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Natya Dance Theatre brings classical
dance
from India to Manchester on Sept. 17
NORTH MANCHESTER, Ind. (Sept. 2, 2004) – The Natya
Dance Theatre will perform its award-winning Ahimsa – Toward
Nonviolence in Manchester College’s first public program of the new
school year, on Friday, Sept. 17. The Chicago-based troupe performs
works based on Bharata Natyam, a leading classical dance form of India.
The Sept. 17 performance begins at 7 p.m. in
Cordier Auditorium on the Manchester College campus. Tickets are $7 for
adults; $5 for seniors and students 18 and under. For reservations, call
260-982-5551. Tickets also are available at the door.
Hailed as a “triumph” and “superb” by the “Chicago
Reader,” Ahimsa focuses on humankind’s struggle against violence
while striving toward peace. Stories are taken from Hindu mythology
illustrating various forms of violence – against women, children, the
poor and the downtrodden. A live orchestra will accompany the
performance. Natya Dance Theatre, which has an Emmy, received the
Chicago Dance Award in 2003 for Ahimsa.
Natya Dance Theatre has toured internationally,
performing at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Avignon
Festival in Paris, the Madras Dance and Music Festival and the
Smithsonian Institution.
Natya Dance artistic director Hema Rajagopalan and
assistant artistic director and principal dancer Krithika Rajagopalan
choreographed Ahimsa. Hema Rajagopalan has received seven dance
choreography fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and
has produced more than 100 dance dramas. Krithika Rajagopalan dances,
choreographs, teaches, conducts workshops and master classes, and
develops outreach performances and programs for schools and
universities. She has received the Jerome Foundation Grant Award and the
Master Teacher Award from the Illinois Arts Council.
Manchester is a Church of the Brethren college with
about 1,100 students. For more information about the college, visit
www.manchester.edu |
