Anjani Dance Theatre/Anjani’s Kathak Dance of India will perform “Made in Mumbai II.”
Artistic director Anjani Ambegaokar says, “The inception of celebrating music from Indian cinema through classical kathak, collaborating with various dance forms as part of India’s 60 years of independence, arose in early 2007.
“The idea honors some of the greatest musicians whose music has created lifetime memories. From the past to the present, from music composers Shankar-Jaikishan to A.R. Rehman and directors such as Raj Kapoor to Mani Ratnam and Sanjay Leela Bansali, I am amazed at the musicality of the compositions,” she says.
“After successfully presenting ‘Made in Mumbai’ at UCLA’s Royce Hall, the desire for exploring an innovative vocabulary of dance, combined with new dance mediums to create fresh flavors (rasa) of emotions (abhinaya) and brilliant rhythmic techniques, gave birth to the idea of “Made in Mumbai II.”
Anjani Ambegaokar choreographed the production, and is joined by daughter Amrapali Ambegaokar, the associate choreographer and principal dancer. Anjani is the first Indian dancer to have received the National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, the highest honor for traditional arts, for her lifetime achievement in kathak dance.
Amrapali Ambegaokar has toured with Cirque Du Soleil as a principal dancer for Dralion production, performing 700 shows in 14 cities. She was awarded the Silver Medal in the solo category for the international competition of professional dancers on NBC’s “Superstars of Dance” and was invited to perform a kathak solo on FOX TV’s “So You Think You Can Dance.”
The performance will include an ensemble of dancers performing odissi and bhangra, along with artists specializing in acrobatics and other forms of dance. Highly respected musicians such as Pandit Ramesh Misra, renowned tabla artist Ramesh Kumar, Bollywood singer Charenjeet, and many others will be featured in the program.
Friday, Feb. 4, 8 p.m. Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts, 12700 Center Court Drive South, Cerritos. Tickets: (562) 467-8818, www.cerritoscenter.com.www.sundarkalakendra.org. www.amrapalionline.com.