Rays of Wisdom Society presents International Ancient Arts Festival/Symposium at Kamani Auditorium, Copernicus Marg > 7pm on 16th & 17th May 2012

click the image for bigger view

Time : 7:00 pm 

Entry : Passes will be available after May 10 at : 
Anand Store, Khan Market
Cottage Emporium, Janpath
Khadi, CP
Odisha Emporium, Baba Khadak Singh Marg
Kamani Auditorium 


Place : Kamani Auditorium, Copernicus Marg, Mandi House, New Delhi-110001
Venue Info : Events | About | Map | Nearest Metro Station - 'Mandi House(Blue Line)'

Area : Events at Mandi House Area

Event Details : International Ancient Arts Festival/Symposium.
It’s indeed a multi-arts festival with a difference. Highlighting the therapeutic benefits of music and dance in restoring individual health and harmony, the two-day International Ancient Arts Festival/Symposium 2012, will be held under the aegis of Rays of Wisdom Society supported by ICCR, Ministry of Culture, Delhi Tourism, and UP Tourism  and will present performing artists from across the globe, including Pakistan, China, Iran and India.
This is the 3rd edition of the festival which aims to bring together the modern and the traditional, scholars and artists to demonstrate the scientific basis of traditional arts and their integration in our day to day lives. In addition, a symposium on the second day of the festival, highlighting the deep connection between science, spirituality and the ancient performing arts, will witness participation from Indian and international scholars, making it perhaps the only multi-arts event of its kind which tries to educate while entertaining. 
Odissi danseuse and spiritualist Reela Hota, Festival Director, and founder member of Rays of Wisdom Society says," If you see ancient cultures, the symbols, instruments, languages and customs have so many similarities as they were made by intuitive wisdom developed by contemplation. By bringing them together in an interesting way, we hope to showcase this commonality.We have expanded to visual arts as well in our 3rd year. Sound vibration, with which we were all created, is a powerful tool for restoring the harmony and perfection within us and beyond-a fact understood by ancient cultures around the world especially in India, China, Africa, America, Egypt and Africa. Each developed its own unique system of sound manipulation, integrated them and presented them as dance and music.The aim of this festival is highlighting how music, dance and vital therapeutic practices in traditional systems of healing can combine to meet lifestyle challenges of today."
The International Symposium cum Festival began with an aim to showcase the universal unity and spiritual significance of the world's culture through dance and music. It also aims to highlight how dance can help achieve a more balanced lifestyle and rounded personality in a common man’s life filled with stress and strain.  A study recently published in Sweden, a follow-up to an earlier nine-year study  tracking thousands of individuals over the course of twelve years, found that people who frequently attend museums, art exhibitions, concerts and movies live significantly longer than those who do not. Most ancient cultures believe in the primeval sound as the creator of all life. Sound and rhythm in the form of music and dance are vital therapeutic tools in traditional systems of healing. Native American Indian chants, African rhythms, Indian Nada yoga and pentatonic ragas help restore the balance between mind, body and the spirit. Traditional dance is both spiritually liberating and cathartic. Dance as a therapy has been effectively used to treat mental and psychological problems including cerebral palsy. Classical and folk dances of India, the whirling dervishes of Turkey, the Vietnamese ballet are all intrinsically linked to their cultures’ healing systems. For ancient societies believe, and rightly so, that the health of an individual is dependent upon the physical, emotional and spiritual environment of which he is a member. Art, both visual and performing, enhances spiritual creativity and emotional reparation. Today, arts are being used extensively in therapy to help a person seek his happiness and peace of mind. And this is what this unique festival hopes to achieve. 
The festival will kickstart on May 16 with a collaborative performance of various Indian traditional dance forms highlighting the spiritual significance of Rabindranath Tagore’s poems and will include Odissi by Reela Hota, Kathak by Vidha Lal, Creative Dance by Naresh Kumar, Gaudiya Nritya by Gaudiya Nritya Bharati, Pung Cholom & Ras Leela by Prem Manipur Cultural association.
