World Music Institute And Asia Society Present Dancing The Gods: A Two Day Indian Dance Festival

WMI's annual Dancing the Gods Festival of Indian Dance celebrates its 13th year, featuring some of the leading performers of Indian dance. Each night begins with a slide presentation by Rajika Puri, festival curator, and acclaimed dance storyteller.

This year's slide-lecture is on 'Choreography and Indian Dance', presented in the auditorium on both nights at 7:15pm.

Night One

Kasi Aysola and Archana Raja
(Kuchipudi with Live Music)

Friday, May 10, 2024

Doors: 7 PM | Lec Dem by Curator Rajika Puri: 7:15 PM | Performance: 8 PM

Asia Society - 725 Park Ave., Manhattan

Tickets: $35 | $45 | $55

Kasi Aysola is a performer, choreographer, and nattuvangam artist based in the United States. Apart from his solo performances, as Artistic Director of the Prakriti Dance Company, he also collaborates with and trains artists across America. Moreover, he is renowned for his original rhythmic compositions and the musical insight with which he has accompanied dance artists like Rama Vaidyanathan, Mythili Prakash, and Janaki Rangarajan, all of whom have appeared in Dancing the Gods over the years. WMI last presented Kasi as part of our virtual Dancing the Gods festival in 2022, where he performed the world premiere of a series of Kuchipudi works. For this year's festival, he will be joined by Archana Raja, a Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi practitioner, teacher, and choreographer based in the Bay Area who is currently a student of Kasi in the Vempati style of Kuchipudi.

This duet brings together vibrant performers in a performance celebrating the timeless Kuchipudi form. Kuchipudi is iconic for its undulating flowing energy that is brought out by both dancing bodies. Storytelling from a dramatic approach is emphasized as the dancers aim to take the audience on a journey of myriad emotions, evoking 'rasa' or experience. Kasi and Archana approach this duet from a place of play. The dancers experiment with space, character, gender, rhythm, music and form to explore new possibilities of presenting traditional dances.

Night Two:

Rama Vaidyanathan
"Rathnagarbha" (Ode to Mother Earth)
(Solo Bharatanatyam with Live Music)

NYC Premiere

Sunday, May 12, 2024

Doors: 7 PM | Lec Dem by Curator Rajika Puri: 7:15 PM | Performance: 8 PM

Asia Society - 725 Park Avenue, Manhattan

Tickets: $35 | $45 | $55

Rama Vaidyanathan is one of the foremost Bharatanatyam dancers of her generation and is also the recipient of the prestigious Sangeet Natak Akademi Puraskar awarded by the central government of India. Her technique is grounded in tradition, yet she brings a fresh approach to her choreography that is evident in the innumerable dance compositions she has added to the Bharatanatyam repertoire. As Director of Ganesa Natyalaya New Delhi, she is actively engaged in teaching and nurturing young dancers, inspiring a whole new generation. Rama opened the very first Dancing the Gods festival in 2011.

Rama will be performing "Rathnagarbha", a piece she also conceived of and choreographed. Inspired by a seal from the Harappan civilization bearing a figurine of a woman with a plant growing out of her womb, this solo work explores various metaphors of Mother Earth giving birth to her progeny, sustaining and nourishing it continuously. Drawing from ancient Indian texts that speak of respecting the cosmic order, the choreography enters areas of inclusivity, gender equality, and Earth democracy, thereby reiterating the importance of conserving, celebrating, and protecting this planet for an organic evolution of mankind.

About Festival Curator Rajika Puri:

Rajika Puri, an exponent of Bharatanatyam and Odissi, conceived of and named Dancing the Gods, Festival of Indian Dance. Well-versed in the dance world of India, and herself an exponent of Bharatanatyam and Odissi, she personally contacts fellow dancers in India - soloists and groups - and is involved in curating the programs they present. Rajika is also known for her particular brand of onstage pre-performance slide lectures - often with demonstration - on a subject connected with the dance forms being presented.

About Asia Society

Asia Society is the leading educational organization dedicated to promoting mutual understanding and strengthening partnerships among peoples, leaders, and institutions of Asia and the United States in a global context. Across the fields of arts, business, culture, education, and policy, the Society provides insight, generates ideas, and promotes collaboration to address present challenges and create a shared future. Founded in 1956, Asia Society is a nonpartisan, nonprofit educational institution with offices in Hong Kong, Houston, Los Angeles, Manila, Mumbai, New York, San Francisco, Seoul, Sydney, Tokyo, Washington, DC and Zurich.

About World Music Institute:

Founded in 1985 as a not-for-profit, World Music Institute (WMI) has served as one of the leading presenters of world music and dance within the United States. WMI is committed to presenting the best in traditional and contemporary music and dance from around the world with the goal of inspiring wonder for the world's rich cultural traditions, promoting awareness and appreciation and encouraging cross-cultural dialog and exchange. WMI presents at venues throughout the city and depends on both public and private funding to accomplish its mission.

The program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.