Off the Beat Dance Podcast

In an epilogue to our Off Season Chats, we bring a very special roundtable discussion that we led as part of our first collaboration with Rasabodhi Arts Foundation for its 2023 festival EVAM. We co-hosted a panel discussion with six brilliant classical dancers from around the world. Our in-depth conversation was recorded on January 30, and it covers a wide range of topics especially relevant for Indian classical dance in the diaspora, including communities and dance spaces, sustainability and funding, as well as opportunities and hopes for building a new dance future.

We’ve edited the conversation for length and clarity, but you can watch the entire conversationon Rasabodhi Arts Foundation's Facebook page.You can also find our interview with Rasabodhi founder Keerthana Ravi onepisode 1 of Off Season Chats. EVAM 2023 will be available for viewing through March 7 - youcan purchase your tickets on Tikkl.

Follow us on Instagram or Facebook for more updates on our other projects at @ameyagking (Ameya) or @kirandance (Kiran). Podcast updates, as always, can be found on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter at @offthebeatdance.

Today’s episode of Off Season Chats would not have been possible without the support and encouragement of our amazing listeners and the following people:

• Rasabodhi Arts Foundation (@rasabodhiartsfoundation) and Keerthana Ravi (@keerthanaravi) for bringing together this panel, as well as our esteemed panelists Ashvini Sundaram (@ashvini.sundaram), Kripa Iyer (@iyer_kripa), Nadhi Thekkek (@nadhidances), Neelambaree Prasad (@neelambaree_dance), Rajitha Bharatan (@rajithabharatan), and Sruthi Mohan (@sruthimohan).
• We Edit Podcasts for audio engineering
• Sangeetha Kowsik for graphic design of our logo
• And a very special thanks to Wesley Beeks & Bertel King, Jr.

Liked what you heard? Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts and other streaming services, subscribe to the podcast, and tell your friends about us so that more people can find this show! You can also join our conversation by following us on social media at @offthebeatdance on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Tik Tok or by visiting us atwww.offthebeat.dance. We’d love to hear from you.

Off the Beat is a passion project, and we really need your help to make this podcast a long-term and sustainable venture. Please consider supporting us on Patreon atpatreon.com/offthebeatdanceso that we can continue to bring you more content. And together, we can create a new dance future...one beat at a time!

Off Season Chats is an Off The Beat production.

Over the past seven weeks, we’ve shared conversations with dancers who move and inspire us in a new series called Off Season Chats. Before we truly wrap up Off Season Chats, we have to bring it to a close OTB style. So, we will reflect on what we’ve learned over the course of these conversations and leave with a call to action.

Themes that emerged over the course of the last seven episodes include sustainability, technology, trusting process, and building community. We’ll also be talking about what our guests said that challenged our own ways of thinking.

We are going on a hiatus for a bit while we take time to focus on some of our other projects as independent artists. But first, we will share a sneak preview of Season 2. Follow us on Instagram or Facebook for more updates on our other projects at@ameyagking (Ameya) or @kirandance (Kiran). Podcast updates, as always, can be found on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter at @offthebeatdance.

Today’s episode of Off Season Chats would not have been possible without the support and encouragement of our amazing listeners and the following people:   

• We Edit Podcasts for audio engineering 
• Sangeetha Kowsik for graphic design of our logo 
• Arts Horizons for the recording space
• And a very special thanks to Wesley Beeks & Bertel King, Jr. 

Liked what you heard? Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts and other streaming services, subscribe to the podcast, and tell your friends about us so that more people can find this show! You can also join our conversation by following us on social media at @offthebeatdance on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Tik Tok or by visiting us at www.offthebeat.dance. We’d love to hear from you.   

Off the Beat is a passion project, and we really need your help to make this podcast a long-term and sustainable venture. Please consider supporting us on Patreon at patreon.com/offthebeatdance so that we can continue to bring you more content. And together, we can create a new dance future...one beat at a time! 

Off Season Chats is an Off The Beat production.

Our last Off Season Chat is a 2-part conversation with Brinda Guha, a NYC-based multifaceted dancer and choreographer who has trained in a variety of styles including:  Kathak, Manipuri, Yorchhā, Flamenco, and Contemporary. Last week, Brinda reflected on her artistic journey, and ways to build a dance community responsibly, and the future of South Asian dance at large. This week, she elaborates on the dance community, and how we can build on the wisdom of the previous generations to nurture and hold space for the needs of today and tomorrow.

