Starry Nights: Painting with Dance

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Shawn Harper Photography

Kanopy Dance Company and Kalaanjali Dance Company dancers.

Kanopy Dance Company and Kalaanjali Dance Company collaborate for "Starry Nights: Painting with Dance," 2023.

Van Gogh is all over the place these days, between the immersive walk-through phenomenon and the recent sale at auction of one of his portraits for 5.5 million Euros, more than twice what was predicted. You can go a different way, as contemporary dance troupe Kanopy collaborates with the Kalaanjali Dance Company to premiere “Starry Nights: Painting with Dance,” which involves dancers moving against and interacting with projections of Van Gogh’s Irises, The Starry Night, and Sunflowers. The program also includes Lisa Thurrell’s Prayer, performed by the Kanopy Dance Company, set to music by Arvo Pärt.

media release: Kalaanjali Dance Company and Kanopy Dance Company Present a World Premiere: Starry Nights: Painting with Dance. A Fusion Performance of Bharatanatyam classical Indian dance and American modern dance inspired by the Art of Vincent Van Gogh

Sunday, March 19, 2023, 3PM and 6 PM Performance Added Due to Popular Demand

Overture Center for the Arts

The Overture stage becomes a canvas when Kalaanjali Dance Company and Kanopy Dance Company  premiere Starry Nights: Painting with Dance,  a fusion production inspired by the art of Dutch Post-Impressionist painter Vincent Van Gogh. The companies will combine principal modern dance techniques and classical Bharatanatyam Indian dance in three original choreographies that evoke  the expression, rhythm, and passion of Van Gogh’s  iconic works. Sixteen dancers will move against projections of Van Gogh's masterworks and will artfully “paint” the curved silhouettes of Van Gogh’s Irises, the entrancing stars and mysterious night sky in Starry Nights, and the rich colors and joy of Van Gogh’s Sunflowers--- with a sensuous palette of dance forms.

The Kalaanjali Dance Company, based in Madison and San Francisco, will also present three traditional Bharatanatyam dances.  Kalaanjali Dance was founded by Kanopy’s guest artist, Meenakshi Ganesan, to promote and showcase Bharatanatyam, the oldest classical dance tradition in India that dates back nearly 3000 years. Bharatanatyam encompasses music, rhythm and expression and strictly adheres to the Natyashastra, (a Sanskrit treatise on performing arts).

A modern work rounds  out the  Starry Nights program, with Lisa Thurrell’s  Prayer, performed by the Kanopy Dance Company. The sweeping Graham-based work  is set to the music of  Estonian Arvo Pärt, a composer of minimalist style classical and religious music, and features elegant costuming in  vibrant colorways of plums rose, copper, and magenta.