India's internationally-renowned Bala Troupe will
perform a concert of South Indian classical music and dance on Friday, May
19, at 8 p.m. in the Nott Memorial.
The performance is free to members of the Union
community; there is a suggested $10 donation for others.
Lakshmi, daughter of the legendary Bharata Natyam dancer
Balasaraswati, leads the Bala Troupe. Other members include Lakshmi (dance
and vocal), Aniruddha (dance, vocal, and dance master), Susan Twoohy
(vocal), Douglas Knight (mrdangam barrel-drum), and T. Viswanathan (vocal
and flute).
College-age Aniruddha has become known for his uncanny
resemblance, in his dancing, to his famous grandmother, Balasaraswati,
called India's greatest dancer.
The Balasaraswati family, whose dancing extends seven
generations back to the court of Tanjore, received the Martha Graham
Award. Dr. T. Viswanathan, who teaches at Wesleyan University, has
garnered the highest awards for musical achievement in India — including
the prestigious Sangeeta Bhushanam — as well as grants from Fulbright,
the Ford Foundation, and being named a “National Heritage
Fellow” by the National Endowment for the Arts.
The Bala Troupe's visit to campus will mesmerize the
audience with the rich language of Bharata Natyam, both in its abstract
design, based on rhythmic and melodic principles of Indian music, and in
its narrative branch, which springs from Indian mythology and religion.
The concert is sponsored by Performing Arts, the
Anthropology Department, the History Department, International Programs
and UNITAS.