Glimpses of Bollywood in the Big Apple

"This is not fair, this is not fair at all," said a young woman to her friend looking wistfully at the stage. "All this is so beautiful but we have to get back to work."

She was watching a group of artists from India, Canada and America -- many of them of Indian origin -- offer one dance after another in the open space of Chase Bank's Manhattan Plaza in downtown New York.

"I wish they could have the performance in the evening," she continued. She had many Indian friends, she said but "I could never have guessed Indian dance is so exciting."

The outdoor free dance performances held on August 18 were part of the second annual Erasing Borders Dance Festival organised by the Indo-American Arts Council which offers performances and workshops.

The week-long festival started on August 14.

There were at least 1,000 people, mostly non-Indians, who watched the dancers perform Bollywood dances, fusion dances, and the garba rasa items at the outdoors plaza.

The festival was organised with Battery Dance Company famous for its fusion dancing and is heavily influenced by Indian classical dance and music.

More than 20 dancers offered a variety of dances ranging from Kathak to Odissi to Bollywood.

There was for instance Arabhi Pallavi produced by Sakshi Productions and featured the dancer Rahul Acharya and Nandini Sikand and choreographed by Durga Charan Ranbir. The audiences heard that the word pallavi comes from Sanskrit and describes a tender leaf.

"It is a very lyrical Odissi work," said festival director Prachi Dalal.

"Where do they get all talent from," asked a senior man looking at the immaculately clad dancers. "I bet, with some more training, they will be able to dance on Broadway."

He was watching a group of a dozen dancers performing to a song  in Devdas, mimicking the footwork of Madhuri Dixit Nene and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.

"The festival brought together dancers sharing movement, heritage and inspiration from the Indian subcontinent," said Dalal. "It featured artists from India and the South Asian Diaspora but the performers and musicians also included people of other race and ethnicities who were drawn to the culture of the Subcontinent  The presentations ranged from traditional classical repertoire to contemporary, modern and post-modern works that are inspired by India or an Indian dance tradition."

Last year's festival showcased 23 different performances by 15 dance troupes and solo performers from around the world. But with the recession still worrying everyone, this year's festival focussed more on lectures and workshops and a handful of performances.

The festival kicked off with a tribute to Rohini Bhate, noted Kathak dancer and scholar who died last year at the age of 84.

Prerana Deshpande, one of Bhate's best-known students and who have followed the master's dance for over 25 years, offered several exquisite compositions by the legend. She brought some of that dance to the outdoor fesrtival.

Noor, offering a glimpse into the life of a Sufi Noor Inayat Khan who spied on the Germans on behalf of the British during World War II, intrigued a few people.

How can one be a Sufi and a spy, wondered a few.  An Indian observer who was familiar with the life of the colourful Sufi spy said Noor believed in doing the right thing, and she thought the spiritual world she loved, and expected others to follow would be destroyed by the Nazis.

Produced by Labyrinth Dance Theatre, Noor featured dancer Felicia Norton who choreographed the piece along with Sasha Spielyogel.

Some of the performances were taken from full-pledged shows. For instance, Thillana by Navatman featuring the dancers Sahasra Sambamoorthy and Srinidhi Raghavan was excerpted from a production called Her Story

Infin8 presented In the Blind, and Toronto-based Hari Krishnan's Mea Culpa offered his own take on an American dance artist who many decades ago offered an exotic version of Indian religious figures; Paul Charbonneau danced in the item. Krishnan also offered an experimental item Firecracker featuring the dancer Emily Watts.

One of the highlights of the evening was Chaturang, which was conceived and choreographed by Rohini Bhate and was performed by Deshpande.

"Chaturang is a combination of four different elements including thurmi (expressional storytelling dance) from the Kathak repertoire and it is one of the most beautiful creations by Rohiniji," said Deshpande. "It represents the four colours from the cast palate of Kathak." 

She explained further that the four elements are composed in four different ragas (melodic modes) and four different taals (time cycles).

The Bollywood and Garba-Raas event was produced by Sa Dance Company.

"The outdoor festival was yet another reminder of the films and exhibitions the Indian American Arts Council holds year after year," Dalal said.