Erasing Borders Dance Festival Kicks Off Next Month

The Indo-American Arts Council announces the always eagerly anticipated dance performances, this year including special events to celebrate the 75th anniversary of India's Independence Day, August 15. The celebration will feature two live performances, August 6 & 7 at the Ailey Citigroup Theatre, and a virtual August 8th streaming with artists from India, Canada, and the U.S. Since its founding 15 years ago, the Indo-American Arts Council has distinguished itself with its presentations dedicated to furthering the knowledge and living practices of the arts of the Indian sub-continent.

India @75

Program A: Saturday August 6, 7 pm

featuring

Sanjib Bhattacharya and Lagannath Lairenjam in "Sapta"

Manipuri-Pung Cholom in "Drum Dance"

Kavya Ganesh in "Time, the Elusive Friend," contemporary Bharatanatyam

Bhavana Reddy in "Narasimhavataram" in Kuchipudi

India @75

Program B: Sunday August 7, 7 pm

featuring

Jin Won, Kathak with live music

Ailey II in "Saa Magni"

Mythili Prakash in contemporary Bharatanatyam

Erasing Borders Dance Festival

Monday August 8, virtual

featuring choreography by

Tanya Saxena

Tanveer Alam

Sebastian Tan/MBT

Mythili Anoop

Deepali Salil

India@75

Saturday Aug 6, 2022 7-9PM

1. Sanjib Bhattacharya and Jagannath Lairenjam, Sapta, Manipuri-Pung Cholom (drum dance)

Sapta, meaning seven, is an attempt to paint the canvas of time, using 3 sets of 7 beats. It is a celebration of time that invigorates the senses, using the diversity and traditions Manipuri Classical Dance. Concurrently, 'Sapta' turns into a medium (of time) for the preservation of this classical dance form.

Sanjib Bhattacharya is a renowned dancer, choreographer and teacher who has won numerous awards across the world, including Appreciation awards by the Presidents of India in 2006 and 2011. He trained professionally in both Manipuri Classical and Contemporary Indian Dance techniques under world-renowned dance icons Guru Bipin Singh, Padmasree Darshana Jhaveri, Kalavati Devi, Manjushree Chaki Sircar and Mamata Shankar. In addition to stage performances, Sanjib has collaborated with dancers and choreographers trained in various dance forms from around the world to create many landmark productions. Currently based in the US, Sanjib Bhattacharya is the Artistic Director of Movements in Motion; where he continues to teach, perform and collaborate.

Jagannath Lairenjam started training from the age of 8 in Pung (Manipuri drum) under Guru Mani Singh . From 1979 to 2000 he trained and performed with various gurus in Manipur and Kolkata including Guru Bipin Singh. He has performed across the world as Sankirtan accompanist on Pung Cholom. His key performances include at the Ratha Yatra (Puri), India Lokranga Festival, (Jaipur), Sana Leibak Festival (Mumbai) and Khajuraho Festival (Uttar Pradesh) and at various events in the US.

2. Kavya Ganesh, contemporary Bharatanatyam

Kavya Ganesh is a passionate Bharatanatyam dancer and a disciple of Sangeet Natak Akademi awardee Smt. Rama Vaidyanathan. Dedicated to her craft from a very young age, she brings rhythm and grace to her dance. She has performed across India, USA and Europe in solo performances as well as group works with her teacher's ensemble. Some of her notable performances include Konark festival, NCPA Mumbai's Mudra Festival, Natyanjali festival, Esplanade Singapore, SWEAT festival Hong Kong, and many more. She is currently pursuing her Bachelor's degree in Literature and the Performing Arts at Ashoka University, Haryana, India and is also selected for the 'Conservatory for Actors' drama program at Yale University in the summer of 2022.

3. Bhavana Reddy (solo Kuchipudi), 20 mins, Narasimhavataram

Hiranyakashyapu, a demon king worshiper of Shiva, sought a boon from Brahma, to be unvanquishable by any weapon, by any man or animal, inside or outside, by day or by night. With this boon Hiranyakshyapa grew powerful and fearless exercising his tyranny over men and gods alike, who had fallen victim to his actions. His son Prahlada, however, followed the path of Lord Vishnu, who restored hope, and his devotees celebrated the triumph of good over evil.

