Home: 40th Anniversary of Natyananda Dance School

Natyananda Dance School and Company is celebrating 40 years of showcasing the unique and rich heritage of Alabama’s Indian-American community through the classical Bharata Natyam dance style of Southern India. In celebration, they will perform a new program drawing material from Indian, Japanese, Middle Eastern, British, Native American, African American traditions, and contemporary culture to artistically address the universal mysteries of birth and death.

Made possible by grants from the Alabama State Council on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts, the new program hopes to inspire greater understanding and appreciation, not only for the wealth of diversity and perspective in world culture, but for the basic human experiences we all inevitably share: birth and death. "‘Only when we are brave enough to explore the darkness will we discover the infinite power of our light’" says Natyananda founder, Sheila Rubin, quoting Professor Brené Brown.

Founded in 1978 by Sheila Rubin, Natyananda uses innovative performance techniques to present this ancient dance form in a manner accessible to audiences who may be unfamiliar with Asian art and culture. The August 18th performances will take place in the beautiful Dorothy Jemison Day Theater at the Alabama School of Fine Arts and will feature the guest talents of Venkatakrishnan Mahalingam “one of India’s finest;” Deborah Mauldin of Bearing Light Butoh; Robert Perry, Chickasaw Elder; Belinda George Peoples, singer, actress, and humanitarian; and Stan Nelson, tenor; along with Natyananda’s own dancers, including founder Rubin. In a recent

Proclamation, Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin “encourage[s] all citizens to celebrate the diversity and cultural expression of Ms. Rubin and her phenomenal school.”

Tickets are available now at the Dorothy Jemison Day Theater box office.

What: “Home” Natyananda’s 40th Anniversary Celebration When: August 18th, 2018 at 2pm and 7pm Where: Dorothy Jemison Day Theater at ASFA Tickets: $25 available at DJD Box Office:

205-458-0360 http://www.djdtheater.org/events

For more information about this topic please call Sheila Rubin, visit www.Natyananda.com, or find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/NatyanandaDanceofIndia