Drive East 2019

Drive East is a classical Indian dance and music festival running from Mon., August 5 through Sun., August 11 at the Mezzanine Theater at A.R.T. Theatre/New York, and Thursday, August 15 to Sunday, August 18th in San Francisco, featuring artists from around the world. From bharatanatyam to ghazals, kathak to carnatic, Drive East is a one-of-a-kind immersive experience into the world of Indian classical arts and an event The New York Times hails as “an extraordinary feat.” Some highlights include opening night acts Bijayini Satpathy (winner of the Mahari Award, awarded to the best Odissi dancer in a year, and Hidayat Khan, a 7th generation sitar player from a prestigious lineage of artists. Other performers include Deepak Ram (Best Instrumental Album, Best Male Artist, South African Music Awards), Sruthi Sarathy (best violinist, Music Academy, Chennai), and Abhinava Dance Company featuring Nirupama Rajendra, recognized as “Outstanding Category” of performing artistes by ICCR. Unique collaborations include Tuesday night’s 6PM showcase with Navatman Dance and Nadhi Thekkek (Nava Dance Theatre), Rasika Kumar (Abhinaya Dance Company), and Navatman Music Collective’s Roopa Mahadevan in a work about the #MeToo movement through bharatanatyam. Wednesday night features another world premier by Bala Skandan and friends: a musical percussion concert with step dancers, tabla, frame drums, and more. Additional performers for Drive East New York are: Vidhya Subramanian, California (Bharatanatyam); Sri Thina and Ensemble, (Bharatanatyam and Odissi Inspired); Binay Pathak (Hindustani Vocal Performance), Prasant Radhakrishnan, California (Carnatic Saxophone) Ashrita Keshav, Chennai (Kuchipudi), and Nakshatra Quartet (Carnatic Inspired Chamber Ensemble), Swati Sinha (Kathak Concert), Sanhita Nandi (Hindustani Vocals), Sruthi Sarathy, Best Violinist from Music Academy, Chennai, Seibi Lee, San Francisco (Kathak), Jiva Dance, New York City (Bharatanatyam Group) and Navatman Music Collective (Carnatic choir)