The Joyce Theater Presents Shatala Shivalingappa, Now thru 7/1

The Joyce Theater will present Shatala Shivalingappa, one of the world's most intriguing artists, making her Joyce debut with the New York premiere of Namasya – a program of four solos including works by Ushio Amagatsu and Pina Bausch – this summer from tonight, June 27 – July 1.

Tickets range in price from $10-$39 ($19-$29 for Joyce Theater members), and can be purchased through JoyceCharge at 212-242-0800 or via the internet at www.joyce.org. The Joyce Theater is located at 175 Eighth Avenue at 19th Street.

A child of the east and west (born in India and raised in Paris), Shantala Shivalingappa performs a program that combines elements from the Southern Indian traditional dance form Kuchipudi, characterized by precision, flowing lines and intricate footwork, with a western contemporary dance sensibility influenced by her training with some of the world's greatest artists, including Maurice Béjart, Peter Brook, Bartabas, Pina Bausch and Ushio Amagatsu.

For her Joyce debut, Shantala performs the New York premiere of her acclaimed Namasya, an evening made up of four solos choreographed by Ushio Amagatsu, Pina Bausch, Shivalingappa herself, and Savitry Nair (Shantala's mother). Conceived and performed by Shivalingappa, Namasya pays homage to friends and mentors who have died, to traditions and forms that have influenced her life, and to artists from whom she has drawn inspiration. Indeed, Namasya is a Sanskrit word which means to pay homage or reverence, adoration. Dancing nearly uninterruptedly for an hour and maintaining the highest level of concentration and energy, Shivalingappa invites the audience into her smallest gestures, while also moving with impossible speed and grace. When she dances, movement does not stop at the body's extremities, but extends in the space around it in invisible ripples.