Off Season Chats is a new series in which we have intimate conversations with dancers who are forging new paths in their artistic, personal, and professional lives. Our special guests are accomplished artists whose works span across many genres of South Asian dance including: Kathak, Kandyan, Kuchipudi, Bharatanatyam, Manipuri, Odissi, and much more.

About Brinda Guha

Brinda Guha identifies as a non-disabled, caste-privileged, cisgender and queer South-Asian American, and is a trained Kathak dancer for over 20 years. During training and performing for years in the Kathak (Malabika Guha) & Manipuri (Kalavati + Bimbavati Devi) dance disciplines, as well as Flamenco (Carmen de las Cuevas; Dionisia Garcia) and Contemporary Fusion vocabularies, she co-founded Kalamandir Dance Company in 2010 based in the vocabulary of #ContemporaryIndian. She’s choreographed for many national stages, the North American Bengali Conference at Madison Square Garden, and self-produced original feature-length dance productions which earned her artist residencies at Dixon Place (2018) and Dancewave (2019) to continue to develop work. Now, she is represented by CESD Talent Agency and is pursuing artistic direction, performance and arts education. She trains in Kathak, Manipuri, Yorchhā (est. Ananya Chatterjee), and Contemporary.

Her dream of having art meet activism was realized when she created WISE FRUIT NYC, a seasonal live arts installment (est 2017) dedicated to the feminine divine and honoring select women-led organizations. For her day job, she works as the Symposium Coordinator for dance service organization based in the values of justice, equity & inclusion: Dance/NYC.

Dive Deeper

• Ananya Chatterjea's Yorchha™ movement practice (with video clip)
• Nrithya Pillai: "Cycles of Cultural Violence within Performance and Scholarship of Bharatanatyam." The News Minute. 21 June 2022.
• Janete Silva's website
• Soles of Duende at Jacob's Pillow on August 5, 2022

Credits

Today’s episode of Off Season Chats would not have been possible without the support and encouragement of our amazing listeners and the following people:   

• We Edit Podcasts for audio engineering 
• Sangeetha Kowsik for graphic design of our logo 
• Wesley Beeks & Bertel King, Jr. 

Liked what you heard? Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts and other streaming services, subscribe to the podcast, and tell your friends about us so that more people can find this show! You can also join our conversation by following us on social media at @offthebeatdance on IG, FB, Twitter, and Tik Tok or by visiting us at

Our last Off Season Chat is a two-part conversation with Brinda Guha, a NYC-basedmultifaceted dancer and choreographer who has trained in a variety of styles including:Kathak, Manipuri, Yorchhā, Flamenco, and Contemporary.This week, Brinda reflects on her artistic journey, ways to build a dance community responsibly, and the future of South Asian dance at large.

Off Season Chats is a new series in which we have intimate conversations with dancers who are forging new paths in their artistic, personal, and professional lives. Our special guests are accomplished artists whose works span across many genres of South Asian dance including: Kathak, Kandyan, Kuchipudi, Bharatanatyam, Manipuri, Odissi, and much more.

About Brinda Guha

Brinda Guha identifies as a non-disabled, caste-privileged, cisgender and queer South-Asian American, and is a trained Kathak dancer for over 20 years. During training and performing for years in the Kathak (Malabika Guha) & Manipuri (Kalavati + Bimbavati Devi) dance disciplines, as well as Flamenco (Carmen de las Cuevas; Dionisia Garcia) and Contemporary Fusion vocabularies, she co-founded Kalamandir Dance Company in 2010 based in the vocabulary of #ContemporaryIndian. She’s choreographed for many national stages, the North American Bengali Conference at Madison Square Garden, and self-produced original feature-length dance productions which earned her artist residencies at Dixon Place (2018) and Dancewave (2019) to continue to develop work. Now, she is represented by CESD Talent Agency and is pursuing artistic direction, performance and arts education. She trains in Kathak, Manipuri, Yorchhā (est. Ananya Chatterjee), and Contemporary. Her dream of having art meet activism was realized when she created WISE FRUIT NYC, a seasonal live arts installment (est 2017) dedicated to the feminine divine and honoring select women-led organizations. For her day job, she works as the Symposium Coordinator for dance service organization based in the values of justice, equity & inclusion: Dance/NYC.

Credits

Today’s episode ofOff SeasonChats would not have been possible without the support and encouragement of our amazing listeners and the following people:

• We Edit Podcasts for audio engineering
• Sangeetha Kowsik for graphic design of our logo
• Wesley Beeks & Bertel King, Jr.

Liked what you heard? Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts and other streaming services, subscribe to the podcast, and tell your friends about us so that more people can find this show! You can also join our conversation by following us on social media at @offthebeatdance on IG, FB, Twitter, and Tik Tok or by visiting us atwww.offthebeat.dance. We’d love to hear from you.

