Indian Kathak Classical Dance this Sunday

Sri Ganesha Temple is presenting two classical Kathak dance dramas performed by a group from New Dehli, The Dhwani Repertory led by Vaswati Misra. The performance starts at 3:30, on Sunday, August 26 in the temple’s auditorium. I’m not sure I can put this into words effectively, but I’ve found the Indian dance dramas absolutely riveting. The one time I attended one, I was very aware of them deploying the bodies and groupings in a sculptural way. Technique is important, but I don’t remember it being as flashy as some of the other forms, particularly solo. The dramas, working largely with the dancers as a company, leave a very strong visual impression, and are on important levels comprehensible in spite of the unfamiliar narrative content. They are dramas without words, so they cross some of the major language barriers.

The notice on the performance offers the following descriptions of the pieces programmed for the 26^th: Jeevan, based on Dr. Harivansh Rai Bachchan's poems, and. Kanupriya, a poetic work of Dr. Dharamvir Bharati. I know these poems probably have a strong narrative content, but I find the idea of basing a performance on poetry extremely appealing. The troupe itself, coming from New Dehli, is likely to be very good.