August 6, 2011 The FUNKtion Dance Complex | Monmouth Junction, NJ

Rumi, the Sufi poet, uttered the perfect homage to dance: it is the easiest path to reach the Divine. The world today is complex: it has anger, fear, cruelty, violence and uncertainty on one hand, and on the other an urge for harmony and strength, hope for love and desire for perfection. Contemporary creative dance assembles all these contradictory aspects of modern times and endeavors to give shape to this apparent chaos and complexity through forms that reinvent traditions, deconstruct given forms, and try to reach a language that symbolizes the essential cry of humanity. Kalamandir Dance Company works with this very objective in mind with both rigor and fantasy, discipline and ecstasy, with a constant spirit of creative experimentation.

Sharmila Roy Pommot, artist and singer (France)

Dance for me is the dream which I dreamed every night while sleeping. Even though it was a breath of life not conscious of its own existence, I could never be content and complete without it. Ever since I was a little girl...dance was always my ita (“friend” in Manipuri). However, being a dancer of this era, I believe in making certain dance forms more accessible to the audience without tampering their spirit. When there is an urge among dancers to present [their discipline of] dance for a wider audience, the need to re-model, re-create and rejuvenate the dance form is felt. The dancers have to strike a balance between the richness of the tradition and contemporary receptivity.

Bimbavati Devi, Manipuri dancer and choreographer (India)

Art for Art's Sake The Mission of The Mosaic Dance Festival

Throughout my dance experience, with a classical start and a creative continuation, the need for tradition and culture to be preserved through the progression of time became increasingly important to me. Living in this country for almost forty years, I knew that spreading art forms of India would only last if they stayed relevant to the time and new generations. I wanted this festival to be a cross cultural exchange of music and movements from every nationality, color, movement discipline and innovative inspiration. I often ask my students and dance company members, "Listen to this music: how does it make you feel?” With their training and personal experiences, I hope that a clear picture of my vision emerges in a style that is applicable to everyone who is experiencing it. For The Mosaic Dance Festival, my hope is that everyone will be able to capture the spirit of this collage of dance, melody and rhythm.

Malabika Guha

kdc

Kalamandir Dance Company (501c3) is a contemporary dance ensemble that uses the vocabulary of classical Indian dance to explore new spaces of artistic expression. Instead of diminishing the foundation of our classical styles, we look to investigate their communicative potential when merged with Western dance traditions. Using , Kathak, Bharatanatyam, Capoeira, Flamenco, Modern and Ballet training, our dancers converse with movement and create dialogue with expression. We are driven by creativity, human emotions, and a desire to be released from the four walls of our daily existence. Our movement vocabulary aims to create a reachable area for all people to participate and communicate.

www.kalamandirdanceco.com

Celestial Player | Cohan/Suzeau Dance Company Music: "Mahima," Debashish Bhattacharya & Bob Brozman Choreographer: Patrick Suzeau Dancer: Meggi Sweeney

Celestial Player, a work in two movements (each one complete in itself, the second one conceived as a trio, but often performed as a solo), is inspired by temple sculptures of Gandharvas and Apsaras. Empower The Children is a non-profit organization that The work combines elements of Indian classical and contemporary provides quality educational opportunities and lunch dance. Costume by Susan Randell. programs for slum-dwelling children and those with serious mental and physical disabilities. Inspiring | Janete Silva Music: Ramiro Musotto empower-children.org Choreographer: Janete Silva & Leandro Silva Dancer: Janete Silva

“Inspiring” is an homage to Brazilian natives and Afro-Brazilian culture, a celebration of the fusion of contemporary and Brazilian dance movement. Ramiro Musotto’s music in the album Civilização & Barbarye is a reflection of his extensive percussion training, which included many elements of Indian and Latin American rhythms and melodies. *only performing in 2pm show

Breathing Light Choreographer: Christina Rak-Samson Music: Nitin Sawhney Bharat Sevashram Sangha (BSS) is a spiritual brotherhood of

monks and selfless workers devoted to the service of humanity. It was founded in 1917 by the illustrious patriot saint Acharya After the performances, we hope you will join the Srimat Swami Pranavanandaji Maharaj. It is a philanthropic dancers and choreographers for a meet and and charitable organization with non-sectarian, non- greet with wine and cheese! communal and non-political character and outlook.

bssnj.org Program

A Primeira Guerreira | Capoeira Maranhão Music: "Indian Fusion Drumming," Taufiq Qureshi Choreographers: Alexis Lucena, Ria DasGupta, Jose Carlos Silva Dancers: Amanda Chan, Ria DasGupta, James E. Green III, Reggie Harrison, Alexis Lucena

Various Brazilian warrior dances set to the music of Chhau, a warrior dance of India.