Bhavana Reddy, internationally acclaimed young Kuchipudi Indian Classical Dancer. Nearing three decades, her career started at the tender age of 4 under her illustrious parents Dr.s Raja Radha Reddy. Los Angeles Times review headlined mentioned singled out The Reddys 8-year-old daughter, Bhavana, who displayed a budding ability to mesmerize in her own solo. As a solo performing artist she has presented workshops and concerts for prestigious organizations, Embassies and Consulates of India across the world including Germany, Singapore, Sydney, San Francisco, Spic Macay, Temple of Fine Arts Malaysia, Indonesia, National Museum Copenhagen, Kennedy Center Washington DC, Mudra Festival NCPA, Mumbai Sanskriti Festival, Kalidas Samaroh Nagpur, Yagnaraman Festival Krishnagana Sabha. She founded Natya Tarangini International Institution for Kuchipudi Dance, training dedicated students. Currently she is on tour in Europe as the 'Artist-in-Residence' choreographing with Leo Spreksel for India Dans Festival, Korzo Netherlands, and with Prof. Ronan Guilfoyle, Director School of Jazz Performance, Dublin City University, Ireland.

Short Q&A, 20-25 mins

India@75

Sunday Aug 7, 2022

Alvin Ailey Citigroup Theatre, 7-9PM

1. Jin Won, Kathak genre, with live music

2. Alvin Ailey, Saa Magni

Noted American dance company Alvin Ailey II will be joining Indian dancers to celebrate the 75 years of Indian independence. They will be performing Saa Magni in the spirit of hope, celebration and dance.

3. Mythili Prakash: Contemporary Bharatanatyam

Poo | Poo

[flower] | [body waste)

Polarity. Co-existence. Singularity.

Lingering between past and present, global and local, sacred and worldly, stylized and pedestrian, structure and fluidity, Poo | Poo negotiates the weight of past and tradition through the freedom of our bodies and voices today in the re-imagining of a traditional myth--the dance-off between Shiva and Kali.

Mythili Prakash (Concept, Choreography, Dance) is one of the most celebrated and respected Bharatanatyam dancer/choreographers today. Her unique repertoire is an embodiment of narratives of the many worlds that shape her. Trained by her mother Viji Prakash and currently mentored by iconic dancers Malavika Sarukkai and Akram Khan, Mythili began her performing career with her solo debut in India at the age of eight and has since performed extensively and toured her own solo productions worldwide. She is recipient of numerous accolades from premiere institutions of Dance and Music in India. Her collaborations span a breadth of artists including Sitar player Anoushka Shankar, India-based Director/ playwright Gowri Ramnarayan, and her brother/vocalist Aditya Prakash. She worked with director Ang Lee, as a choreography assistant and played the role of Pi's wife in his award-winning film Life of Pi. Nominated by celebrated dancer/choreographer Akram Khan as "choreographer of the future" for UK-based Dance Umbrella's "Four by four commissions," Mythili premiered her solo work "HERE and NOW" at their 2019 Festival. She is a principal dancer in Akram Khan Company's currently touring "Outwitting the Devil." She is a recipient of the National Dance Project touring Grant for her work "She's Auspicious," which previewed in November 2021 at the Reflektor Festival curated by Anoushka Shankar at the Elbphilharmonie, in Hamburg Germany. She is also a recipient of the Sky Art's Artists Development program in collaboration with Akram Khan Company, in support of the development of her current work Poo | Poo.

Aditya Prakash (vocal, sound design), a Los Angeles based award-winning vocalist known for his powerful and emotive voice, is one of the foremost virtuosos of Karnatik music. At only 16 years of age, he became one of the youngest musicians ever to tour and perform with sitar maestro Ravi Shankar, accompanying him to such prestigious stages as Carnegie Hall, the Hollywood Bowl and Disney Concert Hall. Aditya has collaborated with a diverse range of innovative artists, including sitarist Anoushka Shankar; jazz pianist Tigran Hamasyan; electronic experimental artist Karsh Kale, and the acclaimed dancer and choreographer Akram Khan. Aditya founded the eclectic music group, Aditya Prakash Ensemble, which creates a space for dialogue between Karnatik and jazz. The Ensemble's most recent album, "Diaspora Kid," garnered praise from Songlines, KCRW and was featured in the top 15 albums on the Transglobal World Music Chart in May 2020. Recently, Aditya produced and composed the musical score for the NEFA awarded production - "She's Auspicious" by Mythili Prakash. One of Aditya's produced songs for the album "HOME," by Sushma Soma, was selected to be featured on BBC at the Earthshot Awards. Aditya's current focus in production and composition lies in pushing boundaries within the "classical" tradition.

