A Festival Committed to Promoting Indian Classical Arts, the Geeva Heritage Festival Held on June 29 and 30, 2012 Presented the Geeva LIFETIME SERVICE AWARD to Dr

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A festival committed to promoting Indian classical arts, the GeeVA Heritage Festival held on June 29 and 30, 2012 presented the GeeVA LIFETIME SERVICE AWARD to Dr. Vasundhara Doraswamy, of Vasundhara Performing Arts, at Ursuline Arts Center in Louisville, KY, for her continued commitment and dedication to the promotion of Bharatanatyam. Dr. Doraswamy has been a frequent visitor to Louisville, KY for the last ten years and during her stay, has conducted workshops and training in Yoga, Kalaripayattu and Bharatanatyam. She has several students who have performed their Rangapravesha under her tutelage. For her dedication and affection towards Louisville and for making a difference in the lives of Louisvillans, the City of Louisville, Mayor’s Office, presented her with an HONORARY CITIZEN OF LOUISVILLE AWARD in the presence of the Mayor of Kentucky.

Odissi Guru Harekrushna Behera (father of Odissi dancer Kavita Dwibedi) passed away at his residence in New Delhi on June 24, 2012. He was 81. He learned the Gotipua and Mahari style of Odissi from Ramhari Behera, Shriram Chandra Dey and Ramchandra Mahapatra apart from learning champu, chhanda, tabla, and contemporary dances like Chhota Khayal. He joined the Nritya Sangeet Kala Mandir (Balasore) in 1952 as a dance teacher. In 1957, he joined the Kala Vikas Kendra to pursue his education under Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra. He also joined the Jayantika movement committed to evolve Odissi with a classical character. In 1960, Babulal Joshi, the then secretary of the Kala Vikas Kendra sponsored his entrance to the Natya Ballet Centre at Delhi to learn ballet. Behera took this opportunity to teach Odissi to aspiring students of the Natya Ballet Centre and thus started the pioneering work of propagating Odissi outside Orissa. In 1964 he joined Kathak Kendra, New Delhi and received training in Kathak from Birju Maharaj. Simultaneously, he learnt pakhawaj from Purushottam Das and Thumri from Siddheswari Devi. Later he concentrated on Odissi and started an institution Nritya Niketan and brought Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra, Guru Mayadhar Raut and Guru Surendra Nath Jena to New Delhi. When this institution closed he joined Gandharva Mahavidyalaya as an Odissi guru in 1971 and Sri Ram Bharatiya Kala Kendra in 1974. He started his own institute Odissi Kendra in 1979. www.narthaki.com/info/flash.html 1/3 7/4/12 Flash News

He composed many new items in Pallavi, abhinaya, tandav, Mangalacharan etc. He choreographed several dance dramas combining classical Odissi with folk forms. Guru Harekrushna Behera College of Art and Culture, Balasore, imparting training in Orissan music and dance was established in 1997. Guru Behera has been honored with The All India Critics Association Award, Calcutta (1981), The Orissa Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1983), Sahitya Kala Parishad Award from Delhi (1990), Central Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (2003). He has trained many celebrity dancers like Sonal Mansingh, Yamini Krishnamurthi, Aloka Panikar, Surendra Nath Jena, Radha Reddy, Madhavi Mudgal and Kavita Dwibedi.

On June 18, 2012 Lata Pada, Artistic Director for Sampradaya Dance Creations, was honoured with the QUEEN ELIZABETH II DIAMOND JUBILEE MEDAL for her outstanding contributions to the community as a Canadian citizen, at the Diamond Jubilee Gala at Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto. The Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal was created to mark the 60th anniversary celebration of Queen Elizabeth’s coronation. Inspired by the Queen’s service to Commonwealth nations, this commemorative medal will be awarded throughout the course of the year to 60,000 exceptional Canadians across the nation. To be eligible, nominees must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, have made significant contribution to a particular province, territory, region or community in Canada or an achievement abroad that has brought credit to the country, and have been alive Feb 6, 2012, the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s accession to the throne. “It is a significant moment for me to be recognized among this group of honourees. We are all most proud to be Canadian, and it is our responsibility to continue to be advocates and voices that rise above the crowd for the issues and causes we believe in, particularly within our own communities,” says Lata Pada, who is also the Founder-Director of Sampradaya Dance Academy, a premiere professional dance training organization.

