Natyananda at International Day for World Peace

Natyananda will be performing at the International Day for World Peace at Birmingham's Boutwell Auditorium on Saturday, June 6th, 2009. Events begin at 1:00 PM. Please come out and see us!

Fox 6 WBRC TV interview on April 24

Sheila Akka and Natyananda students Neha Udayakumar and Soumya Kara particpated in an interview/promo for Magic City Art Connection with Rick for Fox 6 WBRC Local TV's "Good Day AL" morning program on April 24, 2009 at 8:04AM. It was short and sweet with Sheila Akka's gentle introduction to story telling aspect of Bharathanatyam.

Natyananda at the MCAC, Linn Park, April 25th, 2009

Natyananda had a 40 minute presentation at the Linn park on April 25th, 2009. Our group had dancers of all ages.... kindergardeners to moms dancing . As usual Sheila akka was very graceful with her narration and introductions. 

Photos available at  http://picasaweb.google.com/rkrishnan48/MagicCityArtConnection2009#.

Natyananda Performance at the ICAB at the The Hindu temple of Birmingham

See them here
http://vimeo.com/2099015 !!

Shaly Vijayan in Birmingham, June 6, 2008

Natyananda invites you all to a grand evening of South Indian dance by Shaly Vijayan.
Date: June 6th, Friday, 2008, 7:00 PM
Venue: Children's Dance Foundation in Homewood
1715 27th Ct S
Homewood, AL 35209
(205) 870-0073
Tickets $7.00 ; Contact : 205-481-0094

Natyananda at MCAC 2008

Dancers from Sheila Rubin's Natyananda dance group performs at the Magic City Art Connection 2008, Birmingham, AL.

Photo by Tansau

Natyananda Dancers

More photos from the Magic City Art Connection 2008.

Photo by Photo Mojo

Natyananda at MCAC

Natyananda senior dancers at Magic City Art Connection

Photo by the stewart family

Magic City Art Festival

Natyananda
is performing at the Magic City Arts festival on the 27th April, Sunday at Linn Park at 1:30 p.m. on the Backyard Productions stage. Both the beginner and senior students will be dancing!!! come and enjoy our dance!! Get to meet and talk to our founder and director Ms. Sheila Rubin.

Alabama Dance Showcase, January 20, 2008

Natyananda will be appearing at the Alabama Dance Showcase on Sunday, January 20. Here is the schedule:

Alabama Dance Showcase Performance Schedule
January 20, 2:30 p.m. - BJCC Theatre

I
Alabama Repertory Dance Theatre 2:30 p.m.
Alabama Youth Ballet 2:37 p.m.
Birmingham-Southern College Dance Department 2:44 p.m.
Mt. Hebron Spiritual Light Dancers 2:51 p.m.
Sanspointe Dance Company 2:58 p.m.
Andalusia Ballet 3:05 p.m.
Arova Contemporary Ballet 3:12 p.m.
LynnTerra Ballet Company 3:19 p.m.
Alabama Ballet 3:26 p.m.
Umdabu Dance Company 3:33 p.m.

Intermission

II
Nathifa Dance Company 3:55 p.m.
Notinee' Indian Dance Group 4:02 p.m.
Bearing Light Butoh Dance Theatre 4:09 p.m.
Belly Dance Jewels 4:16 p.m.
Nashville Irish Step Dancers of Birmingham 4:23 p.m.
Natyananda: Dance of India 4:30 p.m.
Natasha Russo Dance Arts & Russian Beauties 4:37 p.m.
Devyani Dance Company 4:44 p.m.
Corazon Flamenco 4:51 p.m.
Osumare African Drum & Dance Ensemble 4:58 p.m.

Intermission

III
Montgomery Ballet 5:20 p.m.
Alabama Dance Festival Choreography Intensive 5:27 p.m.
Downtown Dance Conservatory 5:34 p.m.
Fuzíon Dance Artists 5:41 p.m.
Auburn Ballet Company 5:48 p.m.
Huntsville Ballet Company 5:55 p.m.
Southeast Alabama Dance Company 6:02 p.m.
Academy of StarPower 6:09 p.m.

