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JOGAN - A Kathak Dance Ballet
Saturday 26 January 2019, 17:00

JOGAN - A Kathak Dance Ballet: Durham, NC (January 26, 2019)

 

A Recital Paying Tribute To Meera Bai

 

Aakriti Kathak Academy presents Jogan - A Kathak Dance Ballet on Saturday, January 26, 2019 beginning at 5pm at Reynolds Industries Theater, Durham, NC. Tickets begin at $10.

Sometime during the Early Mughal Period of Indian history, about five hundred years into the past, there was a princess. Her name was Meera Bai. She was born into the Royal Rajput family of Merta, Rajasthan. From a young age Meera became fascinated with Lord Krishna, developing with him a very close and personal relationship of love and devotion. Such was her regard for Krishna that Meera went against familial and social expectations if they distanced her from her beloved. The price she paid for such an unwavering devotion was not light; she endured trials, tribulations, and injustices from both family and society to assert her right to worship as she chose. Ultimately, Meera renounced her life as a princess, pursuing the devotion of Krishna with such a single-minded zealousness that she has come to be seen as one of the greatest mystic saints in the Hindu tradition. As expressions of her devotion, Meera sang and danced. She wrote a multitude of poems, each exploring a different aspect of what her devotion meant, of her longing for Krishna, of her attachment to him, and her renunciation of all else.

Jogan - A Kathak Dance Ballet will pay a tribute to Meera Bai. The ballet will sketch her life through a kaleidoscope of songs and dances. All the songs are the immortal writings of Meera Bai herself set to original music recorded in India. Each scene will depict a different aspect of Meera Bai's life immersed in devotion, longing, love, passion and surrender. Each song will also highlight a different aspect of pure dance as well as abhinaya (storytelling).

Choreography & Direction: Kriti Rakesh, PhD
Music: Brij Joshi 
Dialogues: Alekh Jha 
For more details, visit tickets.duke.edu