The Department of Theater and Dance, the UCIRA, the Talwar Family and Yardi Systems presents a Festival of Dance and Music, Film and Contemporary Performances from India, alongside an all-day scholarly conference filled with artists’ roundtables, film showings, lecture-demonstrations and keynote lectures exploring the critical issues facing Indian dance art since India’s Independence from Britain in 1947. A rich world of ornate costumes, instruments, solo and group dancing, accompanied by live musicians, Dance in India presents 2 professional companies on Wednesday and Thursday, January 14 and 15, in the Department’s mainstage theater: the Hatlen Theater, located just above the campus lagoon.

We are delighted to be able to bring together internationally-recognized artists and scholars, both to the main stage and to an all-day conference to discuss the history, complexity and critical discourse surrounding dance in India. These events that range from performance on the Hatlen stage to lecture-demonstrations, to a focused consideration of the mother-daughter guru tradition, to the examination of Indian dance in a postcolonial and neoliberal era, accompanied throughout by film showings and talk-backs with the artists will enrich our scholarly community and ongoing research into the history and culture of India.

Co-sponsored by: Hemispheric South(s) Research InItiative and the Performance Studies & Politics Research Focus Group.

You may also be interested in the other events in this festival:

Kathak: The Essentials with Amrapali Ambegaokar with special guest appearance by Guru Anjani Ambegaokar

Wed, Jan 14 / 8 pm

UCSB Hatlen Theater

BUY TICKETS

SCHOLARLY / ARTISTIC CONFERENCE 

Fri, Jan 16 / 9 am - 4 pm  

UCSB HSSB Ballet Studio

FREE

followed by a reception and award-winning film showings at noon

FILM SHOWINGS 

Sat, Jan 17 / 1 pm

UCSB HSSB Ballet Studio

FREE

Seating is Limited

• Nrityagram: for love of dance directed by Nan Melville (2010)
• Kamhaka. Through Prayerful Eyes directed by Aparna Sharma (2013)