Kathak Presentation at Ganesh Temple in Queens

Come out to the Ganesh Temple in Flushing this Sunday, June 3rd for the Youth Festival 2007.

The day will be full of exciting activities and contests--check out the website for more extensive info.

As part of the Cultural Program beginning at 4:30pm in the Auditorium, The East-West School will be presenting one very dynamic dance piece to the song "Pal Pal Hai Bhari" from the film Swades Don't be late!

Lotus Students Showcase

This past Saturday, May 19th marked the Lotus students dance showcase. Guruji's students from the Lotus center performed some pieces they've been working on, including Gat Bhaav and Pushpanjali. Kavita, from the Queens center, also performed a ghazal and nritta piece.

Photos courtesy Sonya Singh

Also, mark your calendars!

ISKCON's annual Rath Yatra and Festival in Washington Square Park is approaching! Look out for students from the East-West School presenting Krishna Leela on June 9th.

It's sure to be a great day--don't miss it!

Arts of India / Drums Along the Hudson and more...

The past two weeks have been quite eventful for the East-West School.

Last Saturday, April 28th Pt. Charka presented an interactive workshop and concert in conjuction with the Westchester Arts Council for "Raag-Bhava-Taal-Bhog: Arts of India" at the Arts Exchange in White Plans. Pt. Charka was accompanied by Shri Naren Budhakar on tabla and Shri Prasanna Kumar on sitar. The day was filled with workshops, and the event was concluded with an evening concert. All in all, it was a great event. Click here for videos.

Sunday, April 29th was the "Drums Along the Hudson" program presented by Lotus Music and Dance. The live program was presented by Pooja Bhardwaj, Ruee Gawarikar and Anisha Muni, students of Pt. Charka, who performed a variety of pieces in Kathak dance technique. Again, Naren Budhakar and Prasanna Kumar provided musical accompaniment. Photos courtesy of Sonya Singh

The event featured Native American music and dance, and is the city's only open air powwow. Check here in the next few days, for videos of the Maya. Special thanks to Aniela and Sonya!

Particularly worthy of note was Guruji's son, Purab's first appearance at an EWSOD event, alongside mom Radhika Aunty. We're looking forward to seeing him at more programs!

Here he is with (left to right) : Ruee, Prasannaji, Narenji, Guruji, Anisha, Pooja, and Radhika Aunty.

This past weekend, Pt. Charka made an appearance at the 21st Annual Folk and Movie Dance Competition at Roxbury High, in New Jersey. Pandit Charka sat in on the judging panel along with student Anisha Muni and Rekha Srinivasan. Congratulations to the winners and great job to all participants. Special thanks to Ms. Lakshmi Anand.

A hearty congratulations to Joyce Sethi upon her wedding this past Saturday, May 5th!

Last but not least, Bijal Aunty has started a quarterly newsletter, Natya Dharma, for the East-West School. Be sure to email if you'd like to be added to the distribution list. It's a really great way to get regular updates on School activities and future planning.