| IAAC ERASING BORDERS FESTIVAL OF INDIAN DANCE INDOORS Dance Concert: August 13th, 2016. 7pm - 9pm Schimmel Auditorium, Pace University, 3Sprucestreet |
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| highlighting the literary content and languages of Indian classical dance repertoire | |
| Click here for MAP and DIRECTIONS | |
| Indoors: $30 General public and $25 IAAC members Saturday, August 13, 2016 from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM  |
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| SONIA SABRI (Kathak) | |
 One of the brightest & most inspirational of British born dancer-choreographers, Sonia has reinvented Kathak from within to create a unique style that spans its classical roots and contemporary explorations. She has collaborated across art forms with Richard Alston, Shobana Jeyasingh, Nitin Sawhney, and Jonzi D, among others, and is recipient of several awards in the UK. This is her US debut. Will perform: "Salaam" Photo credit: Simon Richardson |
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| In Salaam, which means 'peace', Sonia pays homage both to the dance art and to space. Set in a slow time-cycle of 12 beats and in the late-night scale of Raga Darbari, Sonia's sustained movements, which require a demanding technique, acknowledge the presence of the seen - and the unseen. | |
| CYNTHIA LING LEE (Contemporary, from a Kathak base) | |
 Cynthia intersects postcolonial, queer, and feminist-of-color perspectives to create experimental South Asian performance work that has been presented at Dance Theater Workshop (New York), REDCAT (Los Angeles), and Chandra-Mandapa: Spaces (Chennai). A member of the Post Natyam Collective, Cynthia was last at Erasing Borders in 2010. Will perform: "Rapture/Rupture" Photo credit: Justin Tornow |
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| rapture/rupture utilizes the tools of Indian classical abhinaya (gesture language & dramatic expression) to reinterpret the intimate and bittersweet rapture of love-in-separation (viraha) filtered through the lens of gender non-conformity and queerness. | |
| SOORAJ SUBRAMANIAM (Contemporary, from a Bharatanatyam base) | |
 Trained initially in Bharatanatyam and Odissi at Ramli Ibrahim's Sutra Dance Theatre in Malaysia, Sooraj has also studied contemporary dance and ballet, most especially in Australia. In London he worked with major UK Indian dance companies (Shobana Jeyasingh Dance and Nina Rajarani's Srishti) and also studied Kathak with Urja Desai. He is now based on Belgium from where he comes for his US debut.Will perform: "Nocturnes" Photo credit: Zoe Troughton |
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| Nocturne is a story about Night and her friends: elusive Sleep, devastating Dreams and clumsy Love - told in a language born of contemporary thought and traditional Indian mime. | |
| REVANTA SARABHAI and POOJA PUROHIT (Contemporary, from a Bharatanatyam base) | |
 An independent performer, choreographer, and filmmaker, Revanta combines his classical dance training with contemporary practice to create cutting-edge work, including commissions by Den Haag's Korzo Theatre and a major production set to Philip Glass' "Satyagraha". Pooja, who danced in both former productions, was lead performer at Mallika Sarabhai's Darpana performance Group and is also a yoga teacher. Will perform: "Out of bounds" Photo credit: Zoe Troughton |
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| Out of Bounds questions happens when Bharatanatyam is pared down to its core. Here, dancers - a man and a woman - look for a new narrative even while their bodies carry traces of the past. | |
| ERIKO SUGIMURA (Contemporary, inspired by Bharatanatyam) | |
 Trained in Hong Kong from an early age, Eriko furthered her ballet training at the Vaganova and Bolshoi Ballet Academies in Russia. Now a member of New York's Ballet Inc., she also performed with Jennifer Muller/The Works and studied at Peridance School as did Shreenath Muthyala, the choreographer of "Padam", whose passion for this project led to their collaborating on a filmed version of it as well.Will perform: "Padam" |
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| Padam is named for a particular genre of South Indian classical music: love songs replete with passion. The choreographer experiments with emotional elements from dance genres of Europe in the early 17th century and those of a similar period in south India, where developed among its courtesan culture a flourishing of love songs. The well-known padam "payyada . . ." expresses the state of anguish experienced by a woman separated from a loved one indifferent to her. Ostensibly addressing her 'client', a mere mortal, her mind is in fact focused on her lord, Shri Krishna. | |
| RAMA VAIDYANATHAN (Bharata Natyam) | |
 Disciple of legendary dancer Yamini Krishnamurthy, Rama has evolved her own choreographic and performance style to become one of India's top exponents of Bharatanatyam. She tours worldwide, both performing and giving workshops, and has often appeared in New York: at World Music Institute's Dancing the Gods Festival in 2011 and 2015 and at Erasing Borders in 2013 - always to rave reviews. Will perform: "Navarasa" Photo credit: Avinash Pasricha |
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| Navarasa Mohana presents the nine quintessential 'sentiments' or 'emotional states' of classical Indian theatre, with reference to the life of Lord Krishna, in particular the moment when he meets his uncle Kamsa who, Herod-like, tried to have him killed as a baby: ANGER (of wrestlers insulted at being pitted against a mere boy); WONDER (of common folk beholding their savior); DESIRE (of the young women around); LAUGHTER (of childhood friends recalling their shared pranks); FEAR (of nobles beholding their nemesis); COMPASSION (of older folk beholding 'their child'); VALOR (of uncle Kamsa undeterred at facing his nemesis); CONTEMPT (of unsuspecting spectators who saw him as no match for Kamsa) and TRANQUILITY (of realized souls, who knew Krishna was a manifestation of Supreme Consciousness). | |