Mohabbat

ABOUT THE PROJECT 

Brinda Guha’s work is rooted in the legacies of Contemporary Indian dance, and yearns to reach spaces where qualities of community, transparency and womanhood are centered. The ideological philosophy that drives the work forward values the notion of moving circular axiologies (and its respective centripetal forces and rooted, cultural fabrics) in a forward-thinking way as it pertains to South Asian diasporic movement forms. Imagine a helix: circular and expansive. Brinda’s choreographic ideas are powered by deconstructing classical aesthetics in a way that functions generously because of the human emotionality and necessary storytelling elements that cradle and power the work’s process. This semester, Brinda plans to build a complex piece called “Mohabbat”, a meditative song about love and letting go by Arooj Aftab. 

Join us for an hour long artist lecture, where we will talk about how we worked on this piece, have some live improvisational moments and an open discussion, followed by a showcase of the new work.

ABOUT THE CHOREOGRAPHER 

Brinda Guha is a Bessie-nominated artist, and identifies as a non-disabled, caste-privileged, cisgender and queer South-Asian American Kathak and Contemporary Indian dancer. She co-founded Kalamandir Dance Company in 2010 after working in the Kathak (Malabika Guha) & Manipuri (Kalavati+ Bimbavati Devi) dance disciplines, as well as Flamenco (Carmen de las Cuevas; Dionisia Garcia) and Contemporary Fusion vocabularies. She’s choreographed for many national stages and self-produced original feature-length dance productions which earned her artist residencies at Dixon Place (2018) and Dancewave (2019) to continue to develop work. Now, she is represented by CESD Talent Agency and is pursuing artistic direction, performance and arts education opportunities. She teaches for Kalamandir of NJ Dance School and dances with all-female multicultural percussive trio, Soles of Duende. She is also the curator of WISE FRUIT NYC, a seasonal live arts installment (est 2017) dedicated to the feminine divine and honoring select women-led organizations. For her day job, she works as the Senior Producing Coordinator for Dance/NYC, a dance service organization based on the values of justice, equity and inclusion.  Visit www.brindaguha.com for more info.