|
World-renowned
Natya dance set to perform at Southern Staff Writer
As
a supplement to the India semester, the Natya Dance Theatre is coming to
Missouri Southern Friday. The
theatre is an internationally known group of American dancers who
perform traditional Indian dances. The group has been around since 1975.
It has danced with the Chicago Symphony and other groups in more than 25
states and performed annually during dance festivals in Mandras, India. Natya
performs Vharata Nytam, a 3,000-year-old art form. The dancers interpret
stories through hand gestures, body movements and facial expressions. Krithika
Rajagopalan, executive director and principle dancer, has been training
since she was 12. She said it takes about 15 years to train for the
dances, but it also takes five to seven years to learn the cultural
backgrounds of the dances. You
have to learn the facial expressions, not just know them, Rajagopalan
said. It would be great for them [Southern students] to appreciate it
and see the layers of difficulty in the dances. Dr.
Chad Stebbins, director of the Institute of International Studies, said
the group was chosen because of its importance to Indian culture. For
each international semester, we try to bring in a premiere cultural
event, he said. The
theatre will perform three different activities. A lecture and
demonstration is at 2 p.m. Friday in Anderson Auditorium. The lecture
will be by Rajagopalan. She will demonstrate several dance techniques
and invite the audience to follow her along. A
prelude to Saturday s musicale with a solo performance by Rajagopalan
is scheduled for 8 p.m. Friday in Taylor Auditorium. Everybody
is welcome, said Dr. N. Ree Wells, associate professor of sociology,
who is working as a promoter for the event. You don t have to be a
dancer. The
lecture/demonstration and solo performances are open and free to the
public. This
is an event that in any major city you would pay $20 to $30 a ticket,
whereas here it is free, Stebbins said. A
Diwali dinner is at 7 p.m. Friday in Phinney Recital Hall. The dinner
will include authentic Indian food. The cost of the dinner is $10 per
person. The
main event is at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in Taylor Auditorium. It will
involve the entire dance theatre, and is free to the public. The
120-minute production is called Shakti Chakra - The Energy Cycle.
It is an abstract interpretation of The Five Activities of God.
The activities portrayed include creation, sustenance, protection,
purification and dissolution. The
dance theatre s Web site is www.natya.com for students wanting
information about the group. For information on Southern s
international activities this semester, people may double click on the
India icon on Southern s Web site. Comments
and questions are always welcome, Rajagopalan said. |