Rajna Swaminathan (Percussion, Sound Design) is an acclaimed mrudangam (South Indian percussion) artist, composer, and scholar. Rajna received her creative foundation on the instrument from her father, P.K. Swaminathan, and mrudangam legend Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman. Described as "a vital new voice" (Pop Matters), Rajna's artistic trajectory blossomed through a search for resonance and fluidity among musical forms and aesthetic worlds. Since 2013, she has led the New York-based ensemble RAJAS, writing expansive, boundary breaking music for herself and like-minded improvisers, spanning multiple musical approaches. As a composer, Rajna has received commissions from the LA Phil, Chamber Music America New Jazz Works, and Bang On A Can Marathon, among others. She holds a PhD in Music (Creative Practice and Critical Inquiry) from Harvard University, and degrees in Anthropology and French from the University of Maryland, College Park. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Music (Integrated Composition, Improvisation, and Technology) at UC Irvine's Claire Trevor School of the Arts.

Ganavya Doraiswamy (vocal and sound design) is a transdisciplinary scholar, vocalist, word-craftswoman and double-bassist. recent credits include: this body is so impermanent... (2021) directed by Peter Sellars, featuring ganavya (solo voice, composition), Ch.7: The Goddess (2019) directed by Peter Sellars, Daughter of a Temple (2019), a sound installation composed for the 13th Bienale de Habana; singer and lead researcher with Esperanza Spalding on the Grammy- nominated album Songwrights Apothecary Lab (2021), contributing writer for Iphigenia by Wayne Shorter and Esperanza Spalding, writer/singer of first Tamil lyrics to win a Latin Grammy award (2020), vocalist in Vijay Iyer's Ritual Quartet, album and touring solo vocalist on the Quincy Jones' produced Tocororo which hit #1 in jazz charts. Her fellowships include Civitella Ranieri Foundation and the Camargo Foundation. Her publications include written guide for the Songwrights Apothecary Lab album, shards of ether, a collection of 101 short essays for John Zorn's Arcana: Musicians on Music series; [ ]: on the Form behind form, an analysis on repetition in music, for Journal on Mutual Mentorship for Musicians.

Her graduate degrees in music are from Berklee College of Music (contemporary performance) UCLA (ethnomusicology) and Harvard University (Creative Practice and Critical Inquiry). Recently, she completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the Cynthia Mitchell Center for the Arts.

Sushma Somasekharan (Vocal, sound design) is an award-winning Carnatic Vocalist based in Singapore and Chennai. She most recently received the coveted Young Artist Award in Singapore, the highest honour for young artists. Sushma has performed in several prestigious organisations including Madras Music Academy, Esplanade Theatres by the Bay Singapore, Indian Embassy Brussels amongst others. Sushma is also a lecturer at the National Institute of Education, Singapore where she hopes to introduce and inspire students to learn more about Carnatic Music.

Mike Faba (lighting design) is a Lighting Designer and Production Manager for dance, theater, and events. Recent design credits include The Return of the Jinkx and DeLa Holiday Show Live!, and All I Want For Christmas is Attention (BenDeLaCreme and Jinkx Monsoon) international tour, Beyond Ballet (Sara Mearns) at Jacob's Pillow, No. 1 (Wang Ramirez & Sara Mearns) at New York City Center, Spectral Preludes (Tom Gold Dance) at Florence Gould Hall, Wednesday Morning, 11:45 (Pilobolus) at Skirball, Marksman (Kate Weare) at The Joyce and the Guggenheim, and Unstruck (Kate Weare) at BAM Fisher. Event design work includes Life Is Beautiful Festival, as well as PatBO and MONSE for NYFW (Rob Ross Design). Lighting Supervisor credits include Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, Mark Morris Dance Group, Paul Taylor American Modern Dance, Camille A. Brown & Dancers, Wang Ramirez, Pilobolus, Martha Clarke, and Radiolab Live: In The Dark. Mike is also the Production Manager and Artist's Assistant for Kurt Perschke's RedBall Project, the world's longest-running public art piece.

Q&A, 20 mins

India@75

Erasing Borders Dance Festival

Aug 8 2022, Virtual

Streamed on Indo American Arts Council Facebook and Youtube with artists from India, US, Canada

Introduction by Subhalakshmi, Amjad Ali Khan

Looking Within Looking Around is created by a team of artists from all over India. It is conceptualised by Deepali Salil.

"ANIMALS" is choreographed and performed by Bharatanatyam dancers

Nilava Sen as Gazelle

Shubhamani Chandrashekar as Orca

Athul Balu as Hyena

Deepali Salil as Sarus Crane

Original music composition - Sanchit Choudhary

Sponsored by Sundari Silks India

"Animals" is a part of our larger work LOOKING WITHIN LOOKING AROUND, a dance film which urges the audience to "LOOK WITHIN" them and "LOOK AROUND" them. In our film "Animals" the viewers are made to look around them, with a focus on how it's high time we become more aware of all the other beings that inhabit this planet with us. By taking four animals; Gazelle, Hyena, Orca and Sarus Crane, which are not much explored by Indian Classical Dancers, we seek to renew the connection with our animal kingdom and develop that connection into care and compassion. The only way forward is together. Conserving and living sustainably needs to become a lifestyle.