Draupadi | Nabanita Pal Music: Bijaya Kumar Barik & Bijay Kumar Jena Choreographer/Direction: /Aruna Mohanty Dancer: Nabanita Pal Poet: Misha Chowdhury

This collaboration narrates in Odissi vocabulary the story of ’s disrobing within the larger frame of a poem. Draupadi, the powerful queen in the epic Mahabharata, is violated publicly in the royal court when her five husbands bet her off in a dice game, hoping to recover their lost kingdom. Her powerful femininity makes her the object of lust yet it also gives her the ability to resist those who seek to humiliate her - ultimately, she depends on her devotion to God, Lord Krishna, to rescue her. The poet takes on Draupadi’s voice, and the poem provides a lens through which to understand the push and pull between man and woman – a tension that the dancer must exploit to not only tell, but dance, Draupadi’s story.

Beat Club Crew Music: “Dancing Drums,” Ananda Shankar Choreographer: Eric Samson Dancers: Briana Farriella, Amanda Caputo, Erica Susanto, Alex Susanto, Ariana Crowder, Jayme Schlesinger, Kha-lin Prescod, Natasha Woolridge, & Dia Begu

Palmistry | Kalamandir Dance Company Music: “Palmistry,” Tabla Beat Science & “Harmony,” Ananda Shankar Choreographer: Malabika Guha & Kalamandir Dance Company Dancers: Ria DasGupta, Marlene Desiree, Brinda Guha, Donia Salem

Conceived on the concept of the “mudra,” or hand gesture, Palmistry is a piece about self-divination and harmonization. Although mudras traditionally have specific meanings in specific dance disciplines, we try to break the barriers of its definition and explore their expositions in a sphere larger than just our hands. As we allow the mudras to shine through our entire bodies and our varying movement styles, we come together as one.

The unique must be fulfilled. Martha Graham

Capoeira and Afro-Brazilian Arts

Learn a new language, musical skills, self-defense and improve your overall health and fitness!

Classes in New Brunswick, Highland Park, Sayerville, and Rutgers University

www.capoeiramaranhao.com [email protected] See you next year!

Ornamentation | Vervet Dance Music: “Mysterious Adventure,” John Cage Choreographer: Loren Groenendaal Dancers: Lora Allen, Ellen Gerdes, Sinta Hite, Mary O’Brien, Katherine Kiefer Stark, Kelly Turner, and Iis Tussyadiah

Ornamentation is inspired by the behavior of a variety of birds and aesthetic characteristics of classical dance from the Indonesian island of Bali. Balinese dance, in turn, is tightly tied to the predominate religion of the island, Bali Hindu, which takes most of its structure from the Hindu religion indigenous to India. In Ornamentation, the hands of the dancers are exaggerated with feathers, similar to the way Balinese Tjauk dancers have long finger nails. The use of nature imagery, a focus on details of head and hands, energy quickly shifting from delicate to powerful, and strong musicality are in keeping with Balinese tradition, but the specific kind of hand movement, the floor work, and composition add a contemporary feel. The dance is coordinated to prepared piano music by John Cage, an American composer who acknowledges a Balinese influence similar to the choreographer, Loren Groenendaal. The costumes specifically reference the carmine bee-eater, a bird native to sub-Saharan Africa.

Pancha Bhutam: Five Elements of Nature | Shibani Patnaik Music: Guru Ramahari Das Choreographer: Guru Aruna Mohanty Dancer: Shibani Patnaik

This composition depicts the five elements of nature, which create and sustain all living things. The first element is Prithvi, or Mother Earth, who nurtures all living beings from the beginning of time. The second element is Jal, or Water, the source of life and the purifier of human action. The third element is Agni, or Fire, born from the ancient Vedas or sacred texts. Agni represents knowledge and is the vanquisher of the most destructive enemy of mankind- ignorance. The fourth element is Vayu, or Wind, the invisible but ever-present air which continually breathes life into the cosmos. The last element is Aakash or the Sky, which stretches beyond all limits and conveys divine vibrations from the cosmos to Earth.

A Very Special Thanks To… About the Artists

Beat Club: Lead by Eric Samson, Beat Club focuses on the pure forms The FUNKtion Dance Complex of Hip-Hop to use their creativity for expressing themselves in a positive way. Original Hip-Hop was about peace, love, and Christina Rak-Samson & Eric Samson understanding and we dance with those beliefs in mind. The world is

full of obstacles and negative pitfalls. We choose dance to express ourselves instead of falling into those pitfalls and to learn how to Our Many Kickstarter Donors and persevere past the obstacles. Its like learning a gravity defying freeze...you'll fall and fail many times but you'll never learn how to do Amazing Volunteers it until you keep picking yourself up and try again. Beat Club gets its name from rising above adversity, negativity, and "beating" the odds. There is no growth without struggle. Beat Club studies hip-hop dance forms from the 70s, 80s, 90s, to current styles. Styles include: b- Bharat Sevashram Sanga boying/b-girling, locking, house, popping, waacking, voguing, new jack swing, and street jazz industry styles.

