Doors at 6:30 pm; Show at 7:00 pm
Tickets are $12 Advance /
$15 Day of Show
Madanika - Story of the Stone Girls:
It is based on the poems written by the post independence literary exponent from Karnataka, one of the Southern States of India, Shri D V Gundappa or DVG as he is most popularly known there! DVG, was inspired by the stone carvings of dancing damsels in the Temples of Belur and Halebidu. He then composed a poem on each of them, describing their beauty. These poems are collectively titled "Antahapura Geethegalu" or "Songs from the Inner Chambers"!
The temples of Belur and Halebidu were built during the reign of Emperor Vishnuvardhana, of the Hoysala Dynasty around the 11th and 12th Century. The Emperor's main queen, Rani Shantala is supposed to have commissioned the building of these temples. She was herself an amazing dancer, musician and mathematician! The temples of Belur and Halebidu are UNESCO protected heritage sites and are a marvel of architecture and engineering!
Mrs. Naina Shastri, Artistic Director of Ushajali School of Dance, Instructor of Bharatanatyam at the Mahea Uchiyama Center for International Dance, has been learning this art form since she was 8yrs old. She had her initial training under the guidance of Guru Vidwan Shri K Rama Murthy Rao of Mysore, India. She has a "Vidwat" degree in Bharatanatyam, from the Karnataka State Secondary Board of Education and is a Certified Teacher with the Akhila Bharatiya Gandharva MahaVidyalaya, Mumbai. She has been a RAW resident artist at SAFEhouse for the Arts, SF and Artist-in-residence at the Oakland Asian Cultural Center, Oakland. Currently, she serves as a Member of the San Ramon City's Arts Advisory Council. She is the founder of Namaha Foundation for the Arts, A Tri Valley Based Arts organization and co founder of Kalasangha-East Bay Artists Exchange.
Students of Ushanjali regularly perform at various Community and City organized events. The school was one of the groups that performed in this year's San Francisco International Arts Festival, SFIAF 2018.
Website: www.ushanjali.com
