Photo: Courtesy of Flushing Town Hall
Flushing Town Hall invites Queens residents to celebrate the spirit of spring during its second annual Holi Dance Concert on Saturday, April 6. The event will feature arts and crafts, a series of dance performances and food arrangements. Queens Curry Kitchen.
“It is a celebration of togetherness, spring and good over evil,” said event curator Abha Roy. Roy is basically Rajasthan, India, and meExcited to share Indian classical, folk and tribal dances with the local community.
Roy says that folk dances celebrate good and ward off evil while bringing communities together. He said that the tribal dances will showcase the social and cultural aspect of some Indian states to the audience. “Folk and tribal and classical are different (dances), but we want to show what happens in India, the spirit of Holi. Through dance styles they will learn the story of Holi and how different groups celebrate,” she said.
Roy also serves as its artistic director A teaching artist at Srijan Dance Center and Flushing Town Hall. Members of Sirijan Dance Center and Anup Das Dance Academy (ADDA) will showcase their artistry and present multiple dance forms from diverse states of India.
The program will begin at 12:30 pm with a colorful card making workshop, where participants will create a design using carved wooden blocks from India.
Holi is traditionally a Hindu festival, but Roy says it is open to all. It is a time for families to come together and celebrate the passing of the winter months and the transition into spring.
“We want people to know what this festival entails and how they can be a part of it,” he said.
The dance performances will include vocalist and Indian tabla drum maestro Naren Budhakar and Indian classical sitar player Abhik Mukherjee. 61 year old Budhakar has always been inclined towards music. He belonged to a family of musicians and grew up in one of the cultural capitals of India. By the age of eight, he started playing the tabla drum. “Whatever your hobby or passion is, you spend your life doing it. It’s no different from music,” he said.
Budhakar wants to highlight how tabla has its own formal language. He compares it to sheet music, which can be written and played.
“The way the syllables are put together can be either lyrical or staccato, with melodies that are open and resonant, and can be pounding like a drum roll or a swish,” he said. Budhkar said, Tabla is a percussion instrument with a unique tone and resonance. He said that as a singer it is important to understand music from every aspect. He said, “Of all the art forms, I believe singing is the supreme art, because your whole body becomes part of the performance.”
Holi is a Hindu holiday celebrated primarily in South Asia since the 4th century. However, celebrants around the world participate in their own versions of the colorful festivities. The festival lasts for two days and includes a bonfire ceremony called Holika on the eve of the festival which symbolizes the burning of evil spirits. Participants throw objects into the flames to mark the first stage of the celebration. On the day of the festival, community members gather to throw bright powders and colorful paints on each other and in the air and dance amid the festivities. Each of the main colors of Holi: red, yellow, green and blue, has a symbolic significance.
