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The Indian Diaspora Film Festival '04 Schedule Festival Tickets Awards Partners Pictures and Reviews |
RAJIKA PURI
is an exponent of Bharata Natyam and Odissi
which she performs in solo recital all over the US, Latin America,
Introduced to the western stage in Julie Taymor’s The Transposed Heads (Lincoln Center Theater), she has been in several productions at the Public Theater, Guthrie Theater, Classic Stage Co, and Theatre for a New Audience. She participated in play-readings for IAAC and Lark Theater’s Indian Diaspora festivals in 2001 and 2003, and has appeared in films like Mira Nair’s Mississippi Masala, Craig Lucas’ Longtime Companion, and Deb Benegal’s Split Wide Open, which last was screened at IAAC’s Indian Diaspora festival in 2002. . Her current specialty is a form of story-telling in which she enhances her narration with spoken rhythmic syllables, chants and songs as well as fully danced movements, footwork, and even puppetry, (as seen in Lotus Fine Arts’ New York Ramayana at the Kaye Playhouse and in Dancing Asia at the Asia Society). Rajika also writes on dance, music and theatre, and is Contributing Editor at NewsIndia Times. Her website: www.rajikapuri.com |
Europe
and India. Her knowledge of western classical music, ballet, modern
dance, and flamenco, led to several creative collaborations: Flamenco
Natyam with flamenco dancer-singer La Conja (Guggenheim-NY, India tour);
Improvising Dance to Music with renowned south Indian vocalist Aruna
Sairam (Germany, Spain, India); Bharatanatyam Variations, a post-modern
‘take’ on tradition with Preeti Vasudevan, Bach-Bharatanatyam
Variations with pianist Marija Ilic, and Another Country, with singer
Nora York (Construction Company, NY, and Joe’s Pub).