Off the Beat is a passion project, and we really need your help to make this podcast a long-term and sustainable venture. Please consider supporting us onPatreonatpatreon.com/offthebeatdanceso that we can continue to bring you more content. And together, we can create a new dance future...one beat at a time!

Off Season Chats is an OffTheBeat production.

In the fifth episode of Off Season Chats, Ameya & Kiran chat with Colombo-based Kandyan dance teacher, performer, & principal dancer at the world-renowned Chitrasena School of Dance Thaji Dias. She reflects on her artistic journey, upholding a multigenerational family legacy, and how the pandemic and Sri Lanka’s economic struggles are impacting artists.

Off Season Chats is a new series in which we have intimate conversations with dancers who are forging new paths in their artistic, personal, and professional lives. Our special guests are accomplished artists whose works span across many genres of South Asian dance including: Kathak, Kandyan, Kuchipudi, Bharatanatyam, Manipuri, Odissi, and much more.

About Thaji Dias:

Thaji Dias is the youngest granddaughter of Chitrasena and Vajira, the illustrious dance duo of Sri Lanka, and the Principal Dancer of Chitrasena Dance Company, which is Sri Lanka’s oldest and most prestigious dance company. The company was established in the 1940s by Guru Chitrasena, who was instrumental in bringing Sri Lanka’s traditional dances from village rituals to the modern stage. Thaji has been a full-time professional dancer and teacher at the Company since May 2012.

Introduced to Kandyan dance under her grandmother nearly 25 years ago, she began touring with the dance company at age 12 alongside her aunt and Guru Upeka Chitrasena in an international festival in Paris at the Theatre Du Soleil as a guest of Ariane Mnouchkine. Since then, Thaji has toured Taipei (2004), Montpellier, France (2005), New York, USA (2011), Singapore (2012), and India on several occasions.

She also represented the company in their first international collaboration Samhara, with the Nrityagram Dance Ensemble of India. The performance toured the US, including the prestigious Joyce Theater and Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and many parts of India including Music Academy (Chennai) and Konark Festival (Odisha) in 2012, 2013, and 2018.

Instagram: @dancethaji

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thaji.dias

Dive Deeper:

• Resistance in Dance: Thaji Dias. Why I Dance: The Chitrasena Legacy
• Nrityagram and Chitrasena
• The Chitrasena legacy: Inspiring story at the Design Festival
• Pandal-making

Today’s episode of Off Season Chats would not have been possible without the support and encouragement of our amazing listeners and the following people:

• We Edit Podcasts for audio engineering
• Sangeetha Kowsik for graphic design of our logo
• Wesley Beeks & Bertel King, Jr.

Liked what you heard? Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts and other streaming services, subscribe to the podcast, and tell your friends about us so that more people can find this show! You can also join our conversation by following us on social media at @offthebeatdance on IG, FB, Twitter, and Tik Tok or by visiting us at www.offthebeat.dance. We’d love to hear from you.

Off the Beat is a passion project, and we really need your help to make this podcast a long-term and sustainable venture. Please consider supporting us on Patreon at patreon.com/offthebeatdance so that we can continue to bring you more content. And together, we can create a new...

For a special two-part Off Season Chat, Ameya and Kiran speak with Sai Venkata Gangadhar, a Kuchipudi dancer and teacher from Hyderabad. This week, Gangadhar delves deeper into the impact of social media on dance and the next generation of dancers. He also discusses powerful ways dance can connect, empower, and uplift communities.

Off Season Chats is a new series in which we have intimate conversations with dancers who are forging new paths in their artistic, personal, and professional lives. Our special guests are accomplished artists whose works span across many genres of South Asian dance including: Kathak, Kandyan, Kuchipudi, Bharatanatyam, Manipuri, Odissi, and much more.

Dive Deeper:

• Golla Kalapam - traditional Kuchipudi kalapam centered on a milkmaid (Gollabhama) and a priest.
• Chandalika - Kuchipudi dance drama by Padmabhushan Dr. Vempati Chinna Satyam based on Rabindranath Tagore's play of the same name.
• Tappeta Gullu - Andhra folk tradition, practiced by the Yadhava community
• Nee Prashnalu (Kotha Bangaru Lokam)

About Sai Venkata Gangadhar:

Sai Venkata Gangadhar is a young Kuchipudi dancer from Hyderabad. He has been training at Nishrinkala Dance Academy under Guru Smt. Sandhya Raju for the past 13 years, and he is a postgraduate in Business administration. He also pursued his Masters in Kuchipudi from University of Hyderabad. He is one of the prime students of Smt. Sandhya Raju. Recognizing his dedication, she appointed him as an assistant teacher soon after his Rangapravesham in 2015.

