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"Kavitha" performance will benefit NMSU's Center for the Arts
The world-renowned dance performance "Kavitha" is coming to New Mexico State University's Atkinson Recital Hall Oct. 17. Presented by the Arathi School of Indian Dance and community leaders Rama and Ammu Devasthali, all proceeds from the event will go to NMSU's Center for the Arts.
The "Kavitha" performance is an expression through dance of the exquisite emotions captured in the poetry of Maya Angelou, Pablo Neruda, Rabindranath Tagore and William B. Yeats.
Originally called "Rainbow," the show was the vision of Guru Prasanna Kasthuri, a master choreographer of the Bharathanatyam and Kathak classical dance forms. His idea for the show was to use poetry from all parts of the world to express emotions of joy, romance, suffering and hope - and to convey this to the audience through the medium of dance. The show debuted in St. Louis, Mo., in 2007.
In 2008, the Arathi School decided to produce the show. The school, located in San Antonio, Texas, is a premiere dance organization providing excellence in classical and folk Indian dance training. Kasthuri agreed to work with the school to create a show with dances in Bharathanatyam and Indian folk, with a fusion of Flamenco and African dance to the recitations of poetry.
"The show has universal themes of love, freedom and slavery that people from all walks of life can understand and appreciate," Kavitha director Kausi Subramaniam said.
Fifteen dancers from the Arathi School will perform in the production. Sharing the stage will be the Las Cruces rhythm and percussion ensemble New World Drummers and Dancers, as well as NMSU Theater Arts department students Sean Darragh, Sean Dolan, Michael Derr and Roxanne De Luna. The students will recite the poems featured in the show.
Rama and Ammu Devasthali, the event's sponsors, have been devoted to the Center for the Arts project. Ammu Devasthali chairs a Volunteer Leadership Advisory Committee working to raise awareness and private donations for the project, and the couple pledged $500,000 to the building of the center's first phase.
Seating for the show will begin at 6 p.m. and the show starts at 7 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at the Pan American ticket office and all Ticketmaster outlets. For more information call (575) 646-2008 or 800-342-6678.
Written by Donyelle Kesler.