Capoeira Maranhao: Established in 2009 by Professor Maranhão Tamal Roy (Jose Carlos Silva), the group practices contemporary capoeira, combining different angola and regional styles. They are also exposed

to the Afro-Brazilian culture (including practices, customs, and the Portuguese language) as well as percussive music, Samba and

PJ Wisniewski Maculele. The group is located in Central New Jersey.

Cohan/Suzeau Dance Company: Muriel Cohan and Patrick Suzeau Rushil Bose (Lighting) were established performers in the works of New York choreographers Mary Anthony, Anna Sokolow, Pearl Lang, and others prior to the formation of their own company. Since its founding, Cohan/Suzeau Dance Company has toured nationally and internationally to critical Photographers acclaim. Both award- winning choreographers, they combine their strengths to create programs of dramatic power, lyric force and Alejandro Alvarez humor. They have appeared as artists in residence in numerous colleges and universities across the country and are currently on the Kristianne Molina NEA regional touring program of Mid-America Arts Alliance and the Kansas Arts Commission Touring Program. They are presently the Eric Schkrutz company in residence at the University of Kansas. Both have received Rupa DasGupta (T-Shirt Designer) fellowships in choreography from the Kansas Arts Commission.

Nabanita Pal & Shayok (Misha) Chowdhury: Nabanita or Neeta is a

recent Fulbright Creative arts grantee who trained at the Orissa Dance Janete Silva: Having studied dance since childhood, Silva has Academy in Bhubaneswar, India under the direction of Guru Aruna performed with various local and international companies such as Mohanty and Guru Madhusmitha Mohanty. Neeta is also a student of Dance Brazil (NY), Bale Folclórico da Bahia (Brazil), Bahia Brazil (Los Chitra Krishnamurti of Nrityalaya in Maryland. She is an emerging Angeles), Orquestra Popular da Bahia (Brasil), Freddiek Bratcher and dancer interested in presenting Odissi in a way that highlights the Company (Miami) to name a few. Her professional training includes hybridity of its many mediums – movement, music, poetry and theater – Afro-Brazilian Dance, Ballet, Modern Dance and Silvestre Technique. and encourages engagement with the audience. The Odissi that she has Janete has appeared as a dancer on star singer Ivete Sangalo’s recent come to make her own is one that does not sacrifice technical precision DVD who will be performing at Madison Square Garden in NYC on for lyricism and spontaneity. Recognizing that the Indian classical dances September 4th. Currently, Janete is a master dance teacher in New York are continually re-created as much as they are inherited, she hopes to City. She also travels regularly for bookings and has most recently channel Odissi’s evocative power to access individual and collective participated in the Lowell Folk Festival (Lowell) and National Black Arts experiences. Festival (Atl, GA), the Brazilian Independence Day Celebration (Atl, GA), Shayok (Misha) Chowdhury is a queer Bengali poet, singer and Target’s Super Sabado! at El Museo del Barrio, and the Houston performer who recently returned from a Fulbright Creative Writing Brazilian Festival. Fellowship in Calcutta. His poems have been published in journals such

as Hayden’s Ferry Review, The Portland Review, and Lantern Review, and Malabika Guha: Malabika Guha grew up in Kolkata and Shantiniketan, he currently teaches humanities and theater in Boston. India where her training of more than two decades in creative and

Kathak dance began. She is a disciple of Guru Bela Arnob in Kolkata, Shibani Patnaik: Extensively trained in Odissi, her instruction has India and was a student under Amala Shankar at Uday Shankar India entailed frequent visits to India to study under internationally acclaimed Cultural Center where she was also in the advanced tour troupe. In Gurus Padmashree , Aruna Mohanty, Manoranjan 1969, Malabika graduated from Patha Bhavan School in Shantiniketan Pradhan and Yudhistir Nayak from the Orissa Dance Academy in India. with Honors in Bengali and a High Secondary focus in Sitar and went on Shibani’s gurus have lived with the Patnaik family in San Diego, to earn a BA in Bengali with a main elective in dance from Rabindra California for extended periods of time helping Shibani master the Bharathi University in Kolkata in 1973. She completed her masters in techniques of Odissi. She is an energetic dancer with a strong technical Bengali at Calcutta University in 1977. In 1986, she followed her dream background who strikes the perfect combination of power and grace. to found Kalamandir of New Jersey, a dance school based in Kathak and creative dance. She has traveled with her school throughout the US Vervet Dance: A contemporary dance company whose dance works and with her advanced troupe to India, London, Canada, Spain as well draw on both the legacy of modern dance and cross-cultural influences as throughout the US. After 20 years of dance training and 25 years of to create innovative movement vocabularies and imaginative directing dance in the tri-state area, Malabika decided to take on a new choreographies. Vervet strikes a unique balance between classic forms, endeavor: KDC. Her idea was to create a collaborative establishment new ideas, and ancient purposes for dance. Although subject matter where after many years of classical training, fusion with contemporary varies, what is characteristic of the company is an ongoing intellectual elements could open a new world of possibilities: a reflection of her own diligence meeting a curious playfulness and an exploration of the visual dance experience. and visceral components of dance.