Bijayini Satpathy to perform ‘Abhipsaa — A Seeking’ Oct. 18–19 at Eisenhower

The Center for the Performing Arts will make space on the Eisenhower Auditorium stage for Indian dance artist Bijayini Satpathy’s choreographic debut with two intimate performances at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, Oct. 18 and 19, as well as additional events throughout the week.

The globally renowned Indian dance artist and scholar left Nrityagram Dance Ensemble to research and create “Abhipsaa—A Seeking,” a work in extension of her Odissi dance training.

“I wanted to experience Odissi differently,” Satpathy said.

Both performances will feature general admission, onstage seating. An optional post-performance discussion between Satpathy and the audience will be held after the Oct. 18 event.

Call 814-863-0255 or visit Bijayini Satpathy online for more information about the event, tickets, and additional engagement and academic events being planned in conjunction with the performance.

“Abhipsaa” is a personal work in that Satpathy explores her stories as told in her own way, as told through her revised interpretations of “classical” Indian dance.

“This is where it becomes contemporary,” she said at a Center for the Performing Arts artist visit. “I believe in this journey in essence but not in the exact structuring of it. ... I am breaking structure in the way the sequencing of choreography has happened and finding other layers that have not been looked at.”

Read more of her discussion.

Free public engagement events

Members of the community are invited to a welcome dinner to celebrate Bijayini Satpathy’s arrival at Penn State, from 6–8 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 15, in Heritage Hall, HUB-Robeson Center. The event will feature a free Indian food buffet, and performances by Jaya Dance Academy, Penn State’s Nyrita Dance Company, the Society for Indian Music & Arts and Harrisburg-based Rasika School of Dance. The event is free, but registration is required.

Satpathy will map the journey of Odissi from the pre-Christian period to the global dance that Odissi is today, addressing the key milestones on the way of its evolution. The public lecture about the history of Odissi dance will be at 4 p.m. Monday, Oct. 16, in Foster Auditorium, University Libraries. The event is free, but registration is required.

Satpathy will continue the lesson of the history of Odissi dance with an Odissi master class at 6 p.m. Monday, Oct. 16, in 113 White Building. The program will encompass basic somatic and kinesthetic principles of the form. Participants with prior experience in any movement discipline and basic understanding of physical alignment will benefit. The event is free, but registration is required.

Artists and students are invited to quietly observe and draw Satpathy while she rehearses for her main-stage performance. The sketching opportunity will be from 3–4:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 18, in Eisenhower Auditorium. At the end of the session, participants must exit and re-enter with a ticket to attend the 7:30 p.m. event. The open sketch is free, but registration is required. Email Medora Ebersole at mde13@psu.edu for more information.

A “Pedagogy from the Ancient Drama Treatise — Natyashastra” master class, from 11:30 a.m.–1 pm. Friday, Oct. 20, in 232 AB, HUB-Robeson Center, will discuss codified movement pedagogy. Satpathy will focus on isolated limbs and the Bhu and Akasha Charis, which are basic leg movements made in concordance and highly beneficial for conditioning and choreography. Participants with prior experience in any movement discipline and basic understanding of alignment will benefit. The event is free, but registration is required.

Acknowledgements

The presentation of “Abhipsaa — A Seeking” was made possible by the New England Foundation for the Arts' National Dance Project, with lead funding from the Doris Duke Foundation and the Mellon Foundation.

The main stage events are presented in partnership with the Society for Indian Music and Arts.

The main stage events are sponsored by Shih-In Ma and the Eberly Family Special Collections Library.

Support for the main stage events is provided by Debra Lee Latta and Dr. Stanley E. Latta Endowment, Mary Ann O’Brien Malkin Program Endowment and Penn State International Dance Ensemble Endowment.

Support for accessibility services is provided by William E. McTurk Endowment for Program Support and Gerald B. M. Stein Memorial Endowment.

A grant from the University Park Student Fee Board makes Penn State student prices possible.

Duke University and the Baryshnikov Arts Center commissioned “Abhipsaa — A Seeking.” This work was made possible with additional funding from the New England Foundation for the Arts National Dance Project, with lead funding from the Doris Duke Foundation and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

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