems and diverse polyrhythms, the patterns continuously shift. The live percussion provides the musical backbone that sets movements in motion, while the choreography in turn influences the musical flow. 

In the group's dynamics, an interesting tension emerges: sometimes the dancers move as a tight unit, then again the structure breaks open. 'Winged' poses the question of how much autonomy an individual can relinquish to become part of a collective. Through Raghuraman's anthropological lens, this question becomes not merely a theoretical concept, but a tangible, rhythmic experience.