Dancing the Gods: Night Two: Parul Shah

Dancing the Gods - Night Two: Parul Shah (Kathak)

Co-Presented with World Music Institute

Night Two| Parul Shah - “All That Lies” | Kathak with Live Vocals, Violin, Cello and Tabla

An annual festival of Indian dance in its fourteenth year, Dancing the Gods is curated by Rajika Puri, acclaimed dance storyteller, and co-presented with the World Music Institute. This year’s festival features three accomplished artists highlighting dance forms from across India: Mythili Prakash (Bharatanatyam), Parul Shah (Kathak) and Bijayini Satpathy (Odissi).

Night Two features Parul Shah in an exquisite kathak piece with live music: All That Lies. 

Cellist: Jake Charkey

Tabla: Narendra Budhakar

Violinist: Arun Ramamurthy

Vocalists: Priyanka Tope and Narendra Budhakar

Dancers: Anjali Tanna, Priyanka Tope, Maithali Patel, Parul Shah

Choreographer: Parul Shah

Music Director and Composer: Jake Charkey

Additional Composition:  Arun Ramamurthy and Narendra Budhakar

Each evening’s performance will be preceded by a special presentation honoring Rajika Puri and her visionary leadership and dedication to the festival throughout the years. Please join us as we express our immense appreciation to Rajika for her vital contributions to the festival’s longstanding success as well as to the broader cultural landscape of New York City.

Parul Shah

Internationally acclaimed Kathak dancer and choreographer Parul Shah of the parul shah dance company expands the classical medium beyond cultural boundaries. With a focus on excellence, Shah builds upon the dance form’s mythological storytelling roots to share narratives based on her lived experiences. The nucleus of her work as a choreographer and performer has been to disrupt narratives and cultural trappings that undermine the dignity of South Asian women. Shah draws upon the rich tradition of the North Indian classical dance, Kathak, for resistance, artistry, and personal agency. Her work tells stories of women pushing against their boundaries, women who have been forgotten, and women whose labor is often invisible. To tell these stories, she has created a dance language that expands the technique of Indian dance to uproot male-dominated and Eurocentric narratives while forging resiliency and healing.

Trained in India by groundbreaking choreographer Kumudini Lakhia and now based in NYC, Shah has created unique ensemble and solo works that seamlessly blend her South Asian and American identities, contributing to a richer tapestry of Asian American artistic expression. Shah has presented her work around the world and at home to critical acclaim, including City Center’s Fall for Dance Festival: NYC, the New Victory Theatre NYC, the Kennedy Center: Washington D.C, Asia Society: NYC, Jacobs Pillow, Inside/ Out series: MA, Metropolitan Museum of Art: NYC, World Music Institute: NYC, Lincoln Center/Damrosch Park: NYC, Museum of Fine Arts: Boston, the Japan Forum Foundation: Tokyo, and Suvarna Parva: India, Ahmedabad.

Rajika Puri

RAJIKA PURI, an exponent of Bharatanatyam and Odissi, conceived of and named Dancing the Gods, Festival of Indian Dance. Well-versed in the dance world of India, and herself an exponent of Bharatanatyam and Odissi, she personally contacts fellow dancers in India – soloists and groups – and is involved in curating the programs they present. Rajika is also known for her particular brand of onstage pre-performance slide lectures – often with demonstration – on a subject connected with the dance forms being presented. (photo by David Rauch)

Doors: 7 PM | Celebration of Festival Founder Rajika Puri 7:15 PM | Performance:  8 PM

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