Washington, D.C. —International dance companies will join Dakshina/Daniel Phoenix Singh Dance Company for DC’s annual Fall Festival of Indian Arts. Now in its seventh year, the festival’s headline performances will take place on October 2-9 at Washington, D.C.’s historic Lincoln Theatre, where Dakshina will share the stage with leaders in Indian dance. The festival features several dance performances, a peace concert to commemorate Gandhi’s birthday, panel discussions and workshops with the guest artists. The highlights of the festival are as follows.

On Saturday October 2^nd at 4:00 pm, Alif Laila will open our Festival with her Art of Peace sitar concert. This is our 6th year of partnership with Alif and Dakshina is excited to have her back on this year’s roster. Gracious and talented, she serves as a role model and mentor to Daniel. Alif Laila was born and raised in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Her connection with the arts has been very deep since early childhood. In Dhaka, Bangladesh, she began her initial training in vocal music, and was eventually inspired to learn the Sitar by her mother, Shehida. Dakshina opens each year’s festival with the Art of Peace concert on October 2^nd in commemoration of Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday and his contributions to peace and social justice. The concert will take place at the Westminster Church at 400 I Street SW.

On Friday October 8 at 7:30 pm, Mallika Sarabhai and her company Darpana will perform their evening length work Sampradayam based on the Bhajan tradition (traditional religious songs with folk and classical roots). Bhajans have always been a mainstay of devotional music in Hinduism – the rousing passion of voices accompanied by nothing but cymbals creates a trance like effect. In 2010 Sarabhai received the Padma Bhushan from the President of India (second highest civilian award). Her mother Mrinalini Sarabhai, an esteemed danseuse and social justice activist received this award in 1992, and together they are the only mother-daughter pair to have received this prestigious award. Sarabhai was the founding guest artist for Dakshina’s Fall Festival series, starting the Festival off with her show at the Duke Ellington School in 2004.

On Saturday October 9 at 7:30 pm, Anita Ratnam explores several beloved faces from Indian mythology. FACES is a presentation by Anita Ratnam of some of the most familiar and loved personae from our cultural tapestry. Portraying varied sentiments, these FACES together traverse a spectrum of emotions, to finally surrender to infinite bliss. The use of theatrical stage movement and tools links the faces together, the music stays true to each, and the evening thus becomes an exploration of the range of emotions of which one is capable. Dr. Ratnam says “Looking past the aura of these cultural icons and finding the recognizable feelings that drive us all, that connect them to us and each other, that’s what FACES is about.” The revered Indian dance critic Leela Venkataraman writes, “Anita Ratnam’s dance finds power in stillness. In an irony of sorts, it was Anita Ratnam’s Contemporary statement “Faces” that stole the thunder in a festival titled Parampara (tradition).” Both the October 8 and 9 performances take place at Lincoln Theatre at 1215 U Street NW.

Dakshina will be the opening for the guest artists each night and will be presenting an eclectic blend of Bharata Natyam, Modern Dance and Fusion works that will be touring the Mid-Atlantic region in 2011.

Singh is personally inspired and motivated by these great artists and is proud to be able to present them in Washington, D.C. All the artists featured in the festival have strong social themes in their works—an idea that is central to Dakshina’s mission. It is a distinct honor for Dakshina to be able to share the stage with artists of this caliber. In addition to its feature performances at the Lincoln Theatre, Dakshina will present a month-long series of events, including music, film and lectures. Details for these events will be released later this summer.

TATA USA is the lead sponsor for the 2010 Festival presenting guest artists Alif Laila, Anita Ratnam and Mallika Sarabhai. Dakshina’s Fall Festival of Indian Arts is made possible by financial support from the National Endowment for the Arts, DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, Dakshina’s founding sponsors, and friends of Dakshina/Daniel Phoenix Singh Dance Company. For more information about Dakshina and its upcoming events, visit www.dakshina.org.