Schedule: Freny Pavri's residency at Yarn
- Alena Walker
- Sep 10
- 9 min read
Updated: Sep 29
Between 29 September and 3 October, Yarn's Artist in Residence Freny Pavri transforms Yarn into a living studio, open for observation and participation.
This September, we’re delighted to welcome multidisciplinary artist Freny Pavri as Yarn’s first Artist in Residence. Her residency, Practice, opens up the unseen rhythms of dance, music, yoga and voice, inviting you to both witness and take part.
From Monday 29 September to Friday 3 October, Freny will be working at Yarn each day. The programme blends open practice sessions, where you can simply drop in to observe, with participatory workshops that invite you to join in: some free, some ticketed.
Here’s how you can take part:
Observation: Freny warmly invites you to drop in and witness her creative process. Observation is a key part of the experience and all are welcome. No booking needed.
Free Participation: Join selected group sessions at no cost (booking required).
Paid Participation: Take part in structured classes and masterclasses (booking required).
Whether you come to quietly observe or immerse yourself in a workshop, Practice offers a rare chance to experience the repetition, discipline and joy that shape Freny’s creative life.
Below you’ll find the full schedule. Wherever you see a ticketed session (free or paid), click through to the What’s On page to book your place.
**Please see our digital flyer for the most current schedule** here
Monday 29 September
9.15–10.30 — Yoga: Paid Participation, booking required
Gentle alignment-based practice open to all.
Freny’s yoga draws from a simple, classical style she first learned at home, before formally training at The Yoga Institute in Mumbai and later opening her own teaching practice, Anahat, in 2020. Her approach supports posture, alignment, balance, coordination, mobility, strength, flexibility and agility, using restraint as a guiding principle. It is gentle, open to all, yet powerfully transformative.
10.30–11.30 — Dance - Whirling: Observation
“Move, but don’t move; whirl, but stay still; plant your feet firmly, and let yourself be ‘whirled’.”
Rooted in Rumi’s Persian Sufi heritage, the whirling dervish tradition took form in 13th-century Konya, Turkey. In the Sema ritual, dervishes spin in meditation, symbolising the spiralling cosmos. Freny will demonstrate her practice of whirling.
12.00–13.00 — Music: Observation
Freny will be practising any of the following: Rudra Veena, Sitar, Tanpura, Singing and Spoken Rhythms.
13.00–13.30 — Guided Meditation: Free Participation, booking required
Meditation and the Imagination:
Learn how to exercise and stretch imagination as an inner workshop where ideas are formed and shaped.
16.00–17.00 — Dance: Observation
Bharatanatyam warm-up: Freny will share her practice, improvising movements based on this classical Indian dance form.
17.00–17.30 — Shaolin Qi Gong & Kung Fu: Observation
A restorative movement session rooted in traditional Shaolin arts.
18.00–19.45 — In Conversation: Freny Pavri on Practice and Performance, booking free, booking required
Join us for an evening with Freny Pavri as we discuss her multidisciplinary practice across dance, music, movement and voice. This is a chance to hear more about Freny’s process, ask your own questions and connect with the thinking behind her work.
The session will close with a short Bharatanatyam performance, featuring choreography by the Thanjai Nalvar.
20.00–21.00 — Singing Session: Free Participation, no booking required
Freny has trained with the Polish theatre company Song of the Goat, developing an approach to ensemble performance that harnesses the power of the collective voice. She will end each day at Yarn with a singing workshop: a welcoming, participatory space where everyone is encouraged to join, regardless of experience.
If you’re already an accomplished singer, you’ll discover yogic techniques and ragas that open new, experimental pathways. In other words: come along - whether you think you can sing, or especially if you think you can’t - and surprise yourself.
Tuesday 30 September
9.15–10.30 — Yoga: Paid Participation, booking required
Gentle alignment-based practice open to all.
Freny’s yoga draws from a simple, classical style she first learned at home, before formally training at The Yoga Institute in Mumbai and later opening her own teaching practice, Anahat, in 2020. Her approach supports posture, alignment, balance, coordination, mobility, strength, flexibility and agility, using restraint as a guiding principle. It is gentle, open to all, yet powerfully transformative.
10.30–11.30 — Dance - Whirling: Observation
“Move, but don’t move; whirl, but stay still; plant your feet firmly, and let yourself be ‘whirled’.”
Rooted in Rumi’s Persian Sufi heritage, the whirling dervish tradition took form in 13th-century Konya, Turkey. In the Sema ritual, dervishes spin in meditation, symbolising the spiralling cosmos. Freny will demonstrate her practice of whirling.
