With a flash of color and a dash of spice, Kalapriya Dance Company is sure to provide a vibrant and exciting performance this July 19th at the Evanston Ethnic Arts Festival. Founded in 1994 by critically acclaimed dancer and teacher Pranita Jain, Kalapriya Dance promotes Asian Indian dance and culture through dance performances and workshops. They specialize in Bharatanatyam, a type of ancient dance that utilizes hand gestures, theatrical facial expressions, intricate footwork, and complicated rhythms and counter rhythms to visualize abstract forms like poetry and mythology.
The Temple of Kriya Yoga recently reviewed Kalapriya’s performance:
“Like brilliantly colored flowers bouncing and gracefully waving their petals in a sunny breeze, the lovely dancers of Kalapriya dazzle with enchanting beauty. Their richly colored clothing, intriguing facial expressions, exquisite mudras (hand gestures) and intricate choreography . . . weave a spellbinding display of form, movement and sound.”
The Artistic Director of Kalapriya, Pranita Jain, has quite the interesting background. Trained at Center for Indian classical dances in New Delhi, India, she studied for nine years with one of India’s leading Bharatanatyam dancers. In 1985 she relocated to the U.S. to obtain a Masters degree in dance ethnography from the University of Illinois. Still returning to India regularly, she has performed nationally and internationally and has conducted numerous workshops throughout the United States. Jain has also helped recently to teach and choreograph Shakira for the MTV video music award ceremony at Radio City Music Hall.
So don’t miss this amazing dance group perform at 5:45 July 19th on the Family Stage at the Evanston Ethnic Arts Festival!
Blog for Life,
Lauren
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