We would like to invite your students to participate in the free school field trip opportunity scheduled for:
Friday, 5th September 2025 (10 – 11:30 am)
Mid Valley Performing Arts Center, Taylorsville
Nitya Nritya Foundation has been curating an annual festival of Indian classical dance and music each year in the Rose Wager during the weekend after Labor Day. This is our 9th year! The field trip opportunity proposed in this message is designed to be an interactive kid-friendly extract of the main festival.We plan to offer the following two events as part of the school matinee after some opening remarks about the art forms:
(I) A 30 minute educational & interactive Sitar recital by Indrajit Roy-Chowdhury & Nilan Chaudhuri.
NY-based Indrajit Roy-Chowdhury (https://www.indrositar.com/) is one of the most talented young Sitar exponents of the renowned Rampur Senia Gharana. As a versatile and creative musician, he has performed with distinguished artists from other genres including the acclaimed Jazz artist, Wynton Marsalis.
On the Tabla will be CA-based Nilan Chaudhuri (https://www.nilantabla.com/). Son of the Tabla legend Swapan Chaudhuri, Nilan has carved a space for himself as both a Tabla soloist and accompanist over the last two decades.
Both Indrajit and Nilan, bring the richness of their cross-cultural upbringing between USA and India to their arts and have collaborated across genres.
(II) A 30 minute Shilpanatanam dance performance by Bharathi Penneswaran and narrated by Dr. Maya Kulkarni:
A dancer, choreographer, dance teacher, and commentator, NJ-based Dr. Maya Kulkarni (https://mayakulkarni.org/index.php/home) is a highly respected and well-known figure in the Indian dance world. A master-storyteller, Maya is a pioneering figure in the expansion of content within the genres of Indian classical dance.Bharathi Penneswaran (https://www.aalokam.com/about-us), trained in Bharatanatyam and yoga is a leading exponent of Shilpanatanam as part of Maya Kulkarni’s ensemble.
Background info on the art forms at the school matinee:
The Sitar is a fretted stringed instrument that is popularly used to perform Hindustani music. Below is a YouTube link to Sitar music by Indrajit Row-Chowdhury:
The Tabla is a North Indian percussive instrument that involves a pair of hand drums known for its electrifying rhythm patterns. Linked below is a demo by Nilan Chaudhuri:
Shilpanatanam is a style of movement and choreographic vision conceived by Dr. Maya Kulkarni that is a narrative dance form that taps into the wider world of literature, poetry and dramaturgy. ‘Shilpa’ includes sculptures, paintings, and architecture in its broad meaning while ‘Natanam’ refers to movement, expression, and rhythm. Shilpanatanam brings static images to life with movement and narratives. In it, stories become dancing metaphors about human conditions; they enjoin the past to the present. Such a project requires a new language; Shilpanatanam is that language.A description of the Shilpanatanam by its creator, Dr. Maya Kulkani:
A snippet from Shilpanatanam by Kaustavi Sarkar, a member of Maya Kulkarni’s visiting ensemble:
