Shantala Shivalingappa
"It was, though, the incandescent sensuality of the Paris-based Shantala Shivalingappa that electrified the audience—I would have defied anyone in deSingel's Rode zaal that night not to have responded warmly to her sensational display of Kuchipudi dancing. This was a performance packed with expressiveness and vivacity, where both passion and grace could be seen in a single movement of the body.”
—De Morgen, Antwerp, Belgium
Acclaimed for her exquisite performances across India and Europe, Shantala Shivalingappa offers a dynamic double program of contemporary solos and traditional Indian dance. A renowned performer in Kuchipudi, a 2,000-year-old Indian style that fuses dance, music, and theater, Shivalingappa has been called “a total revelation” and “divinely gifted” for her grace, finesse, and powerful presence on stage. She has also performed with some of the greatest contemporary theater and dance artists working today, including Maurice Béjart and Peter Brook, bringing her stamp of classical mastery to contemporary works.
The program begins with two solos that pairs her sensuous and precise dancing style with new forms. This is followed by an excerpt from Gamaka, a Kuchipudi-based performance choreographed by Shivalingappa, danced in shimmering silks and in rhythmically complex and playful dialogue with four master musicians.
Main Image: Shantala Shivalingappa, 2011.