Posted on 23 October 2026:

💫  #YathraRhythm: Poetry in Motion

MEET MARIE FATIMA VARMA, THE GENEVA-BASED BHARATANATYAM DANCER, TEACHER AND ORGANISER TAKING INDIAN CLASSICAL DANCE ACROSS EUROPE.

Marie Fatima Varma: A Bharatanatyam Dancer Carrying India’s Classical Heritage from Geneva to the Stages of Europe

Some journeys begin quietly, with a first step in a dance studio, and unfold into a lifetime of devotion. For Marie Fatima Varma, a Bharatanatyam dancer, performer and teacher based in the Geneva region of Switzerland and France, that step was taken in 2003 under Guru Pratiksha Lakhani. More than two decades later, it has become a luminous artistic path that stretches across continents.

Her training deepened in 2019 at Ganesa Natyalaya, New Delhi, where she studied under the late Guru Dr. Saroja Vaidyanathan and later Guru Rama Vaidyanathan, absorbing an extensive repertoire of Bharatanatyam choreographies. 

In April 2026 she presented her Arangetram in India, guided by Guru Rama Vaidyanathan and her teacher Dakshina Vaidyanathan Baghel. Among those in attendance was the celebrated actress and dancer Meenakshi Seshadri, who appreciated Fatima’s artistry.

Her stage now spans Europe. She is a regular performer at Sahaja Yoga international cultural events in Italy, France and Switzerland.

In September 2026 she appeared as principal dancer on a two-week music, dance and meditation tour through Bordeaux, Tours, Saint-Malo, Rouen, Compiègne, Paris and Lille.

The cinema has also noticed her. In June 2026 she was featured in the opening sequence of I Am the Spirit, an upcoming film directed by Hugo Boué and shot in Scotland.

Beyond performing, Fatima is a devoted teacher in the Geneva region, sharing the technique, repertoire and expressive traditions of Bharatanatyam with her students.

She has also turned organiser, bringing renowned dancer Pritam Das’s two solo performances, SHAKTYA and ANURĀGĀVALI, to Theater STOK, Zürich.

In her dance, ancient tradition meets a global audience with grace.

💫   #YathraRhythm