Among the ruins Born out of a fusion of forms ranging from classical and contemporary Kathak, martial arts and Western contemporary dance, Anurekha Ghosh's unique dance style is a blend of tradition and modernity that harmoniously merge to produce a powerful, evocative language of dance. Presented by Anurekha Ghosh and Company, one of the most promising dance companies in the United Kingdom, Ruins is a celebration of hope and existence, exploring the struggles of the familiar into the unknown. A story of discovery, degeneration and decay which, at the same time, arouses feelings of inspiration and nostalgia, the performance offers an exhilarating journey from old, invisible ruins to modern ruins. Using techniques of classical and contemporary Kathak, the presentation is an artistic acknowledgement of the ruins that we see around us. Treating the concept of ruins both literally and metaphorically, it includes spellbinding music, acrobatics and dynamic dance movements, punctuated with the exquisite grace of Kathak. Using jazz beats to build up a crescendo, often mixed with powerful, complex, yet subtle tabla rhythms and sensual melodies, the choreography also interprets the emotional dimension of ruins, exploring both its positive and negative connotations. Choreographed by Kumudini Lakhia, Anurekha Ghosh, Shobana Jeyasingh and Nahid Siddiqui. Event: A dance production of Anurekha Ghosh & Company, UK When: Today at 6 pm Where: Bharatiyam Cultural Multiplex, IB 201 Salt Lake

art

January 6 - 11 at Netaji Indoor Stadium, Booth # 21 & 22: Masters Collection will display Indian contemporary art and oil reproductions on canvas at Mega Expo - Interiors 2006. Till January 7 at Victoria Memorial Hall; 10 am - 4 pm: The French Embassy in India, the French Association, Calcutta and the Victoria Memorial present the exhibition, enkibilalinindia. Till January 8 at Proscenium?s Art Centre, 46 AJC Bose Road; 4 pm - 8 pm: Paintings by Adin Bhattacharya, Krishna Seal, Kaushik Gupta, Rajrappay Ray, Sambhunath Bera and Utpal Naskar. Till January 10 at Quality Inn, 166C Rashbehari Avenue: Exhibition of painting by Abhijit Mollick. Till