"Coming out of the History Department at MCLA, and also having spent three years working on the Student Government Association (SGA), I had hoped to continue to pursue my interests and get a job working in government. I had been to the State House a few times for Student Lobby days, and had been in touch with my local representatives all throughout school, so after graduation, this was certainly to my advantage, as I now work on Beacon Hill."
Danielle Barboza ’06 Survivor Benefits Analyst – State Retirement Board, Commonwealth of Massachusetts
News & Press Releases
April 2, 2008
NORTH ADAMS, MA – Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) Patrons of the Arts will present “From the Heart of a Tradition,” an evening of Indian music and dance on Friday, April 11, at 7:30 p.m. in the Church Street Center.
MCLA’s Dance Company will open the show with a special preview of their spring performance.
Traditional Indian music and dance will follow with Aniruddha Knight, the only grandson of the world-famous performer T. Balasaraswati, and the ninth generation of one of India’s most distinguished families of professional musicians and dancers. Knight is a direct inheritor of his family’s distinctive style.
“This is a rare opportunity to see a practitioner of the ancient forms of Bala Music and Dance,” said Jonathan Secor, director of special programs at MCLA. “Ani’s dances are exquisite, performing with and reacting to the traditional Indian instruments and vocals of some truly amazing musicians.”
“Each dancer is trained as a musician before they’re trained as a dancer,” Knight said. Although parts of the dance are choreographed, “It’s mostly an improvised art form, with hand movements, facial expressions and body movements to convey what the song lyrics are meant to convey.”
Knight’s interpretation of the narrative aspect of the dance is guided by the same sensibilities that directed his grandmother. Different from the popular style of bharata natyam, known today as India’s most recognizable cultural export, Knight’s dance style follows principles of form and choreography. It is performed with music that have been practiced and passed on within his family for hundreds of generations, since at least the mid-18th century, according to Knight.
“Watching Aniruddha, the audience is clearly able to see how dancer and vocalist communicates through eye, head and hand gestures a unique vocabulary that creates magic,” according to the Nartanam Dance Journal. According to the Los Angeles Times, Knight is “a model of grace, ease, and intense involvement in projecting character.”
Tickets for general admission are $12, $5 for MCLA faculty and staff, and free admission for Patrons and MCLA students. To reserve tickets, call 662-5543. For more information, go to [ http://www.mcla.edu/patrons ]www.mcla.edu/patrons .
