Image Postcard
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contact: Shweta Malhotra
information@nayikas.org, 917-304-6370
The Nayikas Dance Theater Company in association with Alter Ego Productions proudly presents “TATVA – THE ELEMENTS”, a gala event celebrating the hybrid tendencies of design & aesthetics proliferating the contemporary arts & fashion of South Asia.
What: An evening comprising of two parts: a curated visual arts exhibition and a fashion show (featuring selections from fall collections of Rina Dhaka, Malini Ramani, Raghuvendra Rathore, Namrata Joshipura & Payal Singhal) animated by the kinetics of dance theater & multimedia.
Tickets $25 for Exhibition & Reception only
$125 for entire evening
When: Sept 27, 6pm – 11pm
6.30 pm-8 pm – Visual Arts Exhibition & Reception
8 pm-8.45 pm – Fashion Show (Open Seating Promptly at 8pm)
8.45 pm onwards – Buffet Dinner & Auction (Catered by The Leela Lounge, NYC)
Where: Tehresharan Gallery, 143 W 29 St (Btwn 6 & 7 Ave), New York City
Subways 1,N (28th St), B, D (34th St)
How: For tickets Call 917-304-6270, or
Email reservations@nayikas.org, or
Mail checks to Nayikas Dance Theater Co.,
910 Riverside Drive, 6H1, New York, NY – 10027
The Overall Event
‘Tatva’ (Sanskrit for the ‘elements’), is conceptualized as an event site that initiates veins of inquiry into contemporary South Asian culture to excavate perhaps a hidden common ‘element’ that pollinates its diverse artistic mediums. The idea is to explore and contemplate the interconnectedness and interdependence between performance, movement, visual arts & fashion crafts; to ‘mix up’ their roles as isolated disciplines and in the process find and exploit the possibilities it opens to expression & creative production. Continuing the dance theater company’s reputation of being ‘provocative’ & ‘non authentic’ (NY Times), Tatva lends itself to Nayikas’ deep engagement with redefining, provoking and challenging stereotypes of cultural authenticity; empowering its artists and audiences to extend and blur perceptions between art’s high mindedness & fashion’s populist nature, art’s connoisseurs & its consumers, art’s creation & its consumption.
The Fashion Show
Featuring select designs from the fall collections of leading Indian contemporary designers Rina Dhaka, Malini Ramani, Raghuvendra Rathore, Namrata Joshipura & Payal Singhal; the fashion show is choreographed by Myna Mukherjee, artistic director of Nayikas & produced by Shourin Roy of Alter Ego Productions. Sparkling on the cocktail circuit from Bombay to Monte Carlo to Beirut to Moscow (Malini Ramani); tempered under couture houses like DKNY & Oscar De la Renta (Raghuvendra Rathore); retailing at Henri Bendel, Bloomingdales, Neiman Marcus, Takashiyama (Namrata Joshipura); featured in Marie Claire Paris, Vogue London, Madame Figaro Paris & Vanity Fair (Rina Dhaka); having styled for MTV (Payal Singhal); this cross-section of designers from modern India & its diaspora have truly recalibrated the global presence of South Asian fashion in recent years. High-flying, celebrated & notorious, they have been responsible for the exciting & radical makeover of the South Asian fashion silhouette, proliferating venues ranging from international fashion ramps to trendy boutiques in NYC Noho like Indo-mix (partner for sourcing clothes). Nonconformist in line, fabric & form; assimilating styles & motifs from the past & present, east & west; the clothing selections for Tatva are effortlessly cross-cultural & beyond a monolithic or predictable aesthetic; all the while possessing a distinct indigenous ‘Indian-ness’.
The Exhibition
This part of the event, a group visual arts exhibition, provides a space of convergence for artists to raise and audiences to reflect upon tipping point issues pervasive in South Asian arts – tensions between its colonial past & global present, the sacred and the profane, traditionalism and modernism. The exhibition followed by an auction, is a collaborative presentation by Nayikas & Zamaana, a recently established effort contributing to the recognition of contemporary Indian art. Spanning perspectives of five contemporary artists Amit Jain, Rachana Nagarkar, Ajay Lakhera, Balaji Ponna & Kavita Nayar, the exhibition examines India’s evolving identity, as it commemorates 60 years of Independence, through photographs and paintings shown for the first time in the US. The works selected span a range of distinctive styles reflecting on the nature of a country where modern insight and aged habits are in constant flux—exploring notions of transformation and reinterpretation within the context of Indian culture. From mythological symbols to kitsch and calendar images, the artists define boundaries and interconnectedness, and explore the dynamic relationship between the traditional and modern. The included artworks can be previewed at www.zamaanaarts.com/tatva.html onwards from September 5th.
The Presenters
Acclaimed as “a glowing addition to the city’s mix’ by the Village Voice, Nayikas is New York's first resident Indian Odissi dance theater company; one of the only classical, contemporary and progressive dance ensembles in the South Asian Diaspora. Nayikas modernizes comprehension of the aesthetics of Odissi, India’s oldest classical dance form, dating back to 2nd Century B.C. Creating potent and theatrical dance pieces, the Nayikas tell stories that both privilege and resurrects often neglected, alternate voices of women, drawing from feminist iconography in Indian mythology, history and Diaspora. Thus preserving the essential spiritual core of the dance form while envisioning gender equality & promoting diversity of imagination in the often-patriarchal religiosity of these traditions. (www.nayikas.org)
Alter Ego Productions has been described as ‘a company to look out for’ by Theatermania. It is a South Asian Theater Company that brings together people from many different professional backgrounds sharing a common passion for theater. The company was founded in April 2002 by a group of individuals whose professional focus is not theater but who have a strong interest in theater and significant past experience in directing, acting, or production aspects. Alter Ego has brought to life Girish Karnad’s Hayavadana, Anuvab Pal’s Chaos Theory and Fatwa, Tom Stoppard’s Indian Ink, David Freeman’s A First Class Man, and for our forthcoming production Tariq Ali’s The Leopard and The Fox. (www.alteregoproductions.org)
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