World Music Institute's annual Dancing the Gods festival of Indian Dance proudly marks its 14th and final year, once again showcasing some of the top performers in Indian dance, expertly curated by the festival’s founder, Rajika Puri. Each evening’s performance will be preceded by a special presentation honoring Rajika and her visionary leadership and dedication to the festival throughout the years. Please join us as we express our immense appreciation to Rajika for her vital contributions to the festival’s longstanding success as well as to the broader cultural landscape of New York City.

Night One is a re-imagining of Mythili Prakash’s 2015 original production of Jwala.Prakash’s innovative vision as a choreographer, combined with her powerful conviction as a performer, distinguishes her as one of the most respected young Bharatanatyam artists today. Her work is unique – while rooted in the intricate and nuanced language of Bharatanatyam, it confronts the socio-political global world we live in today. Mythili is incisive in her approach, questioning cultural and social norms, while pushing the boundaries of her practice of the art form, particularly around femininity and aesthetics. Her creative introspections acknowledge and draw fodder from her experiences as a mother and a first-generation child of immigrants, as well as the complexity of her identity as a dancer of caste privilege in India, while simultaneously a female artist of color in the US.

Night Two features internationally acclaimed Kathak dancer and choreographer Parul Shah of the parul shah dance company, who expands the classical medium beyond cultural boundaries. With a focus on excellence, Shah builds upon the dance form’s mythological storytelling roots to share narratives based on her lived experiences. The nucleus of her work as a choreographer and performer has been to disrupt narratives and cultural trappings that undermine the dignity of South Asian women. Shah draws upon the rich tradition of the North Indian classical dance, Kathak, for resistance, artistry, and personal agency. Her work tells stories of women pushing against their boundaries, women who have been forgotten, and women whose labor is often invisible. To tell these stories, she has created a dance language that expands the technique of Indian dance to uproot male-dominated and Eurocentric narratives while forging resiliency and healing.

Night Three features Bijayini Satpathy, a distinguished master of Odissi on the global stage, who has enjoyed a prolific career spanning more than three decades as a highly acclaimed performer, master teacher, and esteemed scholar. In 2019, at the age of 50, Satpathy embarked on a distinctive solo journey to expand the tradition through her choreographic works. The premiere of her debut self-choreography, “Abhipsaa – A Seeking,” in 2021 garnered widespread praise for its compelling exploration and reinterpretation of the ancient tradition, propelling Satpathy to the forefront as a choreographer. Commissioned by Duke Performances and Baryshnikov Arts, with support from NEFA’s National Dance Project, the New York premiere of “Abhipsaa – A Seeking” was hosted in 2023 by Baryshnikov Arts, preceded by a virtual presentation in 2021 featuring a conversation between Bijayini Satpathy and Mark Morris with an introduction by Mikhail Baryshnikov. She was also invited in 2023 to perform her popular work “Sitaharan” with live music at the 20th edition of Fall for Dance, at New York City Center.

Co-Presented with The Asia Society