Mumukshutvam – Hues in Poetry and Dance
When: Sunday, June 8 (5:00 – 6:45 PM)
Where: India Cultural Center of Utah (1142 South Jordan Pkwy, South Jordan, UT 84095)
This is a free outreach event and open to all.
Bharatanatyam is a genre of classical dance originating from the South of India. It is at once graceful and geometric, light and grounded in technique. Over time, it has an evolved a sophisticated narrative vocabulary that has historically been used to express universal sentiments of longing and desire for oneness with the divine.
A popular object of literary and artistic expression is the imagery of Lord Krishna, who is viewed in different pieces of poetry as a paramour, a son, a supreme fount of wisdom and as awe-inspiring. What makes these different views of a single entity possible.
Mumukshutvam – a seeking, is an exploration of these myriad associations of Lord Krishna through the language of Bharatanatyam. We examine, through narration and dance, questions of why Lord Krishna plays a central role as an object of varied expressions of longing.
This will be presented by Bharatanatyam dance artists, Jyothsna Sainath and Samyuktha Shankar along with a discussion of historical context that brought up these hues in cultural expression.
BIOS
Jyothsna Sainath is a Utah based Bharatanatyam dance artist. She is the Artistic Director of Nitya Nritya Dance Company and President, Board of Trustees of the non-profit curator, Nitya Nritya Foundation. More details at: www.jyothsnasainath.com
Samyuktha Shankar, is the founder and director of the Sachidananda Arts Foundation in Bangalore and a student of “Karnataka Kalashree” Guru Smt. Revathi Narasimhan. With over two decades of rigorous training in Bharatanatyam, she has established a career in Bharatanatyam as a performer and a mentor to the next generation.
She holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Choreography from the Natya Institute of Kathak and Choreography, Masters in Fine Arts – Bharatanatyam from Annamalai University, and a Bachelor’s in Business Administration.
In October 2024, she performed at Angkor Wat temple and was honored as the Cultural Ambassador of Cambodia. She represented India as a choreographer at the Dance World Cup 2023 in Portugal, winning a gold medal in the national category with her students. Her production Hariharapura Sthala Mahimai earned her the “Asthana Vidushi” title in 2022 and was successfully restaged during the 2024 Margazhi Festival at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Chennai, as part of Kartik Fine Arts’ Golden Jubilee celebrations.
Samyuktha has delivered over 75 solo performances and numerous group productions across prestigious venues nationally and internationally including the Indian Fine Arts Society, Narada Gana Sabha’s Natyarangam, Tyaga Brahma Gana Sabha, Parthasarathy Swami Sabha, Kartik Fine Arts in Chennai, Ananya Nrityollasa (Bangalore), Natyanjali festival (Chidambaram),Tokyo, Sridevi Nrityalaya’s festival and Dr. Padma Subramanium’s Nrityodaya.