ARTS OF INDIA FESTIVAL to Present Dance, Jazz, and Art at Penn Live Arts

Penn Live Arts will present the Arts of India Festival, in partnership with Sruti, the India Music and Dance Society of Philadelphia, showcasing a renowned dance ensemble, a tribute to Zakir Hussain, cutting-edge jazz, and an art exhibition, all exploring India's rich cultural heritage through an array of Indian and Indo-American arts today. The Festival also features a community day spotlighting local artists and Penn students, and includes participatory experiences. The Festival also encompasses the art exhibition Chrysalis, by artist Pragya Gupta. Featured artists in the Festival include Arun Ramamurthy Trio & Rudresh Mahanthappa Hero Trio, Niladri Kumaar, and Nrityagram Dance Ensemble. The Festival kicked off with a sold-out performance by TM Krishna.

The Arts of India Festival is part of Penn Live Arts' season exploration of the concept of belonging, reflecting on how people experience change and find acceptance in new worlds while longing for the community and traditions of home. Through performances by today's leading dancers, musicians, actors, and cirque artists, this season-spanning thematic thread shines a light on migration and immigrant experiences.

Arts of India Festival performances run through November 7; the art exhibition runs through December 13. All performances and activities take place at the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, 3680 Walnut Street, Philadelphia. 

PERFORMANCE: Arun Ramamurthy Trio & Rudresh Mahanthappa Hero Trio

Friday, October 30, 7:30 PM

The performance will be preceded at 6:30 PM by a conversation with Rudresh Mahanthappa and Arun Ramamurthy, moderated by Suzanne Cloud, director of the Philadelphia Jazz Legacy Project, part of PLA's ListenHear series.

In this special double bill of Penn Live Arts debuts, violinist Arun Ramamurthy and his trio offer "a beautiful, exotic, ear-opening listening experience" with its fusion of jazz and South Indian Carnatic traditions. Performing music from his latest album, New Moon, as well as other originals and reimagined Carnatic repertoire, Ramamurthy's set will be followed by the Rudresh Mahanthappa Hero Trio, known for "exceptional vitality and an unmistakable chemistry." Mahanthappa is one of the era's definitive alto saxophonists, topping DownBeat's critics' polls for nine years with bold reinterpretations of jazz classics and an eclectic mix of songs from across the musical landscape. (All About Jazz)

FREE EVENT: Arts of India Festival Community Day

Sunday, November 1, 1-4 PM

A joyful celebration of Indian dance, music, crafts and food, Penn Live Arts' Arts of India Festival Community Day features performances by Nardhana Academy of Dance, Penn Sargam, and percussionists Pitchumani Sivakumar, Ravi Kyer, and Swetha Narasimhan. This event is free but registration is requested. 

1:30 PM | Prince Theatre

Nardhana Academy of Dance

Nritya Rang

Featuring:
BHARATHANATYAM Rathi Ramesh Sandilya and Rasya Ramesh
NATTUVANGAN Ramaa Ramesh
VOCALS Vignesh Ravichandran
MRIDANGAM Murali Balachandran
FLUTE Visweshwar Nagarajan
VIOLIN Swetha Narasimhan

2:30 PM | Feintuch Family Lobby
Penn Sargam 

3 PM | Feintuch Lobby
Percussion Demonstration 

Featuring: 
MRIDANGAM AND KANJIRA Dr. Pitchumani Sivakumar
GHATAM Ravi Iyer
VIOLIN Swetha Narasimhan 

PERFORMANCE: Niladri Kumaar

The Space Between the Notes
Sunday, November 1, 7 PM

The performance will be preceded at 6 PM by a conversation with Niladri Kumaar, moderated by Stephen Slawek, Professor Emeritus of Ethnomusicology, Butler School of Music at UT Austin.

Sitar maestro Niladri Kumaar is a maverick musician and acclaimed ambassador for Indian music. A frequent collaborator with tabla icon Zakir Hussain, Kumaar makes his Penn Live Arts debut in the Philadelphia premiere of The Space Between the Notes, a musical concert journey weaving centuries-old tradition with creative innovation, all based on the documentary film recording of the duo's last performance together. With an ensemble of Indian and American musicians, this heartfelt tribute to Hussain and the special bond these two masters shared is not-to-be-missed.

PERFORMANCE: Nrityagram Dance Ensemble

KHAṄKHAṆĀ: the sound of dancing feet

Friday, November 6, 7:30 PM
Saturday, November 7, 3 PM

The November 6 performance will be followed by a conversation with the choreographer and artistic director, Surupa Sen, moderated by Pallabi Chakravorty.

Nrityagram, the renowned and "most exciting Indian classical dance ensemble" (Fjord Review), returns to Penn Live Arts with the Philadelphia premiere of KHAṄKHAṆĀ: the sound of dancing feet. Featuring live music, KHAṄKHAṆĀ journeys through three decades of acclaimed works by artistic director and Odissi choreographer Surupa Sen, showcasing her unique sensibility of thought and movement. The 2026-27 season dance series is co-sponsored by Arthur Kaplan and Duane Perry alongside Lynn Jerath and Kunal Jerath.

ART EXHIBITION: Chrysalis

Pragya Gupta
Through December 13, 2026

Chrysalis, an exhibition of paintings by artist Pragya Gupta, will be on view in the Feintuch Family Lobby of the Annenberg Center through Dec 13, 2026. Gupta's work is about transformation; her practice is grounded in a sustained inquiry into what it means to become intimate with one's own life. Her paintings explore the tension between the selves we construct and the more intimate parts of ourselves that can be harder to hear.