When the multi-talented Madhu Natraj asked if I would chair a dance conference in her mother’s name, I was honored and touched.

I am a failed bharatanatyam dancer.  But I love dance and the world of dance.  It is movement and magic, beauty inside and out, a tryst with the divine through the body.

So I happily accepted.  For the last several weeks, we have been planning.  And here it is.

Saturday, September 18th from 10 to 3 at the Bangalore International Centre (BIC).

You have to register for the event to be there in person at the BIC.  All of us speakers will be there in person.  Should you wish to be there in person to listen to us, please register early.  Seats going fast– event is free.

Program below and on the BIC website here.

Here is my inaugural speech

Program Schedule

10.00 am – Lighting of the lamp

10.10 am – Inaugural address by the Conference Chair, Shoba Narayan

10.30 am – “Taandav” by Natya & STEM Dance Kampni

10.40 am – Dr. Krishna Seshadri, endocrinologist – “The Choreography of Dissonance”

11.35 am – Short film on Dr. Maya Rao

11.45 am – “Palate cleanser for the mind and spirit” with Sudeepta Shanbhag

11.55 pm – Dance in Camera

12.00 pm – Brinda Jacob, Dancer and Somatic Therapist – “Wounded Healers in Times of Trauma.”

12.25 pm – Ricky Kej, Grammy Award winning musician – “Music for our planet”

12.45 pm – “Sankalan” by Natya STEM Dance Kampni

1.00 pm – Lunch break

2.05 pm – Site Specific Performance by Aayana Dance Company

2.15 pm – Madhu Nataraj – “Moving The Moment” 

2.30 pm – Dr Anita Ratnam – “Dance Hyphenated”

3.10 pm – Shridhara Hegde, Yakshagana practitioner – “Adaptability of folk/operatic performers with the times”

3.25 pm – Closing address by Conference Chair, Shoba Narayan

3.35 pm – Vote of thanks by Ramya Nagaraj

Notes:

Lunch will be sold at reasonable prices on the terrace upstairs.  

The same for tea and coffee during the breaks.

Suggested dress code: Indian jewel tones

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The third Dr. Maya Rao Conference on Dance and Choreography

Sep 18, 2021

@the Bangalore International Centre.

Theme: Dancing the Waves

A day-long engagement on dance allied streams.  The theme touches upon love, resilience, adaptation, introspection, community and inner strength.  

For Dr Maya Rao, Life was a ‘Sanchaari’ and Dance her leitmotif. 

From systematising the ‘Taalim’ for Kathak, excavating from archives, libraries, Gurus; creating her own choreographies, engaging deeply with academia and her intuitive, proactive understanding of legacy building.

September 18th will be an extension of the above elements.

SPEAKERS

Dancer & Choreographer
Dancer, Choreographer & Expressive Arts Therapist
Yakshagana Practitioner
Endocrinologist
Dancer & Choreographer
Musician & Composer
Author & Journalist
Yoga Practitioner

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