Pia Sutaria: From the West End to Centre Stage in Bombay

In the production Tesseract (13th to 22nd March at The Jamshed Bhabha Theatre, NCPA), Pia Sutaria finds herself in different and exciting territory. For someone who has long been identified with ballet and movement, this role asks her to stand still, to speak, and to inhabit a character without dancing. As the lead, she embodies a fairy-like character, a presence that feels otherworldly. Drawing in part from the image of Tinker Bell, she has leaned into the lightness and fluidity of the role, discovering that the dancer in her could inform the actor she is becoming.

The stage has been part of her life since childhood. Her mother performed frequently at the NCPA with a choir, and rehearsals were a familiar backdrop to her early years. At five, she made her own debut in The Fakir of Banaras at JBT. Not long after, watching Billy Elliot left a deep impression. She was drawn to ballet, and began training seriously in Bombay, committing to a discipline that would shape her teenage years.




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As she grew older, she realised that performing professionally required more than enthusiasm, it required complete commitment. She transitioned to musical theatre and jazz, and eventually joined a contemporary dance company that toured internationally. She travelled across the United States, Canada and Japan, performing while also completing an undergraduate degree in marketing and finance in Bombay. From an early age, she was already teaching and working as a professional performer, managing rehearsals, classes and college in parallel.

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At 22, she channelled that experience into building something of her own. The Institute of Classical and Modern Dance began as a mentorship programme designed to offer young people the structured pathway she felt was missing when she started out. As she built the school, she continued to perform, carving out space for ballet in a landscape largely driven by commercial work. She appeared in fashion and large-scale productions, including opening for events such as Miss Universe, steadily shaping a niche for herself.

She was scouted by Disney, which awarded her a scholarship to study at the Royal Academy of Music in London. There, she trained formally in musical theatre performance, studying acting, singing and dance within a system defined by structure and protocol. Pia moved back to Bombay and says the city keeps finding reasons to keep her. The school has since grown, with students securing places at institutions such as Juilliard, Tisch, RMD, Princeton and UCLA. Alongside teaching, she has curated and produced shows at NMACC and at NCPA.

Her time abroad sharpened her understanding of rehearsal culture and production values. In India, she sees a maturing audience and a creative community marked by warmth and mutual support. In Tesseract (13th to 22nd March at The Jamshed Bhabha Theatre, NCPA), she identifies the opportunity to rehearse extensively and work at a scale that matches her experience overseas.

Through her school and her work across continents, she hopes to bridge Western performing arts with the cultural ethos of India and pave a clearer pathway for the next generation who want to commit to the stage.

“Tesseract: The Geometry of Truth” is produced by The Times of India, with concept and visualisation by Meera Jain.

Experience “Tesseract: The Geometry of Truth”, running from 16 to 22 March 2026 at NCPA Mumbai. Book hereGet the latest entertainment updates from the Times of India, along with the latest Hindi movies, upcoming Hindi movies in 2026 , and Telugu movies.”