Natyananda to Perform at Taste of Asia Fall Festival, Nov. 3

Natyananda is set to perform at the "Taste of Asia" Fall Festival and fundraiser on Saturday, November 3. This event, sponsored by The Birmingham Chinese Garden and Asian Cultural Center Foundation, will run from 10:30 am (opening ceremony) until 4:00 pm at the Cedars Club (301 Green Springs Avenue South), two blocks east of I-65.

Featured at this event will be many varieties of cuisine from various Asian countries, a silent auction of Asian art and other fine items, Asian performers presenting traditional dances from various cultures, and tours to the proposed Chinese garden site. Admission is free and there is on-site parking. Wear walking shoes if you plan to view the proposed Chinese garden site. This event is Kid-Friendly and Handicap Accessible.

Event Details:
Location: Cedars Club, 301 Green Springs Avenue South (two blocks east of I-65 at Green Springs Avenue exit) in Birmingham, AL
Phone Number: 205.903.5569
More information:
http://www.bhmasianfound.org
http://www.activeculture.info/eventsDetails.asp?ItemID=10181

Natyananda at Gypsy Night, WorkPlay, Sept 1, 2007

Gypsy Night at WorkPlay, Sept 1, 2007
Saturday September 1, 2007 at 7:00 PM
The WorkPlay Theatre, Birmingham, AL
Ticket Prices: General Admission $25.00

In addition to Natyananda, this event will feature genuine Flamenco & Belly Dance Performances by Irene Rimer troupes with live musicians. Performances include Corazon Flamenco, The Belly Dance Jewels, Pia Sen's Notinee Indian Classical-Folk-Fusion Dance and Devyani American Tribal Style Belly Dance. In addition, this event will include an international bazaar from Turkey, Egypt and Spain. WorkPlay information at workplay.com.

See also:
Irene Rimer Dance Academy
Devyani ATS Belly Dance
Pia Sen's Indian Classical-Folk-Fusion Dance Group, Notinee

UPDATE!
We have photos of the event, courtesy of Deloye Burell
Get your GUEST PASS here.

El Paso performance

Dancers: Sheila, Neha, Sushma & Nikki
Indian Cultural Show:
Venue: 26th floor Conference Room, Regions Building in downtown (1900, 5th Ave N)
Organized by:Southern Natural Gas, An El Paso Company
Date: August 8th

Sheila Rubin Bharatnatyam-Founder & Director Natyananda

Ms. Sheila Rubin, one the earlier students of the Dhananjayan's dances in California (80's). The presenter is Ms. Katherine Kunhiraman, her dear friend and also a fellow student of the Dhananjayans. Visit Ms. Rubin's gurus website at http://www.bharatakalaanjali.org/ .

Dr. Kalai Mugilan's Arangetram, Aug 12, 2007

Kalai and Sheila Rubin after the arangetram

What do you call a dancing man dressed in silk and gold, with makeup on his face?
Kalai Mugilan......

Dr. Kalai Mugilan had his arangetram on Aug 12th, Saturday at the Children's Dance Foundation. Family and friends cheered him on as he donned the grease paint to get onto stage to do a full fledged margam. Starting with a mallari he continued onto more intricate dances to finally end with a tillana. The second half of the program saw him more relaxed and it showed. The energetic Kali Kauthavam and the devotional Tulsidas bhajan gave us a glimpse into his dedication and all the hard work he had put in for this day.

Male dancers have to work twice as hard compared to a woman to impress an audience. The best thing about Kalai's dance was that "he danced like a man", without looking effeminate. This is not stating the obvious because a masculine interpretation of this art with grace is truly hard when all your colleagues are girls and ladies. Easiest way to learn dance is to imitate your teacher.... but he had to understand and reinvent dance "the masculine way" as his guru was a lady (no offense Sheila Akka). We all wish him more years of manly dancing bound by tradition.

Kalai has been learning with Guru Mrs. Sheila Rubin for more than ten years. It was heart warming to see him pay respects to his Guru Mrs Sheila & Guru-pati Mr. Lenny Rubin as per Indian tradition.

Deepa, his wife and all his close relatives were excellent hosts and fed us quite sumptuously with a variety of snacks.