Leela Dance Collective announces an exclusive preview performance of Encounters with Beauty, with the Salastina music ensemble, November 10 as part of the California Festival. It is a collaboration between Leela Dance Collective, an internationally-touring kathak dance company that combines classical dance from North India with contemporary influences, and Salastina, hailed as a visionary chamber ensemble.
Encounters with Beauty is a work in which Indian classical dance meets Western contemporary chamber music. Conceived of and choreographed by kathak artists and Co-Artistic Directors of Leela Dance Collective Rukhmani Mehta and Seibi Lee, this work weaves together evocative sounds of the Salastina string quartet and Hindustani classical vocals with the percussive footwork and dramatic movement of kathak dance. Encounters With Beauty crosses genres, cultures, and communities.
Created by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, and San Diego Symphony and including more than 50 organizations from across the state, the California Festival showcases music made in the last five years. The festival covers multiple forms of musical expression and honors California’s unique place in music and culture.
Leela Dance Collective artists for this performance include: Rukhmani Mehta, Joanna Meinl, Rachna NIvas, Carrie Jennings, Ahana Mukherjee, and Sonali Toppur. Salastina artists for this performance include: Kevin Kumar and Maia Jasper White (Co-Artistic Directors and Violinists), Meredith Crawford, (Resident Violinist), and Yoshika Masuda (Resident Cellist). Lead composers for this performance are Derrick Skye (American Mirror) and Reena Esmail (Beyond), among other contributors.
“Collaborating with Salastina and working on this special preview of Encounters With Beauty has been an incredible journey for us,” shared Rukhmani Mehta, Artistic Director of Leela Dance Collective. “The creative process has pushed us outside of our comfort zone and fueled experimentation and innovation within our form of kathak dance. The end result is a genre-bending production that brings together artists and audiences across cultures and communities. We couldn’t be more excited about sharing this work at the California Festival.”
“Both American Mirror and Beyond are pieces of music we know well, and have performed and recorded many times. But performing them with Leela gives the music a brand new flavor, as well as a feeling of inevitability: it’s as if the music was always meant to be accompanied by their choreography,” commented Maia Jasper White, Salastina Executive Director and Co-Artistic Director. “When the California Festival asked what Salastina’s contribution might be, it was clear to us this was the most colorful, differentiating, and overall best possible choice.”
This type of interdisciplinary performance is representative of Leela Dance Collective’s mission and artistry. Through traditional works and cross-genre collaborations, the Collective brings the richness and depth of Indian classical dance to contemporary audiences worldwide. Other notable original works include SPEAK, a kathak-tap dance collaboration featuring Michelle Dorrance and Dormeshia Sumbry-Edwards and Son of the Wind, the story of India’s mythological hero, Hanuman, brought to life through dance-drama.
Friday, November 10, 8 p.m. with a reception to follow. The Edye at the Broad Stage, 1310 11th Street Santa Monica, CA 90401. In Person Tickets $40 ($10 student tickets). Livestream Tickets $10 (livestream available through November 13, 2023).
Mariclare Hulbert
