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Battery Dance Festival celebrated India’s Independence Day with a free concert featuring dances from India on August 15 at Rockefeller Park. The Indian dances were part of the festival’s five-night performance line-up featuring performances by international artists from the Netherlands, Taiwan, Germany, South Korea, Spain, Indonesia, and the USA.
The Battery Dance Festival is New York City’s longest-running free public summer festival, which draws crowds in the thousands to experience dance against the spectacular water, sky, and cityscape backdrop. Founded by Jonathan Hollander in 1976 in Lower Manhattan, Battery Dance now serves as one of America’s leading cultural ambassadors, connecting the world through dance. Its exceptional team of dancers serves as teaching artists and choreographers, creating vibrant new works of artistic excellence and social relevance in public spaces.
The India Day performance showcased Shakthi-Divine Energy, a mixed program hosted by scholar and lecturer Rajika Puri, who is trained in Bharatanatyam & Odissi. She introduced an impressive lineup of artists, including well-known Odissi dancer Bijayini Satpathy, award-winning dancer/choreographer from Kolkata, Subhajit Khush Das, Bharatanatyam soloist Sonali Skandan, the Nandanik Dance Troupe from Pittsburgh, the Kalpavruksha Dance Ensemble from New Jersey, NYC’s Malini Srinivasan & Dancers, and Sampradaya Dance Creations from Canada.
The Nandanik Dance Troupe presented an excerpt from a new production, Dashamahavidya – the 10 incarnations of the mother goddess Shakti, created by Kolkata-based choreographer and soloist Subhajit Khush Das, who debuted MAA, The Protector, a new production on the Goddess Kali.
Sonali Skandan presented “Durga”, created in collaboration with Maya Kulkarni, to a commissioned musical score.
Malini Srinivasan & Dancers performed “Being Becoming” which is dedicated to the essence of divine feminine power and creativity, and Sampradaya Dance Creations celebrated Ardhanarishwara, the divine union of Shiva and Shakti.
Odissi exponent Bijayini Satpathy performed two duets under the title Lāsya: Lathika & Mahamaya. She talked to Hari Adivarekar of India Currents about the performance.
Hari Adivarekar (HA): How does your performance at the Battery Dance Festival connect to India’s Independence Day?
Our performance, Lasya, celebrates the power of cultural expression by showcasing both the sensuality and strength of the feminine through Odissi – one of India’s classical dance forms rooted in its rich heritage. As second-generation Indians in the U.S., India’s Independence Day remains meaningful to us, honoring our grandparents who lived through 1947 and our parents who shaped life after it, while keeping these traditions alive and evolving. The idea of Mother India, inspires the central theme of Shakti, the feminine power – shown in our presentation through sensuality, and the fierce protection of the divine mother.
HA: Why is it important for your art form to be showcased widely on international platforms like the BDF?
Showcasing Odissi on international platforms like the Battery Dance Festival allows audiences worldwide to experience the depth, nuance, and history of one of India’s prominent dance traditions. It creates space for cultural dialogue, ensuring these art forms not only survive but continue to inspire and evolve across borders. With deep gratitude to early torchbearers like Balasaraswati, Indrani Rehman, and the diaspora dancers who have nurtured this oral tradition in the U.S., we feel privileged to uphold our heritage as the current generation and share it on this stage.
HA: What message would you have for Indians here in America about supporting your art form?
Supporting classical dance is more than keeping our shared heritage vibrant – it is affirming India’s vast cultural imagination, artistic philosophies, and centuries-old dedication to beauty in movement. Odissi, rooted in Indian aesthetics, carries our stories, values, and artistry, and thrives when audiences attend performances, engage with artists, and pass traditions to the next generation. Learn the rich arts of India, fund new creations and research generously, invite artists to teach, and support the arts with every resource you can.
The Community Steps In
For its India Independence Day lineup, Battery Dance had originally scheduled a unique program featuring five dance forms originating from Kerala – Mohiniyattam, Theyyam, Kalari Payattu, Kutiyattam, and Kathakalli, with a lineup that included leading dance practitioners of the art forms. When their participation in the festival was cancelled, New Jersey’s Kalpavruksha Dance Ensemble stepped in with guest Kathakali dancers invited from across the US and Canada to perform the vibrant “Flame of Destiny” based on the story of Draupadi from India’s epic, The Mahabharata.
Krishna in the Kathakali version of Kalpavruksha Dance Ensemble presentation of Draupadi’s story in the Mahabharata (image credit: mkymal) 
Creating the face of a Kathakali dancer (image credit: Hari Adivarekar) 
A make up artist applying facepaint on Uma Kymal who played the role of Lord Krishna (image creditr: Hari Adivarekar) 
A female Kathakali dancer applying her face paint (image credit: Hari Adivarekar) 
Three Kathakali dancers applying their makeup for the evening’s performance (image credit: Hari Adivarekar)
Guest artist Uma Kymal, who played Krishna in the story of Draupadi, said, “We were delighted to have been given this incredible opportunity to showcase Kathakali to NYC at this prestigious festival. The venue was superb with the Hudson River as a backdrop and a full, enthusiastic, and appreciative audience.”