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Dancin’ India
55 Dancers Celebrate World Dance Day
Curator & Performers
As per UN Convention, April 29 is designated as International Dance Day. We celebrate this on the first Sunday following it, since India is home to a rich plethora of classical, folk, film dances and Bangalore is a hub to all of these forms.
Featuring over 55 dancers, the occasion brings three generations of gurus, dancers, writers and more. The best of Bharatanatyam, Kathak, Odissi, Mohiniattam, Kuchipudi, and Modern come together through prodigious talents and established stars. This is the 10th year of this famed Dance Day celebration, mentored and curated by Ashish Khokar, the editor of India’s only yearbook on dance – attendance, now in its 25th year!
The evening begins with a display of 21 photos at the entrance leading to an onstage assembly of 30 shishyas in many forms followed by 9 top soloists, one ballet group work and in the end, coming together of the male ang. The evening brings diversity of forms and this careful curation ends in a crescendo of many dancers coming together.
Programme:
4:00 pm | DANCIN’ PHOTOS | A photo exhibition by Trio – Suresh Babu, Madhukar & Ravi
4:25 pm | Inauguration by Vani Ganapathy
4: 30 pm | Opening Ceremony
Bharatanatyam by guru Gayatri Keshavan ensemble
Kathak by NADAM ensemble
Odissi by Nrityantar ensemble
Modern by Vishwakiran Nambi
Mohiniattam by Nair Sisters’ Shishyas
Kuchipudi by guru Veena Murthy Shishyas
5:00 pm | Film and Book Launch of Mohan Khokar – The Father-Figure of Indian Dance History by IGNCA
5:15 pm | The Art of the Soloists
Bharatanatyam by Aditya Nataraja BN
Bharatanatyam by Shaivi Gururaj
Kathak by Laxminarayan Jena
Bharatanatayam by Archana-Chetana
Kuchipudi by Washim Raja
Bharatanatayam by Bianca Radhakrishnan
Gandhi Gita by Rasadhwani
Bharatanatyam by Shobhit Ramesh
Bharatanatyam by Aishwarya Nityanand
8:15 pm | Purush Ensemble
Nikhil Pawar, Anil Iyer, Raja and Vishwakiran Nambi
In collaboration with:
Supported by:
Curator & Performers
Ashish Khokar
Ashish Khokar is a dance historian, with a degree in both Indian history and Indian dance. With 25 books to his credit on heritage and the performance arts; 25 years of editing-publishing India’s only yearbook on dance called attendance; 40 years of writing for mainstream media (the Times of India for 20 years; The Hindu for 5 years and India Today for 25 years) and digital (narthaki.com for 25 years and Daily O! For 7; Life & More for 2 years) as a dance/culture expert.
Over 30 years’ work in cultural administration (Delhi state Academy; Festivals of India, France, Sweden Germany, China; INTACH and AFS) make him a unique contributor to cultural processes. Khokar is both mentor and artivist, a visiting expert/p rofessor at many universities teaching dance history modules, and an advisor to the IGNCA Cultural Archives and the Neemrana Group, among others. He is hailed by the India Today group as “the gold standard of dance writing, archiving and documentation”.
Aditya Nataraja
Aditya Nataraja is a child prodigy of Bangalore trained by attendance awardee acharya Deepa Krishnamurthy. He will be doing an invocatory Pushpanjali with Idada Padum.
Shaivi Gururaj
Shaivi Gururaj is trained by acharya Rajendran Srinivasan and will be performing a Pushpanjali composed by Trichur Janardhanan, followed by Dasarapada Baro Krishnaya.
Archana and Chetana
Archana and Chetana, disciples of guru B. Bhanumati and guru Sheela Chandrashekhar bring the beauty of old-fashioned Bharatanatyam by Pushpanjali and a padam, Yaarukum Adangada Nili.
Bianca Radhakrishna
Bianca Radhakrishna is a lifelong learner, student of Bharatanatyam under Guru Radha Sridhar. She enjoys sharing her love for dance with her dedicated students. She performs Pannagendra Shayana (a composition of Maharaja Swati Tirunal).
Washim Raja
Washim Raja is an adroit Kuchipudi dancer trained by Guru Vanashree Rao, Delhi. He will be doing Mahadeva Shiva Shambhoo, Raag-Mala, Taal- Adi and Thillana, Raag-Sindhu Bhairavi, Taal-Adi.
Nrityantar
Nrityantar started a decade ago in Bangalore when dancer Madhulita Mohapatra made it home and has trained many in the art form. She is an SNA youth awardee too. The group will present Mangalacharan.
Vishwakiran Nambi
Primarily trained in Contemporary Dance and Martial arts, he will be presenting a short excerpt from a piece titled ‘Yele Oota’. Music by Gopu Krishnan.
Rasadhwani
Dr. Uma Anantani’s Rasadhwani, Ahmedabad, will present “Gandhi Gita,” symbolically blending Bhagavad Gita and Gandhi’s autobiography. Saffron – Green – White reflects Gandhi’s duplexity – harmony – liberation accompanied by Jayan Nair’s music.
Aishwarya Nityananda
Aishwarya Nityananda is a star of Bharatanatyam, taught by Guru Radha Sridhar. She will undertake a Kriti on Lord Shiva by Sri Jaya Chamarajendra Wodeyar