11.30–12.30 — Music: Observation
Freny will be practising any of the following: Rudra Veena, Sitar, Tanpura, Singing and Spoken Rhythms
12.30–13.00 — Guided Meditation: Free Participation, booking required
Meditation and Concentration:
We keep hearing how meditation can help improve our concentration, but how? Let's make it really simple and learn a few meditation exercises that bring your attention into focus. These exercises are from the ancient practices of the yogis of India and can help us improve concentration.
13.30–14.30 — Dance Class with Kitappa: Observation
Freny trains with Chandrasekharan Kittappa Pillai, the eighth-generation descendant of the Quartet, and will livestream her classes with him directly from the original home of the four brothers during her residency.
Come and discover Freny's work with him and witness a class which explains what Bharatanatyam dance is about.
16.00–17.00 — Shaolin qi Gong & Kung Fu: Observation
Freny practising the routines she learns from Shifu Yang
17.00–18.30 — Fascia Masterclass: Paid Participation, booking required
An introduction to fascia, the connective tissue network inside the body, which is key to mobility and regenerative health.
19.30-21.00 — Singing Session: Free Participation, no booking required
Freny has trained with the Polish theatre company Song of the Goat, developing an approach to ensemble performance that harnesses the power of the collective voice. She will end each day at Yarn with a singing workshop: a welcoming, participatory space where everyone is encouraged to join, regardless of experience.
If you’re already an accomplished singer, you’ll discover yogic techniques and ragas that open new, experimental pathways. In other words: come along - whether you think you can sing, or especially if you think you can’t - and surprise yourself.
Wednesday 1 October
9.15–10.30 — Yoga: Paid Participation, booking required
Gentle alignment-based practice open to all.
Freny’s yoga draws from a simple, classical style she first learned at home, before formally training at The Yoga Institute in Mumbai and later opening her own teaching practice, Anahat, in 2020. Her approach supports posture, alignment, balance, coordination, mobility, strength, flexibility and agility, using restraint as a guiding principle. It is gentle, open to all, yet powerfully transformative.
11.00–12.00 — Shaolin qi Gong & Kung Fu: Observation
Freny practising the routines she learns from Shifu Yang
12.00–13.00 — Dance: Observation
“Move, but don’t move; whirl, but stay still; plant your feet firmly, and let yourself be ‘whirled’.”
Rooted in Rumi’s Persian Sufi heritage, the whirling dervish tradition took form in 13th-century Konya, Turkey. In the Sema ritual, dervishes spin in meditation, symbolising the spiralling cosmos. Freny will demonstrate her practice of whirling.
13.00–13.30 — Guided Meditation: Free Participation, booking required
Meditation and Happiness.
The practice of contentment leads to happiness. Learn about the yogic perspective on happiness and the power of our emotional state. What is the impact of emotions on our bodies and our lives.
14.30–15.30 — Music: Observation
Freny will be practising any of the following: Rudra Veena, Sitar, Tanpura, Singing and Spoken Rhythms
15.30–17.30 — Dance - Bharatanatyam: Observation
Practicing Pada Varnam: Mohalagiri Kunden Sami. An extended composition, approximately 40 minutes in length, composed by Thanjai Nalvar. It is a story about a girl, called Nayika who is addressing Krishna directly, and asking why he ignores her, when she is so much in love with him. This is the theme of the dance. It is set in Ragam Todi in a cycle of eight beats, known as Aditalam.
18.00–19.30 — Dance: Observation
19.30-21.00 — Singing Session: Free Participation, no booking required
Freny has trained with the Polish theatre company Song of the Goat, developing an approach to ensemble performance that harnesses the power of the collective voice. She will end each day at Yarn with a singing workshop: a welcoming, participatory space where everyone is encouraged to join, regardless of experience.
If you’re already an accomplished singer, you’ll discover yogic techniques and ragas that open new, experimental pathways. In other words: come along - whether you think you can sing, or especially if you think you can’t - and surprise yourself.
Thursday 2 October
9.00–10.30 — Music: Observation
Freny will be practising any of the following: Rudra Veena, Sitar, Tanpura, Singing and Spoken Rhythms
10.30–11.30 — Dance - Whirling: Observation
“Move, but don’t move; whirl, but stay still; plant your feet firmly, and let yourself be ‘whirled’.”
Rooted in Rumi’s Persian Sufi heritage, the whirling dervish tradition took form in 13th-century Konya, Turkey. In the Sema ritual, dervishes spin in meditation, symbolising the spiralling cosmos. Freny will demonstrate her practice of whirling.
