Schedule

Saturday, September 21, 2024
7:30 p.m. Performance

Sunday, September 22, 2024
2 p.m. Performance

Anubandh - Connectedness: A Choreography in Five Parts is a new solo dance creation conceptualized and choreographed by eminent artist Malavika Sarukkai. A pathbreaking work in the language of the classical Indian dance Bharatanatyam, Anubandh imaginatively reworks tradition, explores the essential relationship between nature and life, and recognizes and reclaims primordial relationships with the sun, moon, as well as the five great elements as they are honored in India: earth, water, fire, wind, and space. Anubandh is also supported by an innovative lighting design and a compelling sound score that brings together compositions from a spectrum of musicians.

Sarukkai invites audiences to journey with her from the familiar to the unfamiliar as a narrative moves from the personal to the shared, and from the individual to the collective. At a time of uncertainty in a fractured world, Anubandh is a call to the transformative power of hope.

About the Artist

Malavika Sarukkai's intensity, extraordinariness, and luminosity are the qualities that distinguish her dancing. With her artistic mastery and technique, she commands a presence on the world stage. She is acclaimed globally for her creative dance choreographies, which transport the viewer to the heartbeat of dance, taking it beyond specific geographies. 

With an artistic ambition stretching from narrative, figurative, and purely abstract, Sarukkai has innovated boldly — adding adding several dimensions and interpretations to her choreographies for over three decades. Her collaborative productions have synergized dialogues with poets, musicians, painters, art historians, and contemporary writers.

In recognition, her choreographies Sthiti Gati and Krishna Nee are included in the core repertoire of the Juilliard Creative Classroom Resources, New York. Sarukkai is a favorite of Kennedy Center audiences. She was last seen last seen as part of the 2023 RiverRun Festival and in 2018 with Thari–The Loom, which the Washington Post called an “enchanting and deeply imaginative work.” As a passionate pathbreaking artist from India, she has contributed a significant and large body of work. Her choreographic interpretations reflect the incandescent beauty of the classical language and the energized articulation of a contemporary mind.

Performing Arts and Culture programs at Asia Society Texas are presented by Syamal and Susmita Poddar. Major support comes from Nancy C. Allen, Chinhui Juhn and Eddie Allen, The Brown Foundation, Inc., the City of Houston through Houston Arts Alliance, Houston Endowment Inc. Generous funding also provided by The Anchorage Foundation of Texas, The Cullen Trust for the Performing Arts, and Mitsubishi Corporation (Americas), National Endowment for the Arts, Texas Commission on the Arts, and the Wortham Foundation. Additional support is provided by The Clayton Fund, and the Friends of Asia Society, a dedicated group of individuals and organizations committed to bringing exceptional programming to Asia Society Texas.

Performing Arts and Culture Presenting Sponsors

Syamal and Susmita Poddar

Performing Arts and Culture Program Sponsors

Program Partners

About Asia Society Texas

Asia Society Texas believes in the strength and beauty of diverse perspectives and people. As an educational institution, we advance cultural exchange by celebrating the vibrant diversity of Asia, inspiring empathy, and fostering a better understanding of our interconnected world. Spanning the fields of arts, business, culture, education, and policy, our programming is rooted in the educational and cultural development of our community — trusting in the power of art, dialogue, and ideas to combat bias and build a more inclusive society.