He has participated several times with the Academy’s group ensemble and performed in many prestigious dance festivals including: Sangeet Natak Academy’sNrityaprathibha festival, Sri Krishna Gana Sabha’s Pongal festivals, Gandharva, and many others. Also trained in gymnastics, he has taken this art as a profession and continuously works to understand and enjoy the nuances of his chosen dance style.

Instagram: @sai_venkata_gangadhar

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgEQ2F_PLAGW8l6ODIruOUQ

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gagadhar.venkat

Today’s episode of Off Season Chats would not have been possible without the support and encouragement of our amazing listeners and the following people:

• We Edit Podcasts for audio engineering
• Sangeetha Kowsik for graphic design of our logo
• Kasi Aysola for transcription of the Telugu portions
• Wesley Beeks & Bertel King, Jr.

Liked what you heard? Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts and other streaming services, subscribe to the podcast, and tell your friends about us so that more people can find this show! You can also join our conversation by following us on social media at @offthebeatdance on IG, FB, Twitter, and Tik Tok or by visiting us at www.offthebeat.dance. We’d love to hear from you.

Off the Beat is a passion project, and we really need your help to make this podcast a long-term and sustainable venture.

For a special two-part Off Season Chat, Ameya and Kiran speak with Sai Venkata Gangadhar, a Kuchipudi dancer and teacher from Hyderabad. This week, Gangadhar reflects on his dance journey and begins delving into the impact of his dance training, education, and social media on his art.

Off Season Chats is a new series in which we have intimate conversations with dancers who are forging new paths in their artistic, personal, and professional lives. Our special guests are accomplished artists whose works span across many genres of South Asian dance including: Kathak, Kandyan, Kuchipudi, Bharatanatyam, Manipuri, Odissi, and much more.

About Sai Venkata Gangadhar:

Sai Venkata Gangadhar is a young Kuchipudi dancer from Hyderabad. He has been training at Nishrinkala Dance Academy under Guru Smt. Sandhya Raju for the past 13 years, and he is a postgraduate in Business administration. He also pursued his Masters in Kuchipudi from University of Hyderabad. He is one of the prime students of Smt. Sandhya Raju. Recognizing his dedication, she appointed him as an assistant teacher soon after his Rangapravesham in 2015.

He has participated several times with the Academy’s group ensemble and performed in many prestigious dance festivals including: Sangeet Natak Academy’sNrityaprathibha festival, Sri Krishna Gana Sabha’s Pongal festivals, Gandharva, and many others. Also trained in gymnastics, he has taken this art as a profession and continuously works to understand and enjoy the nuances of his chosen dance style.

Instagram: @sai_venkata_gangadhar

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgEQ2F_PLAGW8l6ODIruOUQ

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gagadhar.venkat

Today’s episode of Off Season Chats would not have been possible without the support and encouragement of our amazing listeners and the following people:

• We Edit Podcasts for audio engineering
• Sangeetha Kowsik for graphic design of our logo
• Kasi Aysola for transcription of the Telugu portions
• Wesley Beeks & Bertel King, Jr.

Liked what you heard? Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts and other streaming services, subscribe to the podcast, and tell your friends about us so that more people can find this show! You can also join our conversation by following us on social media at @offthebeatdance on IG, FB, Twitter, and Tik Tok or by visiting us at www.offthebeat.dance. We’d love to hear from you.

Off the Beat is a passion project, and we really need your help to make this podcast a long-term and sustainable venture. Please consider supporting us on Patreon at patreon.com/offthebeatdance so that we can continue to bring you more content. And together, we can create a new dance future...one beat at a time!

Off Season Chats is an Off The Beat production

In the second episode of Off Season Chats, Ameya and Kiran speak with Kaustavi Sarkar, an Odissi dancer, researcher, and educator based in Charlotte, North Carolina. She shares her artistic and academic journey, bridging research and practice, decolonizing dance and academia, and building a South Asian dance consortium.

Off Season Chats is a new series in which we have intimate conversations with dancers who are forging new paths in their artistic, personal, and professional lives. Our special guests are accomplished artists whose works span across many genres of South Asian dance including: Kathak, Kandyan, Kuchipudi, Bharatanatyam, Manipuri, Odissi, and much more.

