India's 63rd Republic Day celebration :

Performance by Aditi Mangaldas dance company

To mark the 63rd Republic Day of India, Indian Cultural Centre, which is the cultural arm of the High Commission of India, Colombo is organizing a contemporary dance performance of renowned danseuse Aditi Mangaldas and her dance company at Bishops's College auditorium, Colombo at 6.30 pm on January 25, 2012. Minister for Power and Energy Patali Champika Ranawaka will be the Chief Guest and High Commissioner of India Ashok K. Kantha will preside over the function.

In addition to Colombo, the troupe will be performing in Galle, Kandy and Jaffna. The performance at Galle which is being sponsored by Indian Cultural Centre will be on January 21 at Hall de Galle, in conjunction with the Galle Literary Festival.

On January 23, the troupe will perform at the Hindu Cultural Hall, Kandy. This event will be organized by the Assistant High Commissioner's office in Kandy. On January 28, there will be performance at Veerasingam Hall in Jaffna. This event will be organized by Consul General of India in Jaffna.

A dancer par excellence, Aditi started dancing with Kumudini Lakhia, one of the pioneers of contemporary innovations based on Kathak and among India's leading choreographers. Never satisfied with the technique or kinetics of dance, Aditi explored the space around her with high virility and energy.

She has broken a new ground in contemporary dancing by using her knowledge and experience of Kathak as a springboard to evolve a contemporary dance vocabulary infused with the spirit of the classical.

Aditi also studied under Pt Birju Maharaj, the scion of the traditional Kathak family and India's greatest Kathak maestro.

In their 90 minutes-long performance, the Aditi Mangaldas Dance Company will be presenting five dance concepts with effects of lights, music, percussion and choreography. In her productions, Aditi Mangaldas profusely uses the Hindustani stream of music, poetry, philosophy and various kinds of designs.

Mohit Gangani on Tabla, Ashish Gangani on Pakhwaj and the vocalist Faraz Ahmad, are her accompanying artists for all the performances.

The light designs will be done by Narayan Singh Chauhan. The dancers are Dheerendra Tiwari, Dheerendra Tiwari, Piyush Chauhan, Amit Khinchi, Preeti Sharma, Mansi Saxena, Rohit Parihar, Karan Gangani and Aditi Mangaldas.

For invitations for the performances, please contact the Indian Cultural Centre, No.16/2, Gregory's Road, Colombo - 07, Tel.No.2684698 or email: [email protected]