Reela Hota is an eminent Odissi performer, educator and producer.She has performed in many highly esteemed festivals and traveled Oman, Bangladesh, Mauritius, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Zambia, and Botswana to perform Odissi dance.  She is credited for adding a new dimension to Odissi Dance - the spiritual aspect. In addition to the traditional repertoire, she has presented unique dance pieces on the philosophy of Yoga and Tantra. Her recent production on the spiritual aspect of Rabindranath Tagore was well appreciated. Reela has also organized and produced festivals across India.
Vidha Lal, a multi-facated Kathak exponent is the disciple of renowned Guru Geetanjali Lal of Jaipur Gharana. A recipient of merit scholarship of Kathak Kendra, Vidha has emerged as a rising star in the field of Kathak. She is an empanelled artist of Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) and 'A1 grade artist of Delhi Doordarshan.Vidha recently eraned a place in the Guinnes book of world records as making the most number of spins (103) in one minute.
Naresh Kumar was trained by Narendar Sharma and now heads his own Creative Dance Company
Gaudiya Nritya Bharati : Formed by Amitava Mukherjee and Dr Mahua Mukherjee, Gaudiya Nritya Bharati is a cultural organization for promoting Bengali music and dance.
Prem Manipur Cultural Association: Led by Premjit Singh, the troupe, has been performing across the country including the popular television dance shows, Boogie Woogie and India’s Got Talent in 2010.
The second performance of the evening would be a soul-stirring Sufi music performance by Pakistan's Ustad Hamid Ali Khan. 
Hamid Ali Khan is a star performer from Pakistani. Being a distinguished representative of the Patiala Gharana, Ustad Hamid Ali Khan Saheb is considered one of the finest exponents of Ghazal and classical singing alike. Hamid Ali received the Pride of Performance Award, presented by the government of Pakistan & lifetime achievement award  by Government of India. His famous songs include Meeno Teray Jea; Laagi Rey Tou Say Lagi; Yeh Na Thee Hamari....
On the second day, May 17, the programme will begin with the symposium which will consist of a talk on “The Body as Sacred Instrument” by Dr Vivien Marcow-Speiser from Cambridge University, a talk on “Healing Sounds for children with disabilities: finding the power of love to facilitate growth and change” by Dr Phillipe Speiser, Director of Arts Therapy at Whittier Street Health Center, Roxbury, followed by a talk by psychologist Dr Aruna Broota about Arts in Psychotherapy and finally a talk by artist Manissha Khanna on the relation between painting & Healing. 
The symposium will be followed by a  unique international collaborative featuring various artists - Wang Fei: Geqin (China), Bahman Panahi: Tar/Setar (Iran) and Johar Ali:Violin (India).
Wang Fei is a guqin (also called qin) performer, educator and scholar who began her study of the guqin under one of the great living masters, Professor Li Xiangting, at the Central Conservatory of Music in China in 1985. She has won several awards in the field of Chinese music, including first place in the Chinese College Student Art Contest in 1989. 
Iranian artist Bahman Panahi will be on the Tar/Setar, an instrument considered by Iranians as the ‘sultan of instruments’. Multi-talented artist, Panahi studied assiduously the principles of Iranian classical music from a very young age by learning to play the “Setar” and “Tar”. He also obtained the official Master certificate in calligraphy from “Institute of calligraphers of Iran. Since 1990, he has given various concerts across the world and now lives in France and studies at the doctoral school of the “Sorbonne” in Paris to show the links that exist between music and calligraphy. 
Johar Ali is a multiple recording artist belonging to the Patiala Gharana of Rampur. He has   represented India at the 60 years UNESCO celebration in Paris, composed music for the South Pacific Games on behalf of ICCR, represented India at the SAARC Summit in Bangladesh and done the musical score for Blueberry A French movie, in 2004 . Johar Ali has traveled    and   performed extensively in Nepal, Bangladesh, England, Syria, Fiji, Djibouti, Addis Ababa, Holland, Estonia, Spain, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Hungary, Czech Republic, France, Belgium, Finland, Sharjah &  Dubai.
The grand finale of the evening will be a performance by none other than the veterans of classical Indian vocal music Padma Bhushan Pandit Rajan & Sajan Mishra.
 Website : www.ancientarts.in

About Rays of Wisdom Society :  Rays of Wisdom Society is a charitable organization, committed to establish and propagate the wisdom behind ancient rituals and practices, and help people better themselves physically, mentally, socially and spiritually.Reela Hota is the Founding member/Secretary of Rays of Wisdom Society.
Inauguration by : Shri Tejendra Khanna, Lt Governor, Delhi

Related Events : Dance | Music