Press Release

A dance Festival - A conference- A competition

Traditional Indian classical dance performances, Young Dancers Competition and National dance conference in St. Louis, MO on April 26,27,28 - 2024.

Soorya Performing Arts, a non-profit organization dedicated to Indian classical dance, music, and theatre, proudly presents the 15th American Natya Festival to the Clayton High School Auditorium, #1 Mark Twain Circle, Clayton, MO 63105. The festival will be held on April 27th, 28th, and 29th, 2024, and will showcase the graceful dance forms from India.

This three-day festival presents professional performing artists from different parts of the United States and India, featuring beautiful Indian classical dance forms such as Bharatanatyam, Kathak, Kuchipudi, Andhra Natyam, and many dance dramas. The festival begins with a solo Bharatanatyam performance by Ms. Sapna Bhat, director of the Upasana dance company from Texas. Radhanika Dance Company will present a group Andhra Natyam dance production under the direction of Ms. Nisha Maguluru.

Soorya Performing Arts is honored to invite two dance specialists from India – Ms. Pratibha Prahlad (Director, Prasiddha Foundation, New Delhi, India) and Dr. Padmini Seshadri (Director, Nritya Gaana Academy of Performing Arts, Bengaluru, India). Both are well-known danseuses from India. Ms. Pratibha Prahlad is a Padmashri awardee, a national award given by the President of India. Dr. Padmini Seshadri has done extensive research into ancient dance traditions from south India. Both Pratibha and Padmini will be giving scholarly demonstrations in the 15th Natya Festival.

St. Louis’s famous dance team – Soorya Dance Company will be presenting a thematic production – “Defeat of Death” – based on the monumental work “Savitri” by great Indian freedom fighter, Ascetic Yogi – Shree Aurobindo. The story of Savithri and Sathyavan is a living story for many millennia in the Indian subcontinent. This production highlights conjugal love conquering death, a story derived from “Mahabharata” - the famous epic of India. The characters are avatars of emanations of living and conscious forces, which take the forms of human beings to shine eternal values into life. They show the way from a mortal state to a divine consciousness and immortal life. Veteran dance Mr. Prasanna Kasthuri will be directing and performing with the team of dancers. Prasanna is known for his perfect moves in Bharatanatyam and innovative choreography.

Chicago’s Natya Dance Theater will present dance drama - “Shakti Chakra” under the direction of veteran dance Guru Hema Rajagopalan. They bring a beautiful collage of metaphysics with mythology. It showcases the eternal fight between “rights” and “wrongs” in the cycle of life through stories from age-old “Devi Purana”. They present a beautiful thematic dance drama in Bharatanatyam style with mesmerizing themes and captivating footwork and expression.

 

Shanbhavi’s International School of Kathak from California will be presenting traditional Kathak dances from their company dancers. Director Shambhavi Dandekar is one of the famous Kathak dancers of the USA, who has made an indelible impact on the minds of the audience. Acharya Performing Arts from Chicago will be presenting the ancient epic – Ramayana with a huge dance group coming from the windy city of Chicago under the guidance of director/Dancer Ms. Asha Adiga. Pushyami Gottipati, the Artistic Director of Sri Kuchipudi Nrityalaya, will be presenting the popular Bhama Kalapam, a masterpiece of the legendary dance Master – Vempati Chinna Sathyam.

Saint Louis’s other eminent dance teachers such as Asha Prem, Archana Upamaka, Sujatha Vinjamuri, Smitha Rajan, Bhavitha Ganesh, and Prathibha Mannil are expected to take part in showcasing their artists in the local dance section of the American Natya Festival.

The 15th American Natya festival is proud to host a NATYA Kala conference this year. Natya Kala conference is an educational dance-related conference, where many issues of Indian classical dance will be discussed. Dance Scholars such as Maya Chadda from New York, Dr. Avanthi Meduri from Chennai, India; Dr. Alice Bloch, an authority on Modern dance; Dr. Christine Knoblauch-O'Neal, a well-known Ballet professor from Washington University, will be sharing their thoughts.

Danette House, the storyteller from Ozarks, will be collaborating with Indian dancers to tell the stories of the American Civil War with Indian dance movements. Young dancers such as Samanvita Kasthuri and Aparna Kalyanaramana will be discussing the challenges of young Indian dancers in the Saint Louis region. This thought-provoking conference will be beneficial to dance students and dance enthusiasts. The conference focuses on topics such as Young Dancer's Challenges in the USA, Movement and Mime in Indian and American Art forms, and Storytelling - a contribution of Indian dance styles.

The 15th Natya festival has been made possible by the support from grants from the Missouri Arts Council, the Regional Arts Council, and many other generous sponsors. It is an event that should not be missed by anyone interested in experiencing the rich cultural heritage of India expressed through dance.

More details of the 15th American Natya Festival are on https://www.natya.org/

 

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