US-based Battery Dance Company enthralls Kolkata with a fusion of American and Indian dance forms
Kolkata, Jan 31 (IBNS): Engaging in collaboration in the arts is one of the best ways that different nations can get to know each other on a level beyond politics, said U.S. Consul General Craig Hall during his opening remarks at a performance by the New York City-based Battery Dance Company in Kolkata, recently.
The programme was organised by the U.S. Department of State and the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR).
The performance was directed by international award-winning choreographer Jonathan Hollander, co-founder of the Indo-American Arts Council and former Fulbright lecturer on dance in India.
The performance was a collaboration between the American dancers of Battery Dance and Indian classical dancer Unnath Hassan Rathnaraju. The performance was accompanied by vocal renditions of well-known Hindustani vocalists Rajan and Sajan Mishra.
In his opening remarks, U.S. Consul General Craig Hall said, “What is wonderful about dance, about cultural exchanges, is that they promote mutual understanding in a way that only art can achieve. Sharing our cultural heritage, engaging in collaboration in the arts, and connecting our countries through shared appreciation of each other’s heritage and culture is one of the best ways that we gain understanding and get to know each other on a level beyond politics.”
The current India tour of Battery Dance Company features Shakti: A Return to the Source, previously named The Durga Project, which was premiered as the centerpiece of the Company’s 40th Anniversary Season in New York in 2016 and subsequently toured the U.S. and Sri Lanka.
Shakti took its inspiration from a classical Indian improvisational work, Raag Durga, as recorded by Rajan and Sajan Mishra.
Battery Dance is founded and directed by Jonathan Hollander in 1976, who is known as a cultural ambassador, having worked in 70 countries to date, and a bridge-builder between the U.S. and India.
Previous Indian-inspired works by Hollander include Songs of Tagore and Layapriya.
Battery Dance has presented many of the foremost dancers and musicians of India on national U.S. tours and annually at its Battery Dance Festival in conjunction with the Indo-American Arts Council, an institution that Hollander co-founded and on whose Board he serves, according to a press release.
On this seventh tour of India, the Battery Dance Company performed in Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru, and Kolkata; the tour will conclude with a performance in New Delhi on Wednesday.
Image: USConsulateKolkata/Twitter
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