At the N.C. Museum of History, acclaimed performer and teacher Sridevi Jagannath will present an introduction to Bharata Natyam, one of India’s oldest classical dance forms. She will share her lifelong passion during Shiksha (a series of lecture-demonstrations on Indian Classical Dance founded by Jayanthi Balachandran) on Sunday, July 27, at 3 p.m. Admission is free. The Indian Classical Dance and Music Society (ICMDS) co-sponsors the program.
Jagannath, founder of the Laasya School of Dance and Music in Durham, has performed internationally and has had several lead roles on Indian television programs. She hails from Bangalore, India, and was one of the first students of her guru, Smt. Padmini Ravi, at the Pradhan Dance Center, a widely acclaimed school in Bangalore. Jagannath has been training students for 10 years in the Triangle area. In 2004 she received the Outstanding Artist and Teacher Award at the Heritage India Festival in Raleigh.
Shiksha is a Sanskrit word which means ‘education’. Indian Classical Dance is one of the oldest and most comprehensive styles of dance in the world. The seven styles of classical Indian dance that exist in India today incorporate a number of aspects, such as physical movements and its beauty; music; literature; sculptures; expressions; rhythms; temple art and architecture, to name a few. The series of lecture-demonstrations presented by various local artists, is the brain-child of Balachandran (a local Bharathanatyam teacher in the Triangle area) designed to bring to life the myriad nuances of Indian Classical Dance thereby educating audiences on the richness and diversity of this art form. This series is a collaboration between ICMDS, N.C. Museum of History and Balachandran. The previous local presenters in this series are Meena Rajagopal - Artistic Director of Kalasrishti School of Performing Arts; Sripriya Vijay - Artistic Director of Margam Academy of Dance and Sanchita Bhattacharya - Artistic Director of Sanchita Odissi Dance Foundation).
Come learn about this expressive dance form and discover the meanings behind the movements. For more information about the museum, call 919-807-7900 or check out the museum’s Web site at ncmuseumofhistory.org.
The N.C. Museum of History’s hours are Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. Admission is free. The museum is part of the Division of State History Museums, Office of Archives and History, an agency of the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources. The department’s Web site is www.ncculture.com.