Arts and Culture in South Africa has become the true identity of our nation. During this Heritage Month we celebrate our rich cultural heritage with ‘NRITYA AANGAN’ A Festival of Indian Dance.
It is hosted by the newly formed South African Indian Dance Alliance - SAIDA, being the brainchild of well-known Durban artist, Smeetha Maharaj who has great passion and optimism to bring Indian dance to the forefront of the performing arts in SA. We wish to create an awareness and appreciation for the Indian Classical & Contemporary Arts.
The vision of SAIDA is to create a global awareness on the status of Indian dance in SA and to be the voice for Indian dancers on issues pertaining to funding, standardisation, and recognition of Indian Heritage and to be a platform for creating unity and togetherness for dance in SA. It is also a time to document a profound Journey of Indian dance in SA for future generations.
The festival is set to be a vibrant display of Bharata Natyam, Kathak, Traditional Folk Dances of India and Contemporary & Collaborative work. The work will be presented over 3 days.
Friday will be the opening Gala Event with Bharata Natyam & Kathak from prominent schools in Durban, presenting their Group work.
Saturday brings to stage Mr. Anniruddha Knight from the USA. Anniruddha Knight is a 9th-generation descendant of a 200-year-old family of temple dancers and musicians from southern India. His grandmother Balasaraswati was a celebrated and prolific dancer in India.
Annirudha Knight and his accompanying musicians from Chennai, India, present dance, music and a discussion of the temple dance tradition.
Saturday also sees us proudly present our senior artists in SA in their solo presentations. These are Manesh Maharaj, Seema Lala & Anusha Pillay from Johannesburg and Darshana Rama from Cape Town.
Sunday shares with audiences a new direction for creativity in collaborative work using contemporary themes. SAIDA is proud to present Lliane Loots’, ‘At the Feet of Kali’ and Verushka Pather & Vusi Makanya in their signature piece, ‘A Drum Beat’.
A highlight of the Festival will also be the enlightening discussions related to the holy book of dance, The Natyashastra. This will be done by Cape Town based writer, historian and dancer Heather Parker.
Annirudha Knight will also be sharing his legacy and personal association and family of the Devadasi System of India.
A familiar name to Durban, Vasugi Singh will share with us a an extract from her in-depth research of her Master’s Degree on The Development of Indian Dance in the context of South Africa.
The festival is an important milestone in that it is the first initiative of the the organisation to showcase the various Indian dance forms in South Africa and brings together dancers from across various dance schools in the country.
It is an opportunity for entertainment, education and awareness. We invite art lovers to come and
enjoy the celebrations planned to showcase our great performing arts with and local and international artists
For more information please contact Verushka Pather 0742700037 / 0325861105