A contemporary Odissi Dance by Mayur, depicting the resilient human spirit, with its power to overcome all types of adversity. The performance encapsulated human resilience amidst disease, war, and natural calamities.
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At our first stop in Kolkata, Jiyon and I both had the opportunity to perform at a venue called CLT (Children’s Little Theatre). From the day after we arrived at Kolkata, we had rehearsals everyday at the CLT stage, rehearsing our show. This was so different from what we have normally experienced because we rarely have the opportunity to rehearse multiple times on the same stage we perform.
CLT holds a great significance in the history of our dance school. As students, our connection to CLT runs deep, especially considering that our teacher, Sukanya Mukherji, received her training there. Performing on the same stage where she once danced was a thrilling experience, and was a huge opportunity that we were lucky to have received.
Performing with an older group on our dance tour in India was super fun! At first, the rehearsals and practices with a more experienced group of dancers was challenging, as we weren’t used to the faster paces and the rigorous footwork that came along with the dances, but their countless help throughout the process made it fun and allowed us to connect deeper with them.
The opening segment of our CLT show was titled “Rhythms of the World”. This part of the show took parts of music from cultures all across the world and was set to Odissi dance. Adithi and I took part in a number of dances from this segment such as Native American, Australian, Chinese, and our personal favorite, African dance. This was a duet that we did which we had performed the previous summer, and were looking to perform again. The dance was a crowd favorite due to the energetic beats and the fast footwork. We loved performing in India, specifically, CLT, and getting the opportunity to perform for a different audience.
It was wonderful to have so many of you with us for our virtual production Maya: the Illusionist, produced with generous support from the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County. Through this program, our intention was to introduce viewers to an ancient South Asian perspective on the idea of worldly illusion, and to share both the traditional vocabulary and the contemporary narrative potential of the Odissi dance form. Starting with the idea of illusion, or Maya, as it is conceptualized in Hindu scripture, we wanted to show how reality is obscured in stories from other literary and cultural traditions, serving as both a plot device and a metaphor for a major aspect of the human experience.
The show premiered via Zoom on December 5th, 2021, but if you missed it, don’t worry! You can still watch it until January 5th, 2022 by completing this short registration form after which you’ll see a link in the completion message to view it on our Youtube channel. If you would like to share feedback after viewing the show, please look for a link to our short feedback form in the description box below the video. We will be donating $1 to a Wheaton area charitable organization for every survey response we receive.
Thanks again to everyone who joined us as we tried out some new things, and especially to those who participated in our talkback or shared their feedback with us in other ways – we are so grateful to you!