August 2009 Newsletter
Keep us on our feet–please donate today!
Dear Dakshina Supporters,
We have had an extremely successful year artistically with sold-out performances in the Spring and several unique opportunities coming up in the fall. I am writing today to ask for your support in some wonderful opportunities for Dakshina.
We have an immediate need for two matching grants. Dakshina was awarded a travel grant of $20,000 to tour India earlier in 2009 by the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities and I am thrilled to announce that we’ve received a prestigious American Masterpieces grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to continue our collaboration with the Sokolow Foundation. Currently we have an urgent need of raising a match of $40,000 in a very short time and in a rough economy. Can you help us meet this match please? The touring project will help us present Dakshina’s award winning fusion work and works by modern dance pioneer Anna Sokolow for the first time in India. The American Masterpieces grant will support a mutli-year collaboration with the Sokolow Foundation to keep Anna Sokolow’s ground-breaking dances in Dakshina’s active repertoire. While these grants validate our hard work, we need your support in meeting the match.
In addition we are presenting Srimathi Madhavi Mudgal, Srimathi Leela Samson and Srimathi Alarmel Valli at DC’s Historic Lincoln Theatre as part of our Fall Festival of Indian Arts. This is the 6th year of our festival and we need your generous support to bring these renowned dancers to the DC area. We rely heavily on donors like you to help us through this rough economy and provide vital arts services to the community.
Our board of directors has graciously agreed to match up to $5000 in funds raised before September 15, 2009. No amount is too small and every little bit you give makes a significant difference to Dakshina. Please consider giving at the level that is comfortable for you today and help us meet the match our board members have set up for Dakshina. You can donate online by visiting www.dakshina.org/get-involved/donate-today/.
Upcoming performances
We have several upcoming performances including events at the Dance DC Festival, Woodrow Wilson Plaza, our annual Fall Sitar Concert with Alif Laila, and our Fall Festival of Indian Dance highlights at the Lincoln Theatre. Be sure to check our website www.dakshina.org for frequent updates.
New Website Feature
Dakshina has asked several dancers/writers to tell us what attracted them to dance. Read what drew prominent New York dance critic Eva Yaa Asantewaa into dance. Next, we will be featuring Sudarshan Belsare, an award winning Bharata Natyam dancer and frequent collaborator with Dakshina. Are you interested in telling us what drew you into the dance or arts world? Email us at info@dakshina.org to get on our schedule.
Follow us on Facebook
See rehearsal pictures, get invited to special events with the artists and follow along on our projects. Recent rehearsal pictures were posted on August 18, 2009. Join us on Facebook today.
In the News
Did you know that Dakshina is a Finalist in two of the Metro DC Dance Awards? Dakshina’s Dance Place show was nominated for an Outstanding Performance at a small venue and our Lighting Designer Brian Allard is a finalist in the Excellence in Lighting Design category for his beautiful work lighting Anna Sokolow’s historic piece Dreams.
Read the review of our performance at Dance Place. Both nights of our shows were sold out, and every standing room ticket was sold out as well.
…impassioned and provocative …Almost 50 years after its debut, Anna Sokolow’s Dreams looks as fresh as ever. An intense work that reflects on the atrocities of the Holocaust, it was presented at Dance Place by Dakshina/Daniel Phoenix Singh Dance Company.
Read a review by Cheryl Palonis Adams that was published on the Ballet-Dance online magazine.
The seven dancers exuded such joy and playfulness that I could not help but lean forward in my seat trying to get closer to the exuberant energy. The dancers were radiant, and their elated facial expressions mixed with teasing eyes transported the audience into a state of euphoria.