The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust’s India in Focus series dips into several art forms with “The Nayika Project,” a fusion of hip-hop music, classical Indian dance, theater and spoken word.
Hip-hop artist and educator Paige Hernandez (playwright and director) and Kuchipudi dancer Chitra Kalyandurg (creator and choreographer) present the story of Nina and Sakhi, “two women from separate worlds who embark on a journey to discover the ultimate love.” The performance also features original music by Anjna Swaminathan (percussionist), Rajna Swaminathan (dramaturg, violinist) and Roopa Mahadevan (vocalist).
The “Project” derives from the Indian myth of the Ashta Nayika.
“The Nayikas are eight archetypes of a woman representing eight different states in a relationship with her partner,” said Ms. Hernandez, who develops original works through B-Fly Entertainment based in Washington, D.C. “The Nayikas have been used as a theme in Indian painting, literature, sculpture as well as Indian classical dance.”
The work with the Maryland-based Ms. Kalyandurg took root when they met several years ago as part of the education department at Arena Stage in D.C.
“Even then we knew we wanted to collaborate on a dance theater piece in the future. In 2012, we started developing this project together, with its premiere in 2014,” Ms. Hernandez said.
Combining their genres was a natural, she said.
“In both dance styles, storytelling, emotion and rhythm is really important. I also noticed that hip-hop music has a lot of Indian samples so the music also lent itself to a natural fusion.”
Other India in Focus performances:
Oct. 30-31: Indian Ink Theatre Company’s “The Elephant Wrestler,” August Wilson Center for African American Culture. $25. Romantic thriller about a poor tea seller whose life is changed forever when a young girl is abandoned at a busy railway station and brings the place to a standstill with the beauty of her singing.
Nov. 6: Aakash Odedra, Byham Theater, 8 p.m. Tickets start at $19. Part of the 2015-16 Pittsburgh Dance Council season, the Aakash Odedra Company is inspired by South Asian classical dance and contemporary dance.
Nov. 4-8: Tram Theatre’s “Alice in Wonderland,” Peirce Studio, Trust Arts Education Center (ages 7 and up). Four people decide to make a getaway into the world of their own make-believe, using Lewis Carroll’s novel as a base.
Nov. 8: Mystic India, Byham Theater, 7 p.m. Tickets start at $25. Bollywood dance spectacular based on the concept of ancient India’s transition into modern India.
Exhibitions:
• Hetain Patel at Wood Street Galleries (through Dec. 31): Works from London-based artist including videos, photographic series “Eva” and newly commissioned work “Jump.”
• Nandini Valli Muthiah at Wood Street Galleries (through Dec. 31): Photography incorporates traditional ideas of popular Indian art by capturing them in contemporary everyday environments.
• “Plus One” at SPACE (through Nov. 22): Featuring Shilpa Gupta, Sumakshi Singh, Surabhi Saraf and Avinash Veeraraghavan. Large-scale video installations, sound works, prints and installations that use contemporary technology while embracing aspects of traditional Indian visual culture.
• “Birth Series” by Gauri Gill at 707 Penn (through Nov. 29): Set of photographs made when Ms. Gill lived some days with a midwife in a remote village in Motasar, Ghafan.
• Sarika Goulatia installation at 709 Penn (through Nov. 29): Sarika Goulatia is a local artist of Indian descent, and her work incorporates traditional powdered pigments and spices.
Information: trustarts.org/India; 412-456-6666; and the Theater Square box office, 655 Penn Ave.
Sharon Eberson: seberson@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1960. Twitter: @SEberson_pg.
First Published: October 18, 2015, 4:00 a.m.
