DANCING THE GODS, World Music Institute's Indian Classical Dance Festival, Returns To Symphony Space 4/21-22

WORLD MUSIC INSTITUTE announces the 7th annual presentation of Dancing the Gods Two-day festival at Symphony Space features leading exponents of two forms of Indian dance in evening-length performances accompanied by live music. Co-curated by Rajika Pur.

Saturday, April 21 at 8:00 p.m.

Amrita Lahiri

A young star of the Kuchipudi dance form from South India
7:00 pm - Pre-show onstage Slide Lecture:
Vishnu Worship & the Performing Arts by Rajika Puri
Post-performance "Chat & Chai" with the artists

Sunday, April 22 at 7:00 p.m.

The Dancing Monks of Assam & Sattriya Dance Company

Whose dances are a means of communal worship
in the monasteries of their north-eastern Indian province.
6:00 pm - Pre-show onstage Slide Lecture:
Vishnu Worship & the Performing Arts by Rajika Puri
Post-performance "Chat & Chai" with the artists
First U.S. tour of the Dancing Monks of Assam

Symphony Space

2537 Broadway at 95th Street

Tickets: $35-$40
Bring your children 14 and under for $5.00

www.worldmusicinstitute.org

Plus:
WMI Plus Experience: Special Screening of "I AM SATYABHAMA"
Tuesday, April 24 at 6:30 p.m. at The New School
55 W 13th Street

A documentary film on the art of Padmasri Vedantam Satyanarayana Sarma, legendary male performer of the greatest female role in the traditional
danced drama from the south Indian village of Kuchipudi.

Screening followed by Q&A with the producer.

WMI Plus experiences are supported by a grant from Con Edison.

DANCING THE GODS

Hailed as "among the most probing and serious" Indian classical dance festivals (DanceTabs), with "a record of attracting some truly godlike dancers" (The New York Times), the World Music Institute's annual Dancing the Gods festival returns for its seventh season. Audiences are offered spectacular shows, onstage slide lectures with storytelling, chat & chai artist receptions - and a film! Amrita Lahiri

Saturday April 21, 2017, 8:00 p.m.
7:00 p.m. Pre-Show Slide Lecture with storytelling by Rajika Puri
on "Vishnu Worship & the Performing Arts in India"
Chat & chai with the artists after the performances.

Amrita Lahiri is widely recognized as one of the leading young performers of Kuchipudi today. A south Indian danced drama form, Kuchipudi was traditionally performed by men and only recently adapted by women for solo recital. In this incarnation it has a lightness and piquancy that gives it world-wide appeal. Amrita will perform the U.S. premiere of Murchhana - The Spirit of Sangeet (music), based on legends of musicians from another part of India: Orissa. Amrita's dancing and choreography have been acclaimed for their elegance and dynamism. Combining grace and light-footedness with a focus on depth of emotion, she has captivated an international audience. WATCH: Amrita Lahiri dancing Kuchipudi at India International Centre

The Dancing Monks of Assam &
Sattriya Dance Company
Sunday April 22, 2017, 7:00 p.m.
6:00 p.m. Pre-Show Slide Lecture with storytelling by Rajika Puri
on "Vishnu Worship & the Performing Arts in India"
Chat & chai with the artists after the performances.

For their first visit to the U.S., the Dancing Monks of Assam-led by Bhabananda Barbuyan, choreographer, lead dancer, and musician-bring us the songs and dances with which they have, since the 15th Century, spread the word of Lord Krishna. In their monasteries ('Sattras') on the river island of Majuli of this north-east Indian province, they perform danced songs designed to spread the stories of Lord Krishna among the local population - a major part of their worship of Lord Vishnu in his flute-playing incarnation as Krishna. They narrate playful, sensuous and fantastical episodes of his life as recounted in an ancient text they revere: the Bhagvad Purana. For centuries, Sattriya remained confined to monasteries where celibate monks practiced, nurtured and preserved this practice as part of their daily rituals. In the mid-20th century women began to study this tradition and are now the more frequent presenters of Sattriya dance. It is a rare opportunity indeed to also see it performed by a group of ten monks, who sing, and play the percussion instruments as well as dance.

The Philadelphia-based Sattriya Dance Company was launched in 2009 by Madhusmita Bora and Perona Bhuyan with a mission to tell the story of Sattriya, and raise awareness about Majuli and the sattras, through performances, lecture demonstrations, and classes.

Together, the two companies will perform the New York premiere of Sattriya: An Odyssey of The Spirit, choreographed and led by Bhabananda Baarbuyan.