Kalpa, a Society for Promotion of Literature, Art, Culture and Social Harmony, announced the tenth edition of Pragjyoti International Dance Festival (PIDF) at Guwahati Press Club on Thursday.
During the conference, national award winning Sattriya danseuse and festival director of PIDF, Dr Anwesa Mahanta announced that the decade-long journey of the festival will be celebrated in three major cultural landmarks of Assam – Guwahati and Jorhat on November 27 and at Majuli on November 28 and 29 respectively.
Interacting with media, Dr Anwesa Mahanta said, “Each and every year we try to reach out to people with various dimensions and perspectives of dance. Dance is a holistic art form encompassing range of expressions. The festival is curated in such a way where each participant both in the form of performer and audience takes back home a rich experience of the heritage of dance.”
The curtain raiser of PIDF will be held at the Madhavadeva International Auditorium of Srimanta Sankardev Kalakshetra in Guwahati from 5:30 pm onwards on November 25.
The curtain raiser will feature a performance by internationally acclaimed contemporary dance troupe Ananya Dance Theatre from USA, who will present Shaatranga – Women Weaving Worlds, a 90-minute dance production without intermission choreographed by Ananya Chatterjea.
The dance group is composed of artists of color who create performances about the lives and dreams of women around the world.
The Guwahati edition of the festival will be in collaboration with the Kri Foundation and with the support of Ford Foundation and Ananya Dance Theatre.
Another highlight of the Guwahati edition, will be the presence of reputed Syrian curator and cultural expert Alma Salem, who will interact with the students of Royal Global University on 24th November, regarding the situation of Syria and how the artistes are responding artistically. She will also showcase six short dance documentaries.