Kaleidoscope of Classical Indian Dances Music at Noon Performance, Lunch & Concert

India has a diverse range of classical performing arts, including music, dance and theater. Many of these art forms have roots in an ancient text called the Natya Shastra, believed to have been written between 200 AD and 200 BC in Sanskrit. It is the oldest surviving text in the world on stagecraft. The Bay Area is fortunate to have many of these art forms represented. This program will feature four classical dance forms—Bharatanatyam, Kathak, Odissi and Mohiniattam—presented as solo performances by Kavita Thirumalai, Gauri Bhatnagar and Bindu Pratap to pre-recorded music. Kavita Thirumalai is a student of Bharatanatyam and has four unique solo dance productions that have been staged in many prestigious venues. She is a regular performer in the Chennai Dance Season and an active member in several organizations in the Bay Area serving the Indian dance community. She recently co-curated a day-long festival called IDIA. Gauri Bhatnagar started her Kathak journey at the age of six. In 2009, she was accepted in the elite pre-professional youth company Chitresh Das Youth Company She has performed at many prestigious festivals and venues such as Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival and Toronto’s Harbourfront Theatre. She recently performed solo to a sold-out house and standing ovation in Palo Alto and is on the teaching staff at the Chitresh Das Institute. Smt. Bindu Pratap is an accomplished dancer, choreographer and teacher and the founder and artistic director of Nritanjali Dance Academy, a leading dance school in the Bay Area. She has cultivated artists in two of the South Indian divine dance forms, Bharatanatyam and Mohiniyattam, for the past eleven years. Her pure blend of the Kalamandalam and Kalakshetra style, emphasizing Natya (dance), Abhinaya (expressions) and Lasya (grace), captivates the audience and renders a rich classical experience. Monthly Music at Noon concerts include a delicious hot buffet lunch before the concert.