The elegance and posture maintained while performing fast-paced arm gestures, and rhythmic footwork was impressive, as was the control required to balance in poses.

Nava Dance Theatre has gracefully married tradition with modernity, allowing for the exploration of modern themes to be appreciated across cultural divides.

Nava’s latest work, “Rogue Gestures/Foreign Bodies,” is inspired by Thekkek’s mother, who moved to the U.S. as an unmarried nurse in 1978, and remained working even after agreeing to an arranged marriage and having children. Thekkek traces this story back to the 1965 Immigration Act, which ended many racially discriminatory practices and opened an era of Indian immigration — including Indian women who came alone to work jobs in health care