Traditional Indian dance hits campus

A dance tradition that dates back 2,000 years has found its way to a University stage. Tomorrow at 8 p.m., a group of students from California, led by internationally renowned dancer and choreographer Ramya Harishankar, will perform Bharata Natyam, a classical Indian dance, at the Mendelssohn Theatre in the Michigan League.

The Arpana Dance Company originates from Orange County, California and is comprised of Ramya Harishankar's most proficient students. The group's Website can be accessed at http://www.nos.net/ramya said.

The group has not only traveled throughout much of the United States, but performed worldwide in places including Delhi, Mumbai, Baroda, Hyderabad, Austria and Germany. Specializing in the art of Bharata Natyam, five members of the group will be present at their Ann Arbor appearance, promising a good show, first-year Law student and show organizer Meera Deo said.

Bharata Natyam is one of India's six classical dance traditions.

The group's Website describes the dance as an intensely physical synthesis of all of India's major arts ( poetry, sculpture, literature and music). The tradition which follows strict rules, has been handed down from teacher to student in South India for centuries.

The dance has two main parts: Nritta (pure dance) and Abhinaya (interpretive dance). Through gestures and expressions, the dancers convey a specific story or idea to the audience. Before each dance in the performance, there will be a brief explanation of its themes and origins given by the performers.

"My favorite dance of the performance portrays the many aspects of love in a woman," Meera said.

"The first type is the love between a woman and a child, the second is between a man and a woman and the third is between a woman and God. The dancers use physical symbolism, gestures and movement to express these themes."

Harishankar founded the Arpana Dance Company 15 years ago. Since then, the group has grown to be recognized as one of the United States' premier Indian dance companies. Twenty-seven of its past and present performers have performed their arangetram (solo debuts), and the group has danced in many major cultural events, including the Center on Tour program of the Orange County Performing Arts Center.

On the Website, Harishankar said she aims to present the Indian dance to as diverse an audience as possible.

She said that she has taken the experience that she gained through her teachers and tried to rely their message of "beauty and integrity" to her audiences.

She has become a teacher of the dance herself now, and aims to continue the precedence set by her educators. Harishankar said that she is committed to keeping her students motivated in the dance.

She created the Arpana Dance Company to give her students a creative outlet through which they can express their dance to audiences.

Harishankar has more than 20 years of experience touring and performing in places such as Canada, France, Denmark, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, Australia and Kuwait. She has been the recipient of the Choreographer's Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Multicultural Entry grant from the California Arts Council.

This will be the Arpana Dance Company's only performance in the Ann Arbor area and proceeds from the production will be donated to a charity.

The Arpana Dance Company will perform tomorrow night only. Tickets are $3 and can be reserved in advanced by calling Meera Deo at (313) 332-6018 or e-mailing her at mdeo@umich.edu

04-10-98