The Indian dance company Nrityagram Dance Ensemble performs Sunday at the University of Notre Dame’s DeBartolo Center for the Performing Arts. (Photo provided / January 3, 2008)
Literally translated, “Nrityagram” means “dance village.”
And what audiences will see from the Nrityagram Dance Ensemble Sunday at the University of Notre Dame’s DeBartolo Center for the Performing Arts is the unified performance of a group of dancers that lives, eats and dances together every day in a live-in dance community in India.
Founded by dancer Protima Gauri in 1990 near Bangalore, India, Nrityagram fosters dancing through community, according to the school’s website. Gauri died in 1998, but her dream lives on through the school.
“I dream of building a community of dancers in a forsaken place amidst nature,” Nrityagram’s website quotes Gauri as saying before the school’s founding. “A place where nothing exists, except dance. A place where you can eat, sleep, dream, talk, imagine — dance.”
Surupa Sen, the current artistic director for the ensemble, has been dancing with Nrityagram for 22 years.
The program for Sunday’s performance is a blend of dances found in India and Sri Lanka, Sen says. Dancers in richly colored and ornate costumes will grace the stage to dance in styles that are inspired by yoga, martial arts and meditation.
A speaker will give a post-performance talk after the show Sunday. The discussion begins immediately after the performance ends.
“My favorite part of the performance is the way the rhythmic beats of the two styles combine to create a new, exciting sound,” she says via e-mail.
Sen was the first soloist of Nrityagram, according to the ensemble’s website. She studied under Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra, as well as Gauri. Sen has performed all over the world with the Nrityagram company.
Nrityagram is in the “Gurukul” tradition, meaning the students take care of the guru, or instructor, as well as the school itself, according to the website. At Nrityagram, students are taught by several gurus and have daily requirements in exercise, prayer and, if they live on campus, chores to take care of the school.
The philosophy of Nrityagram is all-encompassing, impacting every aspect of a dancer’s life, according to the school’s website.
“At Nrityagram, dance is a way of life, a matter of faith and belief, nurtured and enriched by the souls of its own people,” the ensemble’s philosophical statement says on the website. “We believe that being a good dancer is second only to being a good human being.”
Sen says she spent eight months developing the choreography for the upcoming show.
“(Audiences can expect) a joyful collaborative effort and a common resonance between two completely different styles of dance born out of two countries and their respective cultures,” she says. “They will see spectacular costumes and live music played by musicians from India and Sri Lanka.”
The show will be traveling all over America, with 12 scheduled stops, Sen says. The ensemble will have a weeklong run at the Joyce Theater in New York.
“(The best part of performing is) dancing to a new audience and seeing their reactions,” Sen says. “(I enjoy) traveling and learning about the country and its people.”
Onstage
The Nrityagram Dance Ensemble performs at 2 p.m. Sunday at the University of Notre Dame’s DeBartolo Center for the Performing Arts. Tickets are $35-$8. For more information, call 574-631-2800 or visit the website performingarts.nd.edu.
source: http://www.southbendtribune.com / Home> Entertainment> Entertainment, Events from inthebend.com / By AMANDA GRAY ,South Bend Tribune / March 1, 2012