About Kaustavi Sarkar:

Dr. Kaustavi Sarkar is an Assistant Professor of Dance at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte. Her research interests include Practice-as-Research, religious studies, digital humanities, choreographic research, and queer theory. She is a 2020 National Endowment for the Arts recipient and Artistic Director of Kaustavi Movement Center. Her choreography and scholarship have been featured in American College Dance Association Conference, Dance Studies Association, World Dance Alliance, and Odissi International.

These aspects of her practice also appear in her forthcoming book project, Shaping S-Curves (University of North Carolina Press). She will also be releasing a monograph, Dance, Technology, Social Justice, which presents a critical cultural take on dance technique as a technology of social justice. She recently presented a new piece, The Impossible Romance, with choreographer Maya Kulkarni.

Instagram: @kaustavisarkar

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kaustavi.sarkar

Dive Deeper:

• Brenda Dixon Gottschild - Digging the Africanist Presence in American Performance
• Ashanti Brantley - "Have Arts, will travel"
• Constance Valis Hill - "From Bharata Natyam to Bop: Jack Cole's 'Modern' Jazz Dance"

Today’s episode of Off Season Chats would not have been possible without the support and encouragement of our amazing listeners and the following people:

• We Edit Podcasts for audio engineering
• Sangeetha Kowsik for graphic design of our logo
• Wesley Beeks & Bertel King, Jr.

Liked what you heard? Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts and other streaming services, subscribe to the podcast, and tell your friends about us so that more people can find this show! You can also join our conversation by following us on social media at @offthebeatdance on IG, FB, Twitter, and Tik Tok or by visiting us at www.offthebeat.dance. We’d love to hear from you.

Off the Beat is a passion project, and we really need your help to make this podcast a long-term and sustainable venture. Please consider supporting us on Patreon at patreon.com/offthebeatdance so that we can continue to bring you more content. And together, we can create a new dance future...one beat at a time!

Off Season Chats is an Off The Beat production

In the first episode of Off Season Chats, Ameya and Kiran speak with Keerthana Ravi, a Bharatanatyam dancer, curator, and entrepreneur based in Mumbai, India. She shares her incredible journey in dance, takes us behind-the-scenes of developing India's first crowd-funded classical dance festival, and discusses the thrills and challenges of dancing during the pandemic.

Off Season Chats is a new series in which we have intimate conversations with dancers who are forging new paths in their artistic, personal, and professional lives. Our special guests are accomplished artists whose works span across many genres of South Asian dance including: Kathak, Kandyan, Kuchipudi, Bharatanatyam, Manipuri, Odissi, and much more.

About Keerthana Ravi:

Keerthana began her training in Bharatanatyam with Smt. Padmini Ramachandran in Bangalore, and she is currently undergoing advanced training with Smt. Rama Vaidyanathan. She has also studied Carnatic music, Kalaripayattu, and Kathak. An award-winning dancer, she is an A-Grade Artiste of Doordarshan, toured several countries as a performer, and represented India as a youth cultural ambassador at the 2005 World Youth Congress in Scotland.

A post-graduate in Communication Management and Fine Arts, she founded RasaBodhi Art Foundation and organized India's first crowdfunded classical dance festival in 2016. She created two new productions - Varsham and Adjayega Hans Akela - during the pandemic through a unique mentorship project with Kathak exponent Prerana Shrimali.

Instagram: @keerthanaravi

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/keerthana.ravi.33

Today’s episode of Off Season Chats would not have been possible without the support and encouragement of our amazing listeners and the following people:

• We Edit Podcasts for audio engineering
• Sangeetha Kowsik for graphic design of our logo
• Wesley Beeks & Bertel King, Jr.

Liked what you heard? Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts and other streaming services, subscribe to the podcast, and tell your friends about us so that more people can find this show! You can also join our conversation by following us on social media at @offthebeatdance on IG, FB, Twitter, and Tik Tok or by visiting us at www.offthebeat.dance. We’d love to hear from you.

Off the Beat is a passion project, and we really need your help to make this podcast a long-term and sustainable venture. Please consider supporting us on Patreon at patreon.com/offthebeatdance so that we can continue to bring you more content. And together, we can create a new dance future...one beat at a time!

Off Season Chats is an Off The Beat production

We’re back! Off The Beat finally returns after eight long months with a brand-new series called Off Season Chats. While planning for Season 2, we decided to have some intimate conversations with five dancers who are forging new and exciting paths in their artistic, personal, and professional lives.As always, we strive to create content for you that is simple, accessible, conversational, actionable, and joyful. And we remain firmly committed to building a dance future...one beat a time! Episode 1 of Off Season Chats is out on June 23 with episodes releasing weekly across all major platforms and on our website (http://offthebeat.dance).