Natya Tarang - An Odissi Dance Recital - May 18th

Natyatarang is the brain child of classical artist and performer Anindita Nanda. She felt that there was a need for a platform to promote the classical arts and bring it closer to the community she lived in. There were many shows happening in NY and the tri-state but non that catered to the local community of the greater Fairfield area and that was the prime motivation to host this Classical Arts project in the Fairfield county.

From the first festival hosted to the 4th one being hosted now, Natyatarang has grown in popularity and is soon becoming a household name. People and connoisseur associate it with quality performances presenting various arts like instrumental, percussion, dance, vocal music. Every festival so farhas showcased something different and new each time.

This year Natyatarang brings together two disciplines within the Odissi Classical Dance, under one roof. Two artists who have gained popularity in their own styles will be performing their individual styles side by side and will be collaborating on some pieces which brings those two styles together.

The dance recital will have solo and duet performances set to traditional Odissi classical music. The performance is being held at the Edmond Town Hall, Newtown, CT (Alexandria Concert Hall) on the 18th of May, from 3.00 pm - 6.00 pm

About the Artists:

RAHUL ACHARYA: (www.raulacharya.com)

Rahul Acharya is one of the most loved and popular Odissi soloist in the International arena today. Since the age of 4, Rahul has been training under Guru Durga Charan Ranbir in Bhubaneswar, Orissa. Rahul started performing at a tender age and today is marked as an eminent International dancer. He tours the world extensively. At home, he has been an active participant in most celebrated dance festivals of India like Khajurao, Konark, Mukteshwar and Ananya.

QUALFICATIONS:
  •Disciple of Guru Shri Durga Charan Ranbir
•Trained in Hatha and Raja Yoga at the Satyananda Yoga Vidyalaya, Bihar School of Yoga
•Recipient of Junior Scholarship and Senior Scholarship from Dept. of Culture, Ministry of Tourism & Culture, Govt. of India.

• Empanelled artist of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations

            • Honorary member of Sacred Dance Guild, USA
• Member of www.narthaki.com
• Member of the International Dance Council, CID, UNESCO
• Collaborated with Sutra Dance Theatre, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
• Member of the World Movement for Indian Fine Arts, Italy
• Guest artist at Trinayan Collective, New York, USA
• Graded artist of Doordarshan, Govt of India
• First male Odissi dancer to be awarded the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, New Delhi
• Honored by the Oriya Society of America and the Jagannath Society of America

picture credit (Rahul Acharya): J'adore Andy Photography

ANINDITA NANDA: (www.aninditananda.com)

Anindita, a danseuse par excellence is a rare combination of dancer, classical vocalist, choreographer, teacher & scholar. She is an accomplished artist of the Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra gharana of dancing and is a known name with in the Odissi genre. She has a Masters in Indian (Odissi style) Classical Dance from Chandigarh University and Bachelors in Hindustani Classical Vocal from ABGMM, Mumbai, India. She is the disciple of Guru Shri Kishore Mohanty and Smt Nandini Goshal in Odissi and Shri Pranab Biswas in Vocal music. She has also been trained at the Odissi Dance Academy and worked with many guru's like Shri Raghudutta, Shri Harihar Mohanty, Shri Pavitra Jena. She has been learning, performing and teaching Odissi classical dance and Hindustani Vocal for over two decades in India and currently in the USA, where she lives at present. Besides being a classical dancer and a musician, Anindita is a biochemist.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• She received "Nritya Shree","Nritya Visharad" and "Nritya Praveen" from Kala Vikash Kendra, and the National Music Association, Katak.
• While in India she has represented her state several times on National level. She was recognized for her invaluable contribution to music and dance when she performed for the All India Dance Festival Organized by the Sangeet Natak Academy and at the Youth festivals held by the Government of India.
• She was also felicitated as the best Kathak performer in India Youth Festival organized by Government of India.
• Invited to perform for the SAARC Nations
• Invited to perform for the Festival of India, Argentina.
• Guest artist at Indostan, school for classical dance, LaPlata, Argentina

AWARDS and ACCOLADES:
 She has been the recipient of

• National Scholarship Award for Advancement of Indian Dance and Music from Ministry of Cultural Affairs, India.
• Recently she was awarded with the “Human Greatness Award” by the Mayor of Danbury, for her contribution to our community through her dance and music and through the numerous people she as touched through her performances, workshops and teachings.
• She was also honored with a nomination for “New England Women of the Year Award 2010”, for her involvement and contribution to the South Asian Community in the New England area and the community at large. She heads several Indian organisations and at present serves at the cultural chair on many of them.
• Honored by the Odisha Society of American and the Jagannath Society of America's.

ARTISTIC CONTRIBUTIONS:

• She is the founder and director of her creative venture, Soortaal, which is a platform to teach and propagate Odissi Classical form of dance and Hindustani or North Indian Classical Vocal to aspiring artists.
• Through the years Anindita has been actively involved with the cultural scene in the US, trying to not only promote Indian dance and music, but also to preserve the traditional and non-traditional art forms from the South Asia, predominantly India.
• She has many fusion and contemporary dance productions to her credit. Collaborating with other forms be it Ballet, Flamenco, Modern Creative, Balinese dance or various other dance forms, she has constantly tried to explore and prove the universal language of dance and music, the joy of movements, rhythm and sound
• Anindita has taught at universities like WestConn, Suny and several schools in the Fairfield area.
•  Anindita, the founder director of this Festival, successfully presented and inaugurated the first International Classical Arts Festival, Natya Tarang, in Danbury, CT in 2011 with visiting Classical Artists from India. This is one of the first of its kind in Danbury, where she lives and got lot of accolades from the community.

For more information on the festival, please visit : www.soortaal.org/natyatarang