Dancing the Gods: Shantala Shivalingappa

World Music Institute presents Dancing the Gods: Kuchipudi Shantala Shivalingappa Sunday, October 30, 2011 7:00 PM NYU Skirball Center 566 LaGuardia Place @ Washington Square South

The Madras-born, Paris-raised Shantala Shivalingappa is treasured in both East and West, celebrated in traditional and contemporary dance circles, praised by the New York Times and Vogue alike. While admired for her work with Pina Bausch and Béjart, she is best known for her luminous performances of Kuchipudi, an ancient South Indian classical dance rarely seen in the West. She studied this vibrant and graceful form under Guru Vempati Chinna Satyam and was a hit at Fall for Dance and Jacob’s Pillow. This marks her first full-length solo show in New York. “sheer technical mastery… incomparable richness and complexity.” – San Francisco Chronicle Made possible in part with support from the Anupam & Rajika Puri Foundation. Pre-concert lec-dem for ticket holders: “Illuminating Indian Dance” with dancer/storyteller Rajika Puri, and guest dancers Malini Srinivasan, Kadhambari Sridhar, and Donia Salem Learn about the hand gestures, foot rhythms, melodies, and facial expressions of classical Indian dance – and see the stylistic differences in three Indian temple forms: Bharata Natyam, Kuchipudi, and Odissi. Meet the deities, beloved by Indians, who are described and even directly addressed in the dances. Lec-dem begins at 6pm and will last approx 30 minutes.