Before You Go: American Natya Festival presented by Soorya Performing Arts

The 16th American Natya Festival is a three-day long Indian classical dance festival hosted by Soorya Performing Arts, a not-for-profit dance organization based in St. Louis, dedicated to the education of the Indian classical arts of Bharatanatyam, Kathak, Carnatic music, and Mrudangam. This year's festival will occur from June 13-15, at Clayton High School, and will showcase a variety of artists representing Bharatanatyam, Kathak, Kuchipudi, Andhranatyam, Odissi, and more! 

We will have performances from local Indian classical dancers and dance organizations, such as Soorya Performing Arts, presenting a 90-minute long dance drama about "Ayyappa" on Saturday, June 14th. "Ayyappa" is the Hindu deity of truth and righteousness, presenting the full saga of his birth, his life, and his stories as a warrior. We will also be featuring a dance company from Florida, Rudram Dance Company, and the Rudrakshya Foundation, a renowned all-male troup of Odissi dancers touring from India. Other featured artists include Mythili Patel from New York, Sumangala V Varun from Austin, Sudha Raghuram from Birmingham, Joshua George and Shriya Srinivasan from Boston, and Kaveri Natya Yoga from Austin.

Local St. Louis dancers include Samanvita Kasthuri, Lalitha Jilakara, Nisha Maguluru, and Sujatha Vinjamuri. 

Every year, the Natya Festival aims to honor a guru in the United States through our Lifetime Achievement Award. This award celebrates a guru who has been dedicated to the Indian classical arts through education, programming, collaborative projects, and more. This year, we are honoring Guru Vinitha Subramanium and Guru Sujatha Vinjamuri. Guru Vinitha Subramanium runs Natyalaya, which has branches in North Austin, Round Rock, Leander, and East Austin, and teaches over 150 students. Guru Sujatha Vinjamuri is based in St. Louis, teaching Kuchipudi to the community here and has been involved in many productions, including producing a documentary film, "The Temple and the Swan", a comparison of Kuchipudi and Ballet. 

This is also an exciting year due to the finals of the American Natya Idol, which Soorya Performing Arts hosted across 16 cities this year! These competitions served to create a circuit between cities, fostering healthy competition between practitioners of the Indian classical arts of all ages. The finals of the Natya Idol will be held on Saturday and Sunday, June 14th and 15th. 

For information about the schedule, tickets, and more, please visit www.natya.org.