By Mabel Pais

The Indo-American Arts Council (IAAC) is organizing the 11th Annual Erasing Borders Dance Festival (EBDF), a 3-day festival from September 14 to 16, consisting of:

• Dance CONCERT in Queens, New York, on September 14th 7PM – 9PMat the Community Center, 143-09 Holly Avenue, Flushing, NY 11355
• WORKSHOPS on September 15th 1:30PM – 4:30PMat the Alvin AileyCitigroup Theatre, 405 W 55th St, New York, NY 10019
• Dance CONCERT on September 15, 5PM – 7PMat the Alvin AileyCitigroup Theatre, 405 W 55th St, New York, NY 10019

Discussion: Dancing Identityon September 16, 1:10PM – 2.25PMand bharatanatyam masterclass by Radhe Jaggi on September 16, 4:10PM – 5:25 PM at Barnard College,3009 Broadway, New York, NY 10027.

About EB Dance

Established in 2008, the prestigious Erasing Borders Dance Festival (EBDF) presents both emerging and established dancers and choreographers. IAAC is proud to note that many of the new and emerging artists it has presented in the past went on to perform extensively with international recognition.

Each year, the curatorial team strives to bring the audience outstanding original works from various parts of the world. This year’s bounty of applications coalesced around representations of identity as fluid and as challenging or highlighting the role of tradition in our lives. How do we understand ourselves, our traditions, within our current locations in nationalist, immigrant and global scenarios? Raw, or finely honed, this year’s program highlights the many ways in which dancers ‘play’ with tradition and inform a creative aesthetic of the 21st century.

This year, the lineup includes –

Radhe Jaggi:Sankara Srigiri
Sankara Srigiriis a kriti describing the dance of Shiva in the Chit Sabha(the Hall of Consciousness). His body smeared with ash, His third eyes shining upon His forehead, with a garland of skulls adorning His chest, Shiva danced the Celestial Dance. The bells of His anklet resound while the sages and deities watch in wonder. He is accompanied on instruments by all the gods who have gathered to watch. The dance is composed by Leela Samson.

Parijat Desai:Pardon My Heart
Pardon My Heart, by choreographer Parijat Desai, reimagines the lovelorn nayika (heroine) of medieval Sufi period – now she’s a bit more melodramatic, and speaks in contemporary verse. Desai weaves dance together with recitation of verse by American poet Marcus Jackson and legendary Pakistani reformer Faiz Ahmed Faiz. Her choreography is set to new arrangements of Ravi Shankar’s “Chaturang Tarana” and a Khayal in Raag Nat Bihag. On Sunday, Desai will be accompanied by a stellar ensemble: Kiran Ahluwalia (vocal), Neel Murgai (sitar), Arun Ramamurthy (violin), Ehren Hansen (tabla). On Saturday, she will perform to a unique arrangement of the original Tarana and Khayal recordings, by sound designer Stephan Moore.

Kalamandir Dance Company: UrbanJatra

Drawing from their roots of traditional Kathak movements and combining them with a contemporary movement vocabulary, this performance creates a theatrical effect of Jatra – community theatre. Solo Kathak footwork complements the synchronized movement by an ensemble for a visual juxtaposition of the traditional and contemporary.

IndianRaga:Tradition in Transition
IndianRaga’s work seeks to prove that innovation and traditionare not mutually exclusive. “Shiva Shambho” offers a new take on classical nritta, weaving in aspects of Shiva with intense footwork and dramatic poses. “Depression” exhibits the everyday struggle of living with mental illness. We see the future of Indian classical dance as highly relevant to the present day, and one that can transcend cultural, religious, and social boundaries.

New York audiences will have a chance to catch these performances on 2 evenings –

Saturday, September 14, 2019 7 PM – 9 PM Community Center, 143-09 Holly Avenue, Flushing, NY 11355 (Indian Raga will not be part of this concert)

And

Sunday, September 15, 2019 5 PM – 7 PM The Alvin Ailey Citigroup Theatre, 405 W 55th St, New York, NY 10019

In addition to these performances, there will also be workshops and panels on September 15 and 16.

Apart from the performers and curators, panelists include:

Nolini Barrettooriginally a Chhau dancer in India who has long been part of the New York arts community. Most recently, Nolini founded the site-specific performance series, Sitelines, which she curated and produced for six years at the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council. Nolini served on the Bessies Committee (New York Dance and Performance Awards) from 2007 to 2014 and was the Co-Curator of DFA’s Dance on Camera Festival at Lincoln Center in July 2019.

Aparna Ramaswamydescribed as “rapturous and profound” by The New York Times, is Co-Artistic Director of Ragamala Dance Company. Aparna is a senior disciple of the legendary Bharatanatyam dancer Padma Bhushan Smt. Alarme`l Valli. Aparna’s awards include a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Doris Duke Performing Artist Award, a Joyce Award and more. She has been commissioned by Lincoln Center, Walker Art Center, American Dance Festival, the Arts Center at NYU Abu Dhabi and The Kennedy Center, among others.

Tamar Rogoffwill be leading a workshop on narrative dance. As artistic director of Tamar Rogoff Performance Projects she does inclusive, multidisciplinary, multigenerational, and site-specific performance and film. She has developed body scripting, an experiential approach that informs her lifelong teaching and choreographic process. Her work has been shown at P.S. 122, LaMaMa, Lincoln Center and abroad. Rogoff choreographed for Claire Danes at P.S. 122 and was her movement coach for HBO’s Temple Grandin. She has been funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, Rockefeller MAP Grant, NYFA, Sundance, IFP and was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship.

For more Details and to purchase Tickets for the Erasing Borders Dance Festival, visithttps://iaac.us/erasing-borders-dance-festival/

ABOUT INDO-AMERICAN ARTS COUNCIL:
The IAAC supports all the artistic disciplines in classical, fusion, folk and innovative forms influenced by the arts of India. We work cooperatively with colleagues around the United States to broaden our collective audiences and to create a network for shared information, resources and funding. Our focus is to help artists and art organizations in North America as well as to facilitate artists from India to exhibit, perform and produce their work here. The IAAC is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. All donations are tax-deductible to the fullest extent allowable by law. For further information, visit www.iaac.us.
Indo-American Arts Council Inc. 303 Fifth Avenue, Suite 1007, New York, NY 10016. Phone: 212 594 3685, Fax: 212 594 8476 Email: admin@IAAC.usWeb: www.IAAC.us

(Mabel Pais writes on the Arts and Entertainment, Social Issues, Spirituality, and Health & Wellness.  She can be reached at mabelep1406@gmail.com)