Aniruddha Knight & Ensemble: Traditional Practice as Contemporary Art

October 21, 2014

Aniruddha Knight is the contemporary interpreter of his family’s style of bharata natyam, evolved through nine generations of distinguished artists’ continuous practice of music and dance. Knight and his cousin, vocalist T. Girish, both great-great-grandsons of the iconic musician Vina Dhanammal, are sole direct inheritors and unique exponents of her musical style and repertoire. Knight’s performance—partly improvised and lyrically lush, partly choreographed and rhythmically complex—is taut, precise and powerful. Knight and his ensemble are deeply rooted in a shared understanding of music and dance conceived as a unified idiom. From this rich legacy, they create new art.

Kresge Experimental Theatre, Watson Fine Arts, 7:30 p.m.