Leela Samson to perform in Dhaka

Prominent Bharatanatyam exponent from India Leela Samson and her group Spanda are all set to perform in Dhaka, and hold a workshop. Shadhona and Srishti Cultural Center, in association with Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (BSA), have organised the programmes.

From April 21-23, the group will present a three-day Bharatanatyam Festival titled “Roop Bahulya”, and conduct a Bharatanatyam dance workshop from April 24-28 at BSA.

On the first day of the festival, Leela and her group Spanda will present Bharanatyam with accompanying musicians at the National Theatre Hall Auditorium of BSA from 6:30 pm. The next day, for the 49th presentation of “Nupur Beje Jai”, Leela and Spanda will creatively explore group dynamics within the Bharatanatyam genre. The performance will be staged at the main auditorium of Bangladesh National Museum from 6:30pm. On April 23, the troupe will be present a creative dialogue between music, dance and stagecraft within the Bharanatyam genre at the same venue.

There will be different performances on all three days. All performances are ticketed. Tickets are available online at jetechao.com.

Bharatanatyam dancer, choreographer, instructor and writer, Leela Samson is known for her technical virtuosity, and has taught Bharatanatyam at Shriram Bhartiya Kala Kendra in Delhi for many years.

She has served as the chairperson of the Sangeet Natak Akademi and as the chairperson of the Central Board of Film Certification (an autonomous body that censors and certifies films in India, including Bollywood movies). In 1995, Samson formed Spanda, a dance group to review the traditional vocabulary of Bharatanatyam. Two documentary films – “Sanchari” and “The Flowering Tree” – have been made on her works. Samson was conferred the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian honour of India, in 1990.