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NORTH AMERICAN Newsline DECEMBER 19, 2025 | The Indian Eye 24

92NY harkness dance center presents what flows between us:

A Festival of India’s Classical Arts in Cross-Cultural Dialogue

Curated by Rachna Nivas, Festival Includes the New York Premiere of SPEAK featuring Rachna

Nivas, Rukhmani Mehta, Michelle Dorrance, Dormeshia, and additional guests

OUR BUREAU Works & Process residency, the work classical pianist Jiahao Han.
arrives in New York at a moment of Nandana Sen — writer, actor,
New York, NY
renewed creative depth and artistic and advocate presenting readings of
2NY Harkness Dance Center rigor. her mother Nabaneeta Dev Sen’s cel-
announces What Flows Between Though born continents and ebrated poetry accompanied by live
9Us: A Festival of India’s Classi- centuries apart, kathak and tap share kathak interpretation.
cal Arts in Cross-Cultural Dialogue, parallel histories of struggle, resil- Ramona Sylvan (Toronto) — one
a day-long immersion into the depth, ience, and community. In SPEAK, of the few female tabla players in
rigor, and expansive imagination of these dynamic, percussive traditions North America, leading an interactive
the Indian classical arts. Curated by converge in a captivating collabora- tabla demonstration and an all-wom-
renowned kathak artist, choreogra- tion that interweaves rhythm, poetry, en North–South Indian percussion
pher, educator, and 92NY Artist in storytelling, music, and dance. Since battle featuring Samyuktha Sreeram
Residence Rachna Nivas, the festival its 2017 U.S. premiere to sold-out (ghatam) and Shubha Chandramouli
gathers extraordinary women from audiences and its subsequent touring (mridangam).
North and South Indian classical across major cities in India and the FESTIVAL SCHEDULE
music, dance, percussion, and poet- U.S., SPEAK has earned widespread
ry—artists whose lifelong devotion to critical acclaim for its artistic virtuos- • Saturday, February 21, 2026 |
mastery is matched by their thought- edge of one’s own form—a principle ity and social resonance. Carried by 92NY
ful engagement with cross-genre col- rooted in Nivas’s training under her an ensemble of leading Indian classi- • 11:00 am – 1:00 pm | Buttenwieser
laboration. Vendor markets will be guru Pandit Chitresh Das. Rather cal and jazz musicians, SPEAK cele- Hall
active throughout the day, offering than “fusion,” these artists embody a brates lineage, improvisation, and the MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
traditional food and artisanal goods shared ethos: maintain the integrity capacity of women artists to push tra-
and the festival culminates with the of their form while finding common dition forward without compromising • Featuring Saili Oak, Sahana Shra-
New York premiere of SPEAK, a ground, treating differences not as its integrity. van, Dylan Hamme, Sunjay Ja-
groundbreaking rhythmic conversa- something to dilute or absorb, but as FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS yaram, Jackie Hager, Nirmala Ra-
tion between kathak and American essential to a world where plurality jasekar, Satyaprakash Mishra
tap featuring Nivas, Fulbright scholar thrives. The festival features leading fe- • Musical Performance
Rukhmani Mehta, MacArthur Fellow “Collaboration is not a shortcut or male artists whose work bridges clas- • Featuring Nirmala Rajasekar with
Michelle Dorrance, and tap legend a gimmick; at its highest level, it is an sical tradition with contemporary ex- Shruthi Rajasekar accompanied
Dormeshia. act of integrity — the culmination of pression: by Samyuktha Sreeram, Shubha
The festival is presented as part years of disciplined study,” comments Saili Oak (San Francisco) — a Chandramouli
of Women Move the World, 92NY’s Rachna Nivas. “Only from that depth sought-after Hindustani vocalist per- • Followed by Artist Conversation
2025/26 Harkness Mainstage Series. can artists recognize shared currents forming traditional repertoire as well • 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm | Warburg
“There’s a particular urgency and without erasing difference, and create as live excerpts from her album Be- Lounge
joy in spotlighting powerful women work that is rooted, honest, and trans- yond, in collaboration with a Western COMMUNITY LUNCH
artists — not just as performers, but formative. When we collaborate from classical string quartet, played by Sa-
as choreographers, collaborators, and this place of mastery and reverence, hana Shravan, Dylan Hamme, Sunjay • 2:30 pm – 4:00 pm | Buttenwieser
cultural makers.” — Rachna Nivas. we begin to see the nuances that flow Jayaram, Jackie Hager. Hall
What Flows Between Us takes between us across borders, traditions, Nirmala Rajasekar (Minneap- • Dance, Poetry & Percussion Per-
its name from the fluid intelligence and histories, expanding our lens of olis) — a rare master of the South formances
of feminine energy — like water and humanity through art.” Indian veena performing both solo • Featuring Yamini Kalluri, Ku-
rivers, it is expansive, adaptable, and EVENING PERFORMANCE—SPEAK Carnatic works and collaborative chipudi dancer with live ensemble
shaped by the landscapes it moves compositions with her daughter, vo- • Nandana Sen poetry reading with
through. While the festival brings to- The festival closes with the New calist and Western classical composer live kathak accompaniment
gether classical traditions from North York premiere of SPEAK, an ac- Shruthi Rajasekar. • 4:15 pm – 5:15 pm | Venue TBA
and South India — forms with rigor- claimed collaboration between kath- Yamini Kalluri (NYC) — a rising • Interactive Percussion Demo +
ously distinct movement languages, ak and American tap. Conceived by Kuchipudi soloist carrying forward All-Women Percussion Battle
musical systems, and histories that kathak virtuosos Rachna Nivas and the lineage of Andhra Pradesh, bring- • Ramona Sylvan, Samyuktha
are often misunderstood as one — it Rukhmani Mehta, and co-created ing a form rarely showcased on major Sreeram, Shubha Chandramouli
also illuminates the resonances they with MacArthur Fellow Michelle New York stages. She will be accom- • 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm | Warburg
share with Western classical and jazz: Dorrance and tap legend Dormeshia, panied by her Carnatic ensemble mu- Lounge
rhythm, improvisation, poetry, devo- SPEAK brings together four veteran sicians called The Kritya Music En- COMMUNITY DINNER
tion, and the embodied passing down artists whose years of dialogue and semble - Vocalist: Rohith Jayaraman,
of lineage. artistic exchange have forged a rare Nattuvangam: Vivek Ramanan, Mri- • 7:00 pm | Kaufmann Concert Hall
But the festival also emphasizes cross-genre kinship. Developed over dangam: Harsha Mandayam Bharathi • SPEAK — New York Premiere
that true cross-genre dialogue can several years and now being remount- and Violin: Laya Raghav. Her col- • Vendor marketplace open through-
only emerge from profound knowl- ed and further expanded through a laborative piece will be with Western out the day.

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