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NORTH AMERICAN Newsline FEBRUARY 23, 2024 | The Indian Eye 26

Rachna Nivas’ ‘Reclaiming the Divine

Feminine’ to World premiere on March 1

One of the most accomplished kathak dance practitioners of her generation,

Rachna’s work takes audiences into the dark and mystical realm of tantra

OUR BUREAU came the genesis of her newest solo
work, ‘Reclaiming the Divine Femi-
New York, NY
nine’. To complete this work, Rach-
he world premiere of Re- na was awarded the 2023-24 CUNY
claiming the Divine Feminine Dance Initiative Residency. Her ad-
Tis scheduled for March 1-2, ditional original works include ‘Un-
2024 at New York Live Arts. Creat- edited’, a risk-bound tour-de-force
ed and performed by Rachna Nivas, solo highlighting improvisation with
renowned kathak dance artist and live musicians; SPEAK, a cross-cul-
Co-Artistic Director of Leela Dance tural collaboration bringing together
Collective, this work takes audiences leading women in kathak and tap,;
into the dark and mystical realm of Son of the Wind, a large-scale Ra-
tantra, hailing independent feminine mayana dance drama. Notable tours
power as the universe’s primordial of her works include LA’s Broad
energy. Stage and Ford Theaters, San Fran-
With live music, special lighting cisco’s Yerba Buena Center for the
and prop design, Nivas embodies Arts, Mumbai’s Royal Opera House,
Kali – Goddess of Time and Death New Delhi’s Epicenter, Maui Arts
who epitomizes the paradoxes of and Cultural Center, Philadelphia’s
feminine wholeness and illuminates a Kimmel Center.
woman’s path to reclaiming her limit- As an educator and community
lessness. This performance promises inine is a project that germinated Musical Artists will include Jayanta organizer, Rachna is currently di-
to haunt, provoke, and enchant. from Nivas’ 6-month research jour- Banerjee, sitar; Satyaprakash Mish- recting Leela New York’s thriving
According to Nivas, the tantric ney for the Jerome Robbins Dance ra, tabla; Varshini Narayanan, Bans- training institution. She has taught
wisdom goddesses (mahavidyas) Division prestigious Dance Research uri flute; Dara Hankins, cello; Neha in numerous educational residen-
are some of the most radical yet in- Fellowship at New York Public Li- Tummala, vocals. cies, most notably at Verdon/Fosse
visible iconography of South Asian brary for the Performing Arts. The Rachna Nivas is a performing Legacy, Kuperberg Center for the
civilization. She says, “Tantra, which 2022-23 theme being Dance and artist, choreographer, educator, Arts, New Orleans’ Treme Center,
was birthed in tribal India, has been Ecology, Nivas presented a culmi- community organizer, scholar, and Miami’s Conservatory of Arts.
highly denigrated and stereotyped in nating talk and dance with live music activist of Indian classical art. She is Leela Dance Collective is
the West to be about sex and freakish titled Nature, Woman, and the Mac- one of the most accomplished kath- a bi-coastal artist-led and wom-
practices. It’s tragic how little folks rocosm: How Indian classical dance ak dance practitioners of her gener- en-led internationally touring dance
know about this powerful paradigm, transmits a consciousness of indivis- ation. A radical artist whose practice company bringing the richness and
even in India itself due to its unortho- ibility. It showcased the intersection- is both deeply protective of tradition depth of Indian classical dance to
dox departure from patriarchal struc- ality of Indian classical dance with but also interrogative, she keeps alive contemporary audiences worldwide
tures and what we consider ‘wild’ and ecofeminism, interconnectedness, one of the most important lineages through traditional works and cross-
‘horrific’ imagery of a woman.” and non-duality. Curator of the Je- of classical Indian dance. Called by genre collaborations.
The phrase “divine feminine” rome Robbins Dance Division, Lin- critics “revelatory”, “charismatic”, Under the artistic direction of
has been gaining popularity recent- da Murray, says, “Rachna is one of “a dancer who radiates power and renowned kathak artists Rachna
ly, but Nivas hopes to expand and the most accomplished Kathak prac- grace”, her work is rooted in fem- Nivas, Rukhmani Mehta, and Sei-
deepen its understanding. She says, titioners working in the US today. A inine consciousness and Eastern bi Lee, the Collective has garnered
“Tantra’s ‘divine feminine’ is a rare radical artist whose practice is both philosophies that challenges Euro- critical acclaim engaging some of to-
concept in that she is not just a re- deeply respectful of tradition but also centric cultural paradigms. After day’s leading dancers and musicians,
vered nurturing consort to a male interrogative, she keeps alive one of rising to principal dancer in legend- as well as collaborative artists of
deity, but rather an entirely inde- the most important lineages of Indi- ary master Chitresh Das’ acclaimed other genres. through groundbreak-
pendent and autonomous power, not an classical dance and is a crucial fig- company for 15 years, she is now ing productions like SPEAK, Son of
depicted with a partner or even as a ure for understanding the integration co-founder and co-artistic director the Wind, ReSound, and more. Past
mother. My own life has taken me to of Indian culture into the American of Leela Dance Collective and is highlights include appearances at
deep self-inquiry and brought me to dance mosaic.” building her own solo body of work Ford Theaters, BroadStage, Kimmel
discover how profound and liberat- In addition to the NYPL, Re- in a generative chapter of her artistic Cultural Campus, Green Music Cen-
ing these goddesses are. They have claiming the Divine Feminine is sup- journey. ter, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts,
the power to transform and reclaim ported by New York Live Arts under Rachna was a New York Pub- National Centre for the Performing
a woman’s wild limitlessness nature.” their Independent Works program lic Library for the Performing Arts Arts, Mumbai, Maui Arts & Cultural
Reclaiming the Divine Fem- and CUNY Dance Initiative. Live Dance Research Fellow which be- Center, and NC State LIVE.

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