12.00–13.00 — Dance - Bharatanatyam: Observation
Practicing Pada Varnam: Mohalagiri Kunden Sami. An extended composition, approximately 40 minutes in length, composed by Thanjai Nalvar. It is a story about a girl, called Nayika who is addressing Krishna directly, and asking why he ignores her, when she is so much in love with him. This is the theme of the dance. It is set in Ragam Todi in a cycle of eight beats, known as Aditalam.
13.00–13.30 — Guided Meditation: Free Participation, booking required
Meditation, the Body and Energy.
Find how the body assists the mind and the energy to become focussed and channelled according to your wishes.
14.30–15.30 — Dance Class with Kitappa: Observation
Freny trains with Chandrasekharan Kittappa Pillai, the eighth-generation descendant of the Quartet, and will livestream her classes with him directly from the original home of the four brothers during her residency.
Come and discover Freny's work with him and witness a class which explains what Bharatanatyam dance is about.
17.00-18.00 — Who are the Zoroastrians? Free, booking required
Coming from this unique and little-known community, Freny will share songs, chants, and histories of the Zoroastrians, offering a rare glimpse into this enduring heritage.
18.00-18.30 — Reading: Fariborz Rahnamoon's translation of the gathas. Free, booking required
The Ancient book of Songs composed by Zarthost, or Zoroaster as he is known in the western world, contains timeless wisdom, openness and points to truth and creativity being the heart of the Zoroastrian philosophy. In addition, one is encouraged to question and to be independent. Freny will read some parts of this book and the translation in English.
19.00-20.00 — Perfomance: Free Participation, booking required
Poetry Reading. Dance: Alarippu and Jatiswaram.
These are traditional pieces of the Bharatanatyam repertoire, without any story or lyrics to the songs, but the dance is simply sung by using syllables known as Solukuttu, which refers to the language of the drum. In Bharatanatyam, the dance is spoken through a clapping mechanism used to count rhythms.
20.00-21.00 — Singing Session: Free Participation, no booking required
Freny has trained with the Polish theatre company Song of the Goat, developing an approach to ensemble performance that harnesses the power of the collective voice. She will end each day at Yarn with a singing workshop: a welcoming, participatory space where everyone is encouraged to join, regardless of experience.
If you’re already an accomplished singer, you’ll discover yogic techniques and ragas that open new, experimental pathways. In other words: come along - whether you think you can sing, or especially if you think you can’t - and surprise yourself.
Friday 3 October
9.15–10.30 — Yoga: Paid Participation, booking required
Gentle alignment-based practice open to all.
Freny’s yoga draws from a simple, classical style she first learned at home, before formally training at The Yoga Institute in Mumbai and later opening her own teaching practice, Anahat, in 2020. Her approach supports posture, alignment, balance, coordination, mobility, strength, flexibility and agility, using restraint as a guiding principle. It is gentle, open to all, yet powerfully transformative.
11.00–13.00 — Music: Observation
Freny will be practising any of the following: Rudra Veena, Sitar, Tanpura, Singing and Spoken Rhythms
13.00–13.30 — Guided Meditation: Free Participation, booking required
Meditation and Creative Flow.
Learn how to encourage a state of creative flow. These practices are useful if you feel stuck and want to find yourself working more effortlessly and feel better connected to your creativity and state of flow.
14.30–16.00 — Music: Observation
Freny will be practising any of the following: Rudra Veena, Sitar, Tanpura, Singing and Spoken Rhythms
16.00–17.00 — Dance - Bharatanatyam: Observation
Practicing Pada Varnam: Mohalagiri Kunden Sami. An extended composition, approximately 40 minutes in length, composed by Thanjai Nalvar. It is a story about a girl, called Nayika who is addressing Krishna directly, and asking why he ignores her, when she is so much in love with him. This is the theme of the dance. It is set in Ragam Todi in a cycle of eight beats, known as Aditalam.
18.00-20.30 — Singing, Music & Performance Session: Free Participation, no booking required
This final group session includes singing, music, performance and poetry.
Freny has trained with the Polish theatre company Song of the Goat, developing an approach to ensemble performance that harnesses the power of the collective voice. She will end each day at Yarn with a singing workshop: a welcoming, participatory space where everyone is encouraged to join, regardless of experience.
If you’re already an accomplished singer, you’ll discover yogic techniques and ragas that open new, experimental pathways. In other words: come along - whether you think you can sing, or especially if you think you can’t - and surprise yourself.
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