18th World Dance Day Festival puts spotlight on heritage, future of Indian dance
New Delhi, The 18th edition of the World Dance Day Festival, which began here on Saturday, puts spotlight on the heritage and future of Indian dance with performances across different dance styles, workshops, lectures and discussions.
Conceived and curated by renowned Bharatanatyam dancer and founder of Natya Vriksha Geeta Chandran, the dance festival at the India International Centre opened with a movement and dance aesthetics workshop by noted dancer Tanushree Shankar.
On the opening evening, SPICMACAY and its founder Kiran Seth were conferred the Natya Vriksha Lifetime Achievement Award for their "outstanding contribution to preserving India's intangible cultural heritage through youth engagement".
The award, which has previously been given to Shanta Serbjeet Singh, Avinash Pasricha, Kamalini Dutt, and Leela Venkataraman, includes an angavastram and a cash honour of ₹1,00,000.
"This honour is not mine alone-it belongs to every student who has sat in awe before an artist, to every volunteer who has given their time to SPIC MACAY, and to every institution that believes in the power of the arts to shape minds and lives. In a world of constant change, classical arts anchor us to something deeper, something timeless,' Seth said in a statement.
Poet and scholar Ashok Vajpeyi delivered a lecture, "Dancing Away", a poetic and philosophical reflection on how dance, while rooted in the present, opens portals to imagination, memory, and transcendence.
The day concluded with Bharatanatyam performance by Madhura Bhrushundi and Kathak recital by Dheerendra Tiwari.
'World Dance Day is a moment to pause and celebrate what dance brings into our lives, not just technique or tradition, but emotion, truth, and transformation. This festival is our offering to the art, and to the young dancers who will carry it forward,"Chandran said.
Day two of the dance festival will continue with a workshop Shankar, followed by "Avatarana - The Story of Natya", a theatrically retelling of a 2,500-year-old saga, scripted and performed by Ramaa Bharadvaj, exploring the divine origins of Indian dance through humour and insight.
The festival will come to an end with Kuchipudi by Abhinaya Nagajothy and Odissi performance by Shashwati Garai Ghosh.
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