Two-day Festival of classical dance in Delhi from August 22

New Delhi, Aug 12 (UNI) A two-day festival of classical dance featuring artistes excelling in various classical styles will be held in the capital from August 22 as a special tribute to mark 60 years of independence and 150 years since the first War of Independence.

The festival 'Sare Jahan Se Achha' is part of an endeavour by Utsav to feature artistes in different parts of the country excelling in various classical styles to present a scintillating unison of the country's unique cultural flavour - linked by a patriotic theme.

The first festival in the series is being held in Delhi, with six artistes from different parts of the country coming together to perform on the same stage - the Stein Auditorium at the India Habitat Centre - on August 22 and 23 respectively.

The festival will be opened by Ranjana Gauhar with her Odissi performance, followed by Gopika Varma who will present Mohiniattam from Thiruvananthapuram. Gopika herself belongs to Chennai. The third and final danseuse on the first day will be Ananda Shankar, a Padma Shree awardee from Hyderabad who will present Bharatnatyam.

The second day will open with a performance by Sharodi Saikia who will present the Sattriya dance from Assam. She will be followed by Deepika Reddy of Hyderabad who would present Kuchipudi and the evening will conclude with a Bharatnatyam performance by Pratibha Prahlad of Delhi.

Pratibha Prahlad (S N A Awardee), a Bharatnatyam exponent from Delhi will conclude the festival with a Bharatnatyam performance based on Kannada poetry and describing the significance of the tri colours of our National Flag.

UNI