Arts Indian dance ensemble to bring classical forms to Memorial Hall
| Indian dance ensemble to bring classical forms to Memorial Hall |
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| Thursday, February 21, 2008 | |
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The beauty and disciplined choreography of classical Indian dance will come to Memorial Hall at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on March 2. The Nrityagram Dance Ensemble, one of the world’s most acclaimed classical Indian dance groups, will perform to an original score played live in the 2 p.m. program. The female ensemble embodies the tradition and spiritual elements of dance and incorporates the communicative power of the medium into the members’ daily lives, according to the group’s Web site, http://www.nrityagram.org/ : “They believe that dance nurtures and enriches their souls. Taken from ancient Indian traditions, in which women were consecrated to the gods as a form of worship, this holistic form of reverence is exemplified in the group’s electrifying performances.” The ensemble has been hailed as “extraordinary” by The Miami Herald and “astonishing” by The New York Times. In a Times review today (Feb. 21) of a Nrityagram performance in New York Tuesday (Feb. 19), reviewer Jennifer Dunning wrote of a jump in which four dancers assume an “S” shape, a particular characteristic of Indian classical dance: “Their arms curve and stretch like those of Indian traditionalists. But that jump, with feet tucked under, has a joyous abandon that signals the kind of pure emotion and physicality, stripped of form and narrative, found more often in Western dance.” Dunning wrote of moments that “underscore the luminous delicacy for which Nrityagram has become known around the world.” The ensemble has been performing for nearly 20 years, throughout Europe, North America and Asia. “Watching them perform is a mesmerizing experience,” said Emil Kang, UNC’s executive director of the arts. “The synchronicity of it is beautiful, and the emotion and magic of each routine is palpable.” Nritygram took part in Durham’s American Dance Festival in 2003. The group has performed at 10 U.S. colleges and universities and been featured in more than a dozen festivals, including Scotland’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival, New York City’s Downtown Dance Festival and Mumbai’s Kalaghoda Festival. The ensemble’s performance is the second in Carolina Performing Arts’ 2007-08 World Stage series. It was preceded by the Khmer Arts Ensemble performing “Pamina Devi: A Cambodian Magic Flute” in October and will be followed by an exploration of African dance entitled “Spirit of Uganda” on April 23. Tickets for the Nrityagram Dance Ensemble performance, $20 to $40, are available online at www.carolinaperformingarts.org , by calling (919) 843-3333 or at the Memorial Hall Box Office on Cameron Avenue, open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays. Tickets for Carolina students are $10. Tickets for all other events in the 2007-08 Carolina Performing Arts season also are on sale. Web site: www.carolinaperformingarts.org Note: Photos and more are available at http://www.carolinaperformingarts.org/media/ Carolina Performing Arts contact: Kara Larson, (919) 966-3834, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it News Services contact: LJ Toler, (919) 962-8589 |