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Daniel Phoenix Singh (center) with members of the Dakshina/Daniel Phoenix Singh Dance Co.
This year's theme is "Grace," and the festival showcases three artists from India who are known for their elegance. Alarmel Valli and Leela Samson are masters of Bharatanatyam, a South Indian classical dance style. Madhavi Mudgal is an exponent of Odissi, a classical form originating from the East Indian state of Orissa. All three dancers have received high honors from the Indian government for artistic achievement.
"The idea of grace is easily evident in the physical sense when you watch these great dancers," said Daniel Phoenix Singh, Dakshina's president and artistic director. "[B]ut what is interesting to me is that they transcend the physical and find the spiritual grace."
Singh has extensive experience in both Bharathanatyam and modern dance, so the festival's structure mirrors this duality. Each of the three performances, one Friday and two on Saturday, will feature Dakshina performing traditional, contemporary, and fusion pieces to open each program, and then each show will feature one of the three guest artists.
The contemporary pieces are taken from a formal modern repertoire, along with fusion pieces that Singh choreographed himself. For Dakshina's traditional piece, Singh called on his longtime collaborator, Aniruddh Vasudevan, a dancer based in Chennai, India, to help assemble a Bharathanatyam item based on a story from the Mahabharata, an epic Hindu poem.
"[W]e started with the movement first and created the entire dance before finding a musician who agreed to compose the music for us," Singh explained. "It is quite unusual for Indian dance where music, lyrics, rhythm and dance are all intertwined seamlessly."
Like all non-profit organizations, especially arts groups, Dakshina has taken a financial hit over the past year. This makes the Fall Festival's mounting all the more impressive given that ticket sales cover only 20 percent of the costs. The company has not scaled back its ambitions either, with plans to tour India in December. That Dakshina remains this active illustrates not only a strong commitment to its art, but also a commitment to the arts community-at-large.
"We're committed to the festival, and to our dancers, and we're glad that we are able to continue this cultural dialogue in the nation's capital," said Singh.
The Dakshina/Daniel Phoenix Singh Dance Co. presents the Fall Festival of Indian Arts on Friday, Oct. 23 (7:30 p.m.) and Saturday, Oct. 24 (2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.) at the Lincoln Theatre. Visit Dakshina's website for featured artists and a full schedule. Tickets are $17.50 to $57.50.
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Wish the Dakshina/Daniel Phoenix Singh dance company a very successful and meaningful Annual Festival.The artistes participating from India are all very reputed and wellknown stalwarts in the arena of performing arts.Would wish to attend a performance of the Dakshina dance company during their intended visit in December.