1.Bindu

Choreographed and performed by Tanya Saxena

Sound Design and Mixing:Ananda Gupta

Music: Rajat Prasanna

'Bindu' (the originary dot) is a movement film inspired by artist S.H. Raza, made in collaboration with the Raza Foundation.

Tanya Saxena is a Bharatanatyam dancer based in Delhi, India. She has studied extensively under renowned Gurus Saroja Vaidyanathan, Rama Vaidyanathan, Kamalini Dutt and A. Lakshamanswamy; Tanya holds a Master's in Performing Arts, is an empanelled artist with the ICCR and an A-Graded artist of Doordarshan, India

2. Leher (wave) choreographed and performed by Tanveer Alam

A minimalist exploration of Vilambit Laya (slow tempo) in Kathak.

Music: Gurumurthy Vaidya

Dramaturgy: Harikishan S. Nair

Mixing and mastering: Roshin Shabu

Videography and editing: Aman Chandak

Supported by: Sadhana Project Residency (Anandam Dancetheatre), The Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council, Toronto Arts Council.

Tanveer Alam (Toronto, Canada) trained in kathak with Sudeshna Maulik and with guru Sandhya Desai. Alam is a graduate in Western Contemporary dance from The School of Toronto Dance Theatre's Professional Training Program (2019). Alam has performed in the works of Pt. Birju Maharaj, Lata Pada, Rina Singha, Janak Khendry, Padmini Chettur, Brandy Leary, Peter Chin, Harikishan S. Nair, and Sashar Zarif to name a few and he has presented at SummerWorks Festival, Battery Dance Festival +, CanAsian Dance Festival: Grit Short Dances, Tangente and others.

3. Terra (Singapore)

Choreographed by Liz Lea and

Danced by Subastian Tan and Shahrin Johry.

Music by TaikOz

A contemporary dance with influences from movement techniques of Singapore and India.

Subastian Tan and Shahrin Johry are members of Maya Dance Theatre, Singapore. Founded in 2007, Maya Dance Theatre (MDT) is a non-profit professional dance theatre company that has carved out a niche for itself in the Singapore dance scene by creating works with social consciousness and sharing social stories.

4. Bird of Time

Performed and choreographed by Mythili Maratt Anoop

Inspired by Sarojini Naidu's poem, 'The Bird of Time' this work presents an assortment of life's dramatic moments which ultimately ends in silence

Mythili Maratt Anoop is an ICCR empanelled Mohiniyattam artist, trained under Guru Kalamandalam Kshemavathy and Guru Sadanam Balakrishnan, among others. In addition to many awards, she holds a doctorate from IIT Bombay in the Semiotics of Mohiniyattam led to publications such as Mohiniyattam: A Language of Feminine Desire and Scripting Dance in Contemporary India.

5. Animals

Choreographed and performed by Bharatanatyam dancers Nilava Sen as Gazelle Shubhamani Chandrashekar as Orca Athul Balu as Hyena Deepali Salil as Sarus Crane

Original music composition - Sanchit Choudhary

We wanted to renew the connection with our animal kingdom and develop that connection into care and compassion.

Nilava Sen based in Kolkata,is working under the tutelage of Rama Vaidyanathan. He has been Performing continuously at various prestigious platforms all over India. He has won various accolades like Nalanda Nritya Nipuna 2020, Kishor Pratibha Award 2018, SSS Academy Award 2015 to name a few.

Deepali Salil holds a masters degree (Bharatnatyam) from the prestigious Nalanda Nrityakala Mahavidyalaya, Mumbai, under guidance of Padma Bhushan Kanak Rele She currently studies with Rama Vaidyanathan. She has performed with various prestigious festivals and was the trainer and choreographer for the feature film MEE RAQSAM produced by Shabana Azmi. She is also a UNESCO CID - PAIRS certified therapeutic movement facilitator, and counseller.

Athul Balu graduated from Kalakshetra Foundation Chennai and is currently a member of Leela Samson's Spanda Dance. He was awarded Sri Gutty Vasu Memorial Prize by the Madras Music Academy Company.

Shubhamani Chandrashekar trained under her mother Sharadamani Shekar, the Kalakshetra Foundation and currently trains under Rama Vaidyanathan. She has performed in several countries like the USA, Cambodia and South Korea.

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