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Spirituality of India Festival with Namita Bodaji, Cape Cod, Massachusetts
2003
Press Release: Dance and cultural change are the focus of the weeklong
Spirituality of India Festival on Cape Cod, May 26 through June 1, 2003,
led by Namita Bodaji of
Bombay (Mumbai), India. The 39-year-old Bodaji, who holds a Masters degree
in English Literature from Bombay University, is an international performer
and choreographer of Indian classical dance and articulate spokesperson
for the new India. She is one of an upcoming generation of women choreographers
who are combining the exquisite classical dance forms of ancient India with
contemporary issues of gender equality, love and respect for nonhuman animals
and the environment, self-health and other themes drawn from the deep spirituality
of both East and West. Background material is provided in annotated bibliographies
on Animals and India and Dance.
Three programs at Falmouth, MA, churches (May 27, 29, 30) will examine aspects
of cultural change in India, including conservation and care for animals
and nature, efforts dedicated to achieving full equality for women, and
the important role of vitalizing practices such as dance and yoga in Indian
philosophy and personal health. Dance performances, including a new work,
the Peacock-Peahen Courtship Dance depicting the national bird of India,
will be featured. The programs will also present material on the work of
the Global Fund for Women and on remarkable women in India: Dr. Kiran Bedi,
chief of police in New Delhi, who has tranformed her department with yoga
exercises, meditation, and laughing; and journalist-turned-activist Ruchira
Gupta, who has confronted the sex-trafficking industry of Bombay. An inter-faith
worship service will be held at the Chapel of the Salvation Army Center,
Hyannis, MA on May 28.
Dance workshops by Bodaji in Osterville, MA, will feature modern (dynamic)
yoga exercises and dance movements for people at all levels of fitness and
teachings on philosophy of dance and the unity of mind-body-spirit in Indian
thought. An afternoon performance of the classical dance form Bharata Natyam,
entitled Animal Spirituality in Indian Dances, will close the week. The
festival is sponsored by the Task Force on Gender and Cultural Change of
Bethel of Woods Hole with support from a large number of individuals and
organizations. Proceeds will be donated to the Self-Employed Women's Association,
a 300,000-member group dedicated to economic self-sufficiency for women
in India, and to The Global Fund for Women, providing funds for small businesses
run by women and for networking of women leaders in the Middle East, India,
Central America, and elsewhere.
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