By Aishwarya Karnik & Shashank A. Nene
LEXINGTON, MA–Lexington Community Education, the Indian Association of Lexington and the Cary Memorial Library have joined hands with Shadaj, a non-profit organization founded by volunteers from Lexington and the Greater Boston area, to bring us “Strings N Beats” – a not-to-be-missed dance and sitar performance on November 19th in Lexington, MA.
Lively, upbeat, scintillating, and yet steeped in a centuries-old, time-honored tradition, the Indian classical art forms of music and dance have long entranced audiences. When the event is a sparkling dialogue between classical music and classical dance, it is sure to engage all the senses with its melody and aesthetic vigor. Strings N Beats, bringing together an exotic interplay of Indian Kathak dance and sitar music, promises all that, and more.
The concert will feature renowned Kathak danseuse Shambhavi Dandekar along with Shakir Khan’s on the sitar and Harshad Kanetkar on the tabla. The event will be held at the Cary Hall, 1605 Massachusetts Avenue in Lexington, MA on Sunday, November 19, from 4 pm to 6 pm, and is expected to be a one-of-a-kind, music and dance extravaganza.
Shambhavi Dandekar is a versatile and accomplished danseuse who has performed extensively in many prestigious venues around the world. She is an empanelled dancer of Indian Council for Cultural Relations, New Delhi and a member of the International Dance Council of UNESCO. Her many dance productions include fusion, experimentation and innovation, all based on a solid foundation of tradition and authenticity. These productions have included Nritya Sangam, a confluence of the two rich genres of Indian classical dance, Bharatnatyam and Kathak, Music Melange, a juxtaposition of Kathak with Western styles of dance and Horizons, a presentation of the past, present and future of dance. Shambhavi teaches the nuances of Kathak to over 400 students in five schools in India and in the US.
Shakir Khan, disciple and son of renowned sitar exponent of the Etawah Gharana (School of Music), Ustad Shahid Parvez, is a leading Sitar virtuoso of his generation. The music he coaxes from the sitar touch your soul and his mastery of the instrument is unparalleled. Accompanying them both, is a percussionist giant. Harshad Kanetkar, learnt his art form from the Tabla maestro, Pandit Suresh Talwalkar and has been a frequent performer in the United States.
On the day before the concert, on Saturday, November 18, between 1.30 pm and 3 pm, there is a unique opportunity to meet with the artistes in a music appreciation session, at the Cary Memorial Library, in Lexington, MA. They will talk about their individual art forms, answer questions and do small demos of their respective talents. This session is free of charge for all attendees.
Tickets for the main concert on November 19 are available at http://www.shadaj.org. The event is brought to us by Shadaj and is co-sponsored by the Lexington Community Education, the Indian Association of Lexington and the Cary Memorial Library.
