Battery Dance is pleased to collaborate with the Consulate General of India in presenting an evening of performances by diverse Indian dancers curated by Jonathan Hollander, Artistic Director and Founder of Battery Dance, on Wednesday, December 1, 2021 at 6pm at 3 East 64th Street. The night will feature four dancers: Durgesh Gangani performing Kathak dance; Kaustavi Sarkar performing Odissi dance; Sri Reshmi Ogoti performing Kuchipudi dance; and Manish Chauhan performing Contemporary Dance. Space is limited for this free event space and early reservations are encouraged: culture.newyork@mea.gov.in

 

"Indian dancers are best seen in the kind of intimate environment afforded by the Consulate's exquisite landmark building. The detailed facial expressions, hand gestures, and footwork can be appreciated in close-up, and the contrasts between four different genres will make for a compelling one-hour chamber performance," according to Jonathan Hollander. 

 

Durgesh Gangani of Vadodara, India, is the youngest recipient of the Yuva Bismallah Khan Award for artistic excellence, one of India's most prestigious awards. Gangani is the scion of an illustrious family of Kathak dancers: His grandfather was a legendary guru and his father has trained him since he was four in the intricate rhythmic and dramatic aspects of the art. Ph.D. candidate and teacher, Gangani has performed at many prestigious music and dance festivals in India, and this will be his second performance in America. 

 

Manish Chauhan of Mumbai, India, was featured in the Netflix film Yeh Ballet and has performed as a guest artist at the Kennedy Center earlier this season. He is the subject of a forthcoming documentary Call Me Dancer and will perform a solo created for him by New York choreographer and teacher Igal Peri.

 

Kaustavi Sarkar, a native of Kolkata and currently based in Charlotte, NC, is a dancer-choreographer-educator-scholar who will perform a solo created for her by Maya Kulkarni. She has performed and taught Odissi, a classical dance form from eastern India, for over a decade. She is the Artistic Director of Kaustavi Movement Center, an India-based organization dedicated to teaching classical dance while pursuing a career in U.S. academia. She earned a Ph.D. from Ohio State University.

 

Sri Reshmi Ogoti is a performer of the South Indian form of Kuchipudi. She is a disciple of New Jersey-based Guru Smt. Swathi Gundapuneedi Atluri with whom she has studied for the past 8 years. Notable performances have included Nehru Centre (London), Glasgow Arts Festival, Kalasangam (Bradford, UK) as well as numerous productions of the Siddhendra Kuchipudi Art Academy under the direction of her Guru. 

 

Please note, COVID-19 vaccination is required for entry to the Consulate General of India. 

 

ABOUT BATTERY DANCE

Battery Dance exists to create lasting social impact by increasing human understanding through the universal expression of dance. Founded by Jonathan Hollander in 1976, a former Fulbright Lecturer in India, recipient of a choreography fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts and The Federal Cross of Merit from the President of Germany, Battery Dance created its outdoor summer festival 40 years ago with the goal of introducing dance of all genres, free to the public, in its downtown home base. Battery Dance is committed to enhancing the cultural vibrancy of New York City, making the Arts accessible to New York City public school students, extending dance programming throughout the U.S., and building bridges worldwide through international cultural exchange with programs in 70 countries to date. www.batterydance.org