Known for his prowess in paccha, kathi and minukku characters, Kathakali exponent Kalamandalam Rajan passed away at Tripunithura, Kerala, on June 13, 2012. He was 81.

Chitra Visweswaran took over from Padma Subrahmanyam on May 1, 2012 as the President of ABHAI (Association of Bharatanatyam Artistes of India) for the next three years. The ne w set of office bearers: Parvathi Ravi Ghantasala is Secretary, Revathi Ramachandran and S Janaki are the two Vice-Presidents, Priya Dixit is Treasurer and S Shivakumar is the Jt. Secy. Chitra plans to add an academic thrust to the activities in ABHAI that is now entering its 25th year.

International Dance Congress (IDC - for India-International cultural promotion, peace and friendship) organized by Devdasi Nrutya Mandir in association with Odisha Tourism and Samskritiki (Bhubaneswar) and dedicated to Guru Gangadhar Pradhan takes place at Rabindra Mandap, Bhubaneswar, from 20 - 22 June, 2012. Award winners on June 20, 2012 Dr. Sunil Kothari will be awarded with NRUTYA BIDWAN for dance scholarship, Durga Charan Ranbir (Odissi, Bhubaneswar) with NRUTYAVACHASPATI, Dr. Ileana www.narthaki.com/info/flash.html 2/3 7/4/12 Flash News

Citaristi with ‘IDC Award of Excellence-2012’ for her lifetime dedication to Indian classical dance as a foreigner, Ratikant Mohapatra (Bhubaneswar), Samar Sharma (Guwahati) and Bathina Vikram Goud (Vishakhapatnam) with ‘IDC Award of Excellence-2012’ for dance promotion. NRUTYA BIDWAN award winners on June 22, 2012 Dr. Priyambada Mohanty Hejmadi (Odissi, Bhubaneswar), Kalavati Devi (Manipuri, Kolkata), Uma Dogra (Kathak, Mumbai), Dr. Vedantam Ramalinga Sastry (Kuchipudi - Kuchipudi Village, Andhra), Girija Chandran (Mohiniattam, Trivandrum), Sheela Unnikrishnan (Bharatanatyam, Chennai), Prof. TS Vasunni (Kathakali, Shanti Niketan, Kolkata), Anita Sharma (Sattriya, Assam) There are also other awards like NRUTYA PATIYASHI (seniors) and NRUTYA PRAVEENA for young dancers.

June 24, 2012 will be officially proclaimed as INDIAN CLASSICAL ARTS DAY by the City of Ottawa at the Harold Shenkman Hall, Shenkman Arts Centre, on the final day of the Canadian Gharana Festival.

The Canada Council for the Arts announced the seven award-winning and internationally renowned artists who will receive the 2012 Victor Martyn Lynch- Staunton Awards. Contemporary dancer Nova Bhattacharya; sculptor Valérie Blass; poet Sylvia Legris; interdisciplinary artist Manon De Pauw; playwright, actor and director Denis Lavalou; composer and conductor Brian Current; and filmmaker and multimedia artist Graeme Patterson are this year’s winners. The annual awards, worth $15,000 each, recognize outstanding mid-career artists in the seven disciplines funded by the Canada Council: visual arts, dance, integrated arts, theatre, music, writing and publishing, and media arts. The prizes were created using funds from a generous bequest made by the late Victor Martyn Lynch‑Staunton to the Canada Council. The winners were chosen from the pool of applicants from the Grants to Professional Artists programs during the 2010‑11 fiscal year.

GATI has been able to raise about 65% of the costs and the new community space for dance is now open! At: 5 Wind Mill Place, S-17 Khirkee Extension, Opp. Select City Walk, New Delhi 17.