Odhon Bayar

Odhon Bayar, a Mongolian singer and master of Mongolian epic poetry, performed at Harvard University on December 3, 2010.

Asik Seref Tashova

Asik Seref Tashova, a Turkish epic singer, performed at the Singers & Tales Symposium at Harvard University on December 4, 2010.  Tashova is listed on Unesco's "Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity."

Bharatanatyam at Chinmaya Mission

October 2010 Pittsburgh

Short video about Griots

A short documentary by Bob Holman...

Upcoming bharatanatyam performance in Pittsburgh

25 Sep, 10

SWAGATHAM KRISHNA - Bharatha Natyam Dance Performance by Students of Smt. Jaya Mani at Chinmaya (Chinmaya Mission Pittsburgh Monroeville,PA)

Posted on: Tuesday, 31 August, 2010  20:25
Updated On: Wednesday, 22 September, 2010  11:39
Expires On: Thursday, 30 September, 2010  20:25
Reply to: info@chinmayamissionpittsburgh.org

SWAGATHAM KRISHNA - Bharatha Natyam Dance Performance by Students of Smt. Jaya Mani Date: Saturday, September 25, 2010 Time: 5 PM to 7PM Followed By Dinner Admission Fee (Price Include Dinner): ------------------------------------------ Family of 4 - $50 Extended Family of 6 - $60 One Adult - $20 One Student - $15 Kids Under 10 years - $10 Venue: -------- Chinmaya Mission Pittsburgh (Chinmaya Sanjeevani) 3817 Northern Pike, Monroeville,PA 15146 ================================================ Natyakalavathi Smt. Jaya Mani: ----------------------------------- Natyakalavathi Smt. Jaya Mani is an accomplished artist in Bharathanatyam and Kuchipudi dance styles and continues to keep alive the rich and exclusive dance tradition of Sri. Kancheepuram Ellappa Pillai through her teaching and dance recitals. In addition to performing extensively in India, Smt. Jaya Mani has also given Bharathanatyam and Kuchipudi dance recitals in USA, Canada, England, France, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Kenya, Brazil and Sri Lanka. Smt. Jaya Mani was given the title “Pride of India” by the Mayor of Pittsburgh for outstanding accomplishment as an artist and a teacher. Smt. Jaya Mani has received many awards for her dance performance and has been invited to conduct dance workshops and to perform in the Festival of India programs in several cities in the U.S. Currently she is an adjunct professor of dance at Slippery Rock University, Pennsylvania. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shristi Dances of India

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10264/1089036-325.stm?cmpid=newspanel0

Srishti Dances of India program takes emotional journey to India

Dance review

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

By Jane Vranish, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Kevin Dao

A scene from Srishti Dances of India.

In the three years since Srishti Dances of India last appeared at the Kelly-Strayhorn Theater, "Slumdog Millionaire" won an Academy Award. Since then, interest in all things Indian -- food, television and Bollywood movies -- has exploded. Perhaps that's the reason that a near-capacity crowd, many of them first-time visitors, filled the theater Saturday night for "India -- A Light Within."
Sreyashi Dey and her company have frequently pushed the envelope in their performances at the East Liberty theater, venturing into contemporary music and dance, feminist issues and African arts. This program featured an uncommon connection with photographer Charlee Brodsky and poet Zilka Joseph.
Selecting from thousands of photographs, Ms. Brodsky captured details of India's colorful people and panorama. The images sometimes did a slow dance on the screen at the back of the stage. Even more arresting was a series of photos focusing on Ms. Dey's hands, such an important and expressive part of Indian dance.
It also inspired Ms. Joseph's words as she read a selection of poems interspersed between the movement. Her words seem to dance on the written page:
"Fingers dancing in the breath between lips," she read at one point, later adding, "my palms press back the silence."
As for the dance itself, Ms. Dey has contrasted Odissi style with other Indian forms such as Bharatanatyam, the dance of fire; Kathakali, with its more theatrical accent; and Manipuri, with its gentle, folk-like movement gleaned from the northern mountainous regions.
For this performance, she returned to her wellspring with the oldest of the major Indian dances, Odissi. It has been described as the dance of water, or, as Ms. Joseph put it, an "ocean reaching for the moon."
Indeed, this was a celestial happening (aided by Doug Doering's evocative lighting), for Ms. Dey brought with her three students -- her identical twin daughters, Ishika and Kritika Rajan, and Debnita Talapatra. They were all beautifully schooled, undulating cohesively in the upper torso, eyes darting in the company opening, "Invocation to Shiva," and then in a trio depicting temple statues that come to life at night and create their own midnight spell in a beautifully interlaced dance.
This might be the most tightly woven ensemble Ms. Dey has assembled, as evidenced in the final "Pallavi." Although based on a floral motif, it was a whirling storm of movement with a wonderful center of stillness.
Even though the ensemble pieces had myriad patterns that dazzled the eye, it remained for the more intimate moments to delve even more deeply into the Odissi art form. Ms. Dey constructed a difficult duet for her daughters, based on the 10 incarnations of Vishnu, "Dasavatar." They were faced with a daunting task, to convey everything from a fish to a boar and a dwarf to a warrior king. They easily switched between the various characters, winsome in the delicate phrasing but particularly impressive in the powerful physicality for the male roles.
Ms. Dey was a chameleon throughout, blending in with the company when needed, but saving her charismatic talents for a bravura solo, "Manini," in which the character Radha joyfully decorates a garden as she prepares for the arrival of her beloved, Lord Krishna. When he fails to appear, she pulls down the decorations and dissolves into tears.
Ms. Dey began with an undeniable radiance, with numerous filigree hand and arm movements, and made the disappointment and anger so compelling. In the end, it became an emotional journey for both artist and audience that is all too rare.

Former Post-Gazette critic Jane Vranish: jvranish1@comcast.net. She also blogs on CrossCurrents at www.pittsburghcrosscurrents.com.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10264/1089036-325.stm?cmpid=newspanel0#ixzz10OhwtkZv