Facing East is Courtyard Dancers’ continued engagement with its community bringing by together a diverse and leading group of performers of Bharatnatyam, Kathak, Odissi, Sitar and Tabla. We imagine this festival as an enrichment of the mosaic of immigrant cultures in America by performing India’s multicultural heritage.
ABOUT COURTYARD DANCERS
Courtyard Dancers (courtyarddancers.org) is a collective of vibrant and talented professionals and students for whom dancing is a form of civic engagement to connect to the traditional arts of India through contemporary aesthetics and progressive politics. We believe that tradition and contemporary are not oppositional, but are best understood as legacies, connections, and transformations.
We sponsor classes on dance and empowerment for underprivileged children in Subhasgram in outer Kolkata, India.
This event is part of our ongoing efforts to create a Philadelphia-based center to engage with the study and dissemination of Indian performances.
PERFORMERS
Dakshina/Daniel Phoenix Singh Dance Company Hybrid of modern and Bharata Natyam (Washington D.C.)
Akshara, Sreyashi Dey, Odissi (Michigan)
Abhik Mukherjee, Sitar and Tejas Tope, Tabla (New York)
Courtyard Dancers, Pallabi Chakravorty, Kathak (Philadelphia)