Dancing The Gods Festival – Night One: Sreelakshmy Govardhanan – ‘Sampradaya’

The World Music Institute’s annual Dancing the Gods festival celebrates its 12th year, for the first time at the Ailey Citigroup Theater. Audiences will be treated to spectacular performances from two of India’s leading dancers. Each program will begin with a pre-show slide presentation titled Epics, Poetry and Indian Dance from festival curator and respected Indian dance expert and storyteller Rajika Puri. Sreelakshmy Govardhanan is a renowned creative dancer, choreographer and teacher of Kuchipudi. She is the founder and Artistic Director of the Avantika Space for Dance, a center for learning, performance and research, as well as a trained psychologist who utilizes this professional perspective to bring a difference to her art, as well as to young minds in need. Her dance activity includes workshops, classes, seminars and lecture demonstrations. In this solo performance set to live music, she will explore the Nritta, Nrutya and Natya elements of Kuchipudi through a repertoire set in the format of Margam (performance set in a traditional format). Kuchipudi is a dance form rooted in the theatrical and dance traditions of Andhra Pradesh, named for the village – also known as Kuchelapuram – where it originated. Traditionally it was performed by troupes of male actor-dancers who presented full-length plays, often lasting all night, to celebrate festivals dedicated to Lord Vishnu. Alongside this tradition developed a solo form, which is today popular around the world.