| Part of | India Dance Festival |
Meet the Icons
Indian dance has a rich history in which a lot of attention has been given to the way in which traditions are passed on from generation to generation. The strong bond between teacher and student is the basis for teaching dance. This system of transmission seems to fade into the background, with dance artists developing their own unique voice and thereby influencing and enriching the dance in a penetrating way.
Meet the Icons focuses on the unique universe of four key figures in Indian dance. Get to know four powerful female artists who have profoundly influenced the course of dance history and who still do.
You can watch the various programs for free from the premiere until May 29 at our Youtube channel.
Thursday 19 May: Protima Gauri
Saturday 21 May: Chandralekha
Tuesday 24 May: Mallika Sarabhai
Thursday 26 May: Malavika Sarukkai
Protima Gauri
The name Protima Gauri (12-10-1948 – 18-08-1998) is synonymous with Odissi dance. This is unusual because dance came relatively late to this woman who in the 1960’s was a socialite and fashion model. At the age of 27, she was on her way to a rock concert when she accidentally found herself at a Odissi performance by guru Kelucharan Mahapatra. Moved to tears, she knew she had found a new purpose in life. After a rigorous training of three years, theatres lined up to book her performances and she won over audiences at home and abroad.
Protima Gauri was devoted to a proper transfer of cultural heritage, as her teacher had also done. Near Bangalore she established the 'dance village’ Nritiyagram. Within a few years she had trained a dance ensemble that performed all over the world. Nritiyagram has enjoyed a fine reputation to the present day. After her son passed away, Gauri decided to resign from her post and go on a pilgrimage. Surupa Sen succeeded her. Unfortunately, Protima Gauri Bedi was involved in a fatal accident in the Himalayas.
In this edition of Meet the Icons, our guest is leading Odissi dancer Surupa Sen, who succeeded Protima Gauri as artistic director of Nritiyagram. This conversation is an introduction to a showing of specially compiled footage from the many documentaries made about the life of this charismatic artist.
Meet the Icons: Protima Gauri can be viewed for free via our Youtube channel from 19 May 15:00 until the end of the festival. The YouTube video will be displayed on this page soon.
Take Note: Surupa Sen will perform live during the India Dance Festival in The Hague on 20 May.
