PATH: Rangashree > Performances > Recent Events

Recent Events

You'll find brief descriptions of recent performances by Rangashree here. They'll give you a general idea of what we've been up to. You can find more pictures from earlier events in our Photo Gallery.

Rangashree's appearances in the last 12 months or so included the following events:

For events older than those listed above, see our archive.

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Guru Purnima at the Nithyananda Vedic Temple - Jul 18, 2008

The celebration of Guru Purnima at the Vedic Temple included dance performances. Rangashree students performed a couple of folk dances. They were joined by guest artists Rekha Subash, a Kalakshetra alumna, and Tharini Shanmugarajah, from the Kalpeetham School of Dance, who performed a few Bharatanatyam items. The temple's website has photos of this event.

Annual Students Performance - Jun 29, 2008

Our Annual Students Performance presented 23 items of Bharatanatyam and folk dance, which are listed in the program. They included the two folk dances performed at the recent FOGANA contest. With our senior students developing their skills, more advanced Bharatanatyam items were performed this year, including three kirtanams and a padam.

Curtain Call at the 2008 Students Performance

We were also happy to welcome Sri Nithya Paramananda from the Vedic Temple, who spoke on the connection between art and spirituality, and the importance of bringing both into our lives.

There are pictures of highlights from the performances in our Photo Gallery.

FOGANA Western Regional Gujarati folk dance competition - Jun 21, 2008

Rangashree entered two teams in this year's contest, in the Minor Raas and Senior Folk categories. The little girls did a great job for the Raas and earned a high enough score from the judges to qualify for the FOGANA finals in Boston. The folk dance performance was the Dhol dance, a traditionally choreographed item by Paulomi Pandit. Despite a solid performance by the dancers, the item was awarded second place.

JPL 28th Annual American Heritage Event - Jun 12, 2008

Rangashree represented the dances of India at this event, with multicultural performances by many artists and groups. Two folk dances, a Ghado and a Raas, were presented. For Bharatanatyam, a tillana was performed.

Fundraiser for Children's School in Vrindavan, India - Apr 12, 2008

At this event, Rangashree students performed traditional Indian dances. Two folk dance items were a kummi (a South Indian folk dance done in a circle with clapping) and a rumal (a dance to wedding music), and two Bharatanatyam items were a kirtanam on Lord Krishna, and a tillana. There were other performances of contemporary dances at the event.

Ugadi Celebrations - Apr 6, 2008

The South Indian New Year, or Ugadi, was celebrated at the Lakshmi Narayan Mandir in Riverside, CA. Suhasini Ramakrishna performed a Bharatanatyam item, "Jagan Mohanane Krishna", a kirtanam in Kannada by Purandaradasa. It describes the ten incarnations of Vishnu. There were also music performances by others.

Holi Celebrations - Mar 23, 2008

The festival of Holi was celebrated at the Lakshmi Narayan Mandir in Riverside, CA. Rangashree Dances of India presented a couple of items by its students at the occasion. The young children performed a Gujarati folk dance, choreographed by Paulomi Pandit to a song about Holi. The lyrics describe the sounds and colors of the cheerful celebration, concluding with the refrain, "Let's come together and sing with one voice the song of unity, and let the colors of love cover us so there are no distinctions." The older students performed a Bharatanatyam composition of Paulomi's, to the Mirabai bhajan, "Jhulata Radha sang Giridhar", which is set in Vrindavan during the Holi festival. In it, Krishna and Radha swing together amidst the Holi celebrations. They play with the gopis, and splash so much red and saffron colored water on each other that the river Yamuna flows red in Vrindavan. The composition evokes the joyful and lively celebration of Holi. Check out the photos from this event in our Photo Gallery.

Workshop at Pasadena Dance Festival - Feb 23, 2008

The Pasadena Dance Festival, produced by Lineage Dance, included classes, workshops, and performances in various dance styles. Rangashree presented an introductory workshop on Bharatanatyam by Paulomi Pandit, assisted by senior students Suhasini Ramakrishna and Nithya Rajeshuni.

Sri Lankan Independence Day Function - Feb 3, 2008

At an event organized by the Sri Lankan Consulate to mark the 60th anniversary of Sri Lankan Independence, a cultural program with numerous performances was presented. Rangashree's senior students performed a Bharatanatyam item - a group dance choreographed to Jatiswaram music, and a kummi folk dance.

Pongal Celebrations - Jan 13, 2008

This was a performance by students as part of the Pongal celebrations at the Nithyananda Vedic Temple. Rangashree's beginning students performed a Raas, and the intermediate group performed a Garbo. The program also featured students from the Kalapeetham School of Dance, who performed Bharatanatyam. There were also preformances of Carnatic vocal music.

New Year's Day and Jayanti Celebrations - Jan 1, 2008

To ring in the New Year, and celebrate Paramahamsa Nithyanada's Jayanti, or birthday, a cultural program was held at the Nithyananda Vedic Temple. Rangashree participated with Bharatanatyam and folk dance performances. Our intermediate and senior students performed a Kummi folk dance from Tamil Nadu. Senior students performed a few Bharatanatyam items - a Kirtanam on Lord Shiva, a Meera Bhajan on Lord Krishna, and a Tillana on Devi. The temple's website has photos of this event.

Sri Lankan Community Event - Dec 15, 2007

This community event was a variety performance for the holiday season. It was held at the Duarte Performing Arts Center, and Rangashree's senior students contributed a folk dance from Tamil Nadu, called Kummi. This dance enacted a small story on Lord Krishna.

Inauguration of Nithyananda Vedic Temple - Nov 9-10, 2007

The inauguration of the Nithyananda Vedic Temple included a two-day cultural program, in which Rangashree joined numerous other performing groups and artists. The temple's website has photos of this event. Their You-Tube directory includes a video of the inauguration. Footage of the cultural program is near the end of the video.

Rangashree's items included Bharatanatyam and Gujarati folk dances. Dances from other artists included Kathak, Mohini Attam, Cambodian dance, and indigenous dances from Mexico. There were a wide variety of classical and devotional music performances as well.

Diwali Celebrations at UC Riverside - Nov 4, 2007

At this large event, with many different performing groups, Rangashree's students performed a Ghumar folk dance from Rajasthan. The older students also performed a Toplo, a vocational folk dance from Gujarat.

Annual Students Performance - Nov 4, 2007

Held at the Bellflower Civic Auditorium, our Annual Students Performance featured 16 items from our Bharatanatyam and folk dance repertoire. You'll find the list of items and performers in the program.

Krishna Janmashtami at the Gayatri Mandir - Sep 8, 2007

At this celebration of Lord Krishna's birthday, organized by the Vaishnav Samaj of Southern California, a brief dance presenation was given by Rangashree. A group of young students performed a Raas, and senior students performed a Bharatanatyam composition on Krishna and Radha.

Krishna Janmashtami at the Lakshmi Narayan Mandir - Sep 3, 2007

This event at the temple in Riverside featured folk dances by various participants. Rangashree's group of beginning students performed a folk dance portraying the activities of Lord Krishna and his fellow cowherds.

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