Dance magic to light up Purana Qila

One of the most awaited classical dance festivals of the Capital is back again. Featuring group choreographies that light up the majestic Old Fort monument every year, Ananya Dance Festival 2013 - a five-day classical dance extravaganza – will be held at Purana Qila. 

The event which is in its 12th year is organised by the Department of Art, Culture and Languages, Government of Delhi, Sahitya Kala Parishad and Seher in collaboration with Doordarshan. The festival is part of Delhi government's ongoing series Delhi Celebrates. 

The performances this year are Kathak by Malabika Mitra’s group (Kolkata) on 2 October; Mohiniattam by Pallavi Krishnan and group (Kerala) on 3 October; Odissi by Bindu Juneja and group (Bhopal) on 4 October; Kathak and Mayurbhanj Chau by Maitreyee Pahari’s group (Delhi) on 5 October and Bharatanatyam by Kiran Subramanyam and Sandhya Kiran’s group (Bangalore) on the final day - 6 October.

An annual event in Delhi’s cultural calendar, Ananya is an attempt to popularize the Indian classical arts amongst the youth.  The festival is also attempt to showcase Indian classical dances in their purest form so that the traditional arts would reach out to more and more people of all ages and strata of society.

Hence, in a unique outreach initiative, Ananya is also opening its floors to school students. As part of the festival, organisers at Seher have designed an interactive workshop for school students wherein students can directly interact with dancers and be a part of this aesthetic experience. 

Scheduled for 3 October and 4 October from 10 am onwards at Purana Qila itself, the objective of these workshops is to foster a vision of taking Indian culture to the students. The workshops will also present the creative world of music, dance, theater, art and related professions as viable alternative career options for students.

What’s more, there is also an interactive seminar, Pratibimb - between practitioners of dance and the audience scheduled for 5 October and 6 October at the India International Centre, Lodhi Road, from 10.30 am onwards.  As an attempt to bridge the distance between the performer on stage and the rasikas in the audience, Pratibimb is envisioned as an interactive session that will explore the creative process that leads to the final choreographies we see on stage.