See our program for Dancing the Gods: Night One - Kasi Aysola and Archana Raja (Kuchipudi) here. 

7:15 p.m. Lecture by Curator Rajika Puri

8 p.m. Performance 

Asia Society is pleased to collaborate with World Music Institute for Dancing the Gods, an annual festival of Indian dance celebrating its 13th year, featuring some of the leading performers of Indian dance. Each night begins with a slide presentation by Rajika Puri, festival curator, and acclaimed dance storyteller. Night Two features a Bharatanatyam solo by the award-winning Rama Vaidyanathan. 

Rama Vaidyanathan is one of the foremost Bharatanatyam dancers of her generation and is also the recipient of the prestigious Sangeet Natak Akademi Puraskar awarded by the central government of India. Her technique is grounded in tradition, yet she brings a fresh approach to her choreography that is evident in the innumerable dance compositions she has added to the Bharatanatyam repertoire. As Director of Ganesa Natyalaya New Delhi, she is actively engaged in teaching and nurturing young dancers, inspiring a whole new generation. Rama opened the very first Dancing the Gods festival in 2011.

Festival Curator and Presenter Rajika Puri

Rajika Puri performed internationally in solo recitals of Bharatanatyam and Odissi for several years, before she was launched into western theatre by Julie Taymor in Lincoln Center Theater’s “The Transposed Heads”. The success of that role encouraged her to develop a form of danced storytelling she calls ‘Sutradhari Natyam’ in which she intersperses an English narration with excerpts from dances, spoken rhythms and chants as well as songs in Indian languages. In her full-length work: ‘Eleni of Sparta’ or ‘Helen of Troy’, she even sings in ancient Greek. Rajika has performed all over Latin America, Europe, Malaysia, the US and India; in New York, at the Asia Society and Ailey Theatres. 

World Music Institute

Founded in 1985 as a not-for-profit, World Music Institute (WMI) has served as one of the leading presenters of world music and dance within the United States. WMI is committed to presenting the best in traditional and contemporary music and dance from around the world to enrich lives through the arts, promote awareness and appreciation of the world’s rich cultural traditions, and encourage cross-cultural dialog and exchange. WMI presents virtually and at venues throughout the city of New York and depends on public and private funding to accomplish its mission.