A pioneer in its field, Kolkata Sanved uses dance movement therapy as an alternative approach to recovery and healing for the most marginalized members of society. Through its groundbreaking model, called Sampurnata (“fulfillment” in Bengal), survivors of trafficking and violence release trauma, develop confidence, and identify their own potentials as human beings—rather than as victims.
Kolkata Sanved’s Dance Movement Therapy workshops allow survivors to develop specific life-skills important for their reintegration into mainstream society. The organization also works with at-risk groups, using dance as a tool to improve children’s mental health and overall well-being. These programs are carried out in a variety of contexts, meeting children where they are—whether at childcare institutions, at school, in redlight districts, on railway platforms, or in urban slums.
A fundamental principle underlying the Sampoornata model is that survivors can become healers—participants are given the opportunity to evolve into Dance Movement Therapy practitioners. In this way, they become agents of change in their communities, creating an incredible cycle of transformation.
Ashoka fellow Sohini Chakraborty, the founder and director of Kolkata Sanved, fused her years of training in dance and theater with her background in sociological research to establish dance movement therapy as a path to recovery and healing.