Program Description
Event Details
This event is part of the Inaugural AAPI Heritage Festival at Scarsdale Public Library! #scarsdaleAAPIfest
When you register, please take care to type your email address correctly as all correspondence regarding this event will come through your email.
Please note that the content of this program is pre-recorded to ensure music and dance synchronicity and will be shown to you over Zoom.
About the Dances
Anyatha Naasti: A Vision of Harmony
We are all interconnected: there is no ‘other’. It is the perception of the ‘other’ which has allowed power grabs, deep inequalities, de-humanizing and festering discord. The pandemic has brought home to us our global connectedness and the importance of acting as a global family. In this recital we explore the insight that there is no ‘other’, acting on this insight leads to peace within and harmony with each other.
Onake Obavva:
Obavva is an 18th century woman from Chitradurga, Karnataka. She single handedly defended her fort from an assault by Hyder Ali’s army.
This piece brings to sharp relief the traits of courage, empathy and intelligence of Obavva, shattering gender roles. If these traits are universal, how can there be the ‘other’? Surely, beneath the different garbs, cultures and climes, the aspirations of women everywhere are not so different.
Choreography: Nalini Rau, Maya Rau-Murthy
Dancer: Maya Rau-Murthy
Shiva Tandava: Nataraja’s dance brings forth a bliss which flows from oneness, He has conquered the demon of ignorance. He has subdued the evils of anger and rage, and is unaffected by all dualities. His mind is still. Shiva dances a dance of sheer joy. We meditate upon Shiva to find peace. Inner peace is essential for global peace.
Choreography: Priyadarshini Govind
Dancer: Maya Rau-Murthy
Madhura Minakshi
With the pandemic claiming lives across the globe and each of us in isolation, one had to go deep within to search for answers. In Madura Minakshi, I reach out to converse with the Devi. I ask her: Is it our own terrible disrespect to Mother Nature which has unleashed the pandemic, the forest fires, and the storms. And is there not another even deadlier unseen virus which has been racing through human kind, gathering force, creating havoc: the virus of hate, of division. What is the antidote? The answer I hear is that love is the antidote; Love and respecting the interconnectedness between us and all living beings. I pray to her to descend and remove the venom. With her grace, we can begin the work of self transformation.
Choreography: Nalini Rau
Dancer: Nalini Rau
Anyatha Naasti:
Poem written by Nalini Rau and set to music by Maya Rau-Murthy for today’s occasion.
We dehumanize the ‘other’ out of fear and insecurity and in order to maintain power. To justify othering, we demonize the other, make them less than human. We can only be humane and strive for equality by acknowledging and correcting the systemic issues that those we “other” face. Only then can we act on our interconnectedness, realize our oneness, and find peace and harmony within us and around us. We explore how our interconnectedness plays an essential role in global peace.
Dance and Choreography: Nalini Rau, Maya Rau-Murthy
About the Dancers
Dr. Nalini Rau is a dancer, choreographer, educator, and teacher of Bharata Natyam, based in New York. She likes the challenge of turning abstract ideas into visual movement and is truly happy when her audience and she connect via dance. She uses the traditional style and techniques to explore current issues. Her doctorate trained her to question and search for answers, while her nature looks to connect with people: her choreography makes these two strands come together in her dance. She has explored the effects of the virus of hate in the pandemic, the quest for peace, self transformation, facets of womanhood, our relation to society, human emotions, reinterpreting of mythology, Puranas, along with the more traditional repertoire. She has trained over 200 students of every age at Natya Anubhava and been invited as an educator in numerous schools and colleges. Arts Westchester awarded her in April 2015, the "50 for 50" award as a recognition for her “outstanding contributions as a choreographer”. She was the honoree artist for IACAW in 2018 for her contributions to the community. Dr. Rau teaches beginners to master classes at the India Center and at her studio at Yorktown.
Maya Rau-Murthy is a mridangist, nattuvanar, and Bharatanatyam performer, choreographer, and teacher based in New York and San Francisco. She is a disciple of her mother, Dr. Nalini Rau (disciple of Guru Dakshinamoorti Pillai) and is the associate director of the Natya Anubhava Dance Academy. She has given hundreds of performances, including in the Seva Sadan Malleswaram, United Nations, New York City Hall, Jewish Museum, Hammond Museum, Javits Center, AKKA conference. She has directed and choreographed multiple dance ballets ranging from traditional topics in the Puranas to contemporary themes exploring gender and social justice. She has choreographed multiple margams, has taught over 40 students and co-trained over 10 for their arangetram. Additionally, she regularly performs nattuvangam and mridangam. She has been training in mridangam from age 8 under Sri Balaskandan, a disciple of Sri Karaikudi Mani. She is trained in carnatic music under Smt. Ranjani Veni Madhavan, and is trained in the western flute under Rebecca Kuehl. She is currently learning the karanas under Smt. Ashwini Srivatsan, disciple of Smt. Sundari Santhanam and Chhau under Sri Rakesh Sai Babu.
