CONTEMP-NATYAM by Jaan R. Freeman, Romona Mukherjee and student performers of Dakshina Palli, Inc. on March 21, 2008

Tamarind Art Council presented CONTEMP-NATYAM by Jaan R. Freeman, Romona Mukherjee and student performers of Dakshina Palli, Inc. on March 21, 2008

CONTEMP-NATYAM is a program which draws from the movement vocabularies of Bharata Natyam (South Indian Classical Dance) and American Modern Dance, choreographed by Dakshina's founding Director: Jaan R. Freeman. Freeman’s choreography is a combination of the highly systematized vocabulary of Bharatanatyam and the kinetic and bold approach of modern dance; which brings forth a true synthesis of modern art.

Featured Dance items: A tribute to Rabindranath Tagore and Ananda Shankar, folk Songs of Sri Lanka, Drums, Ghatam and Tabla. Student performers include Alpi Sinha, Shani Pascal, Sarmi Biswas, Smita Chehhda, Penelope Kalloo and Priyanka Pendharkar.
Dakshina Palli, Inc. Led by the dynamic artistic vision of Jaan R. Freeman. DPDC (Dakshina Palli Dance Company) a resident company of Dakshina Palli was established in 2005. The company showcases the rich, highly elegant and distinguished repertoire of the Balasaraswati lineage as well as feature the outstanding, emerging guest artist of their peers. In February 2005 DPDC founded its series entitled “A New Generation”, a program featuring young professional dancers of this lineage, with a fresh interpretation of this traditional and ancient art form. DPDC maintains that it isn’t a repository of the classical repertoire only, but a company which would showcase new innovative contemporary bharatanatyam dances.
The DPDC is a unique company whose strength is its repertory. The company has performed at:Trisha Brown Dance Center, City Center Studios, Sri Venkateswara Balaji Hindu temple, Merkin Hall, Biko Center, Downtown Dance Festival, Ananda Ashram, Mary Anthony Dance Theater and the Elebash Recital Hall at CUNY. The Company flourishes under the guidance of - SHANTI PILLAI, ROMONA MUKHERJEE & RUKMANI J. VENKATARAMANI.

’Metamorphic Medium’ Pablo Bartholomew speaks at Tamarind Art

On March 18 Tamarind Art Council was host to Eminent photographer Pablo Bartholomew who present his father Richard Bartholomew’s photographic oeuvre and discuss continuing aesthetic lineage in his own work in the talk ’Metamorphic Medium’. Pablo will trace the influences that are not just process for artisans passed on from one generation to other, but a much deeper engagement to work out issues and questions of roots and identity.

Richard Bartholomew (1926-1985), acclaimed writer, painter, curator, and art critic, rarely exhibited his photographic work during his lifetime. During the 1960s and 70s, he keenly photographed life as it revolved around him – his immediate family, his travels in India as well as the United States, and his intertwined relationship with fellow members of the art world.

Born in India, Pablo Bartholomew’s photographic career began in his teens. Since becoming a photojournalist in 1983, his work has appeared in major news publications, including Time, News week, Paris Match and The Guardian. Pablo has worked with leading film directors/producers, including Merchant/Ivory and Richard Attenborough. Having a strong belief in the exhibition space, he widely exhibited in India and internationally through one person shows museum shows and photo festivals.
The talk is free and open to public.

Kamal Mitra- “Oblique Memoir”
It has been nearly a year and half since Tamarind Art has been able to showcase one of its most powerful and thought provoking artists, Kamal Mitra. Tamarind Art Council would like to welcome our frineds back to the gallery with a second solo exhibition, “Oblique Memoir”, featuring oil, acrylic and charcoal on canvas consistent with critically acclaimed exhibitions of the winter of 2006 and the fall of 2007. “Oblique memoir” is an internal monologue by means of which unfortunate events of Kamal Mitra’s life is broken into fragments of memory, which replicate and document the cacophony of emotions he experienced in recent time past.

An opening reception was held on March 19, 6:30-8:00PM

Exhibition runs through: March 19-April 30, 2009
This is a wonderful show that should not be missed.

Busy Spring At Tamarind Art

We have had a super fun spring so far and it is only going to get better. So far we have had 3 evenings of dance; Ramya Ramnarayan did a wonderful Bharathnatyam performance, Bani Ray brought us an evening of Odissi Dance, and Satya Pradeep and her students brought us a wonderful evening of dance in the Kuchipudi style. We were also treated to an evening of music with, Sanjukta Sen (Vocalist), Madhu Vora (Harmonium) & Tapan Modak (Tabla).

All of these performances were wonderful and very well attended often in spite of unpleasant wintry weather.

In the coming months we will be continuing to bring you more cultural programing, we will be having more dance evenings in addition to Music and some arts lectures as well as wonderful art shows.

Be sure to check our website www.tamarindart.org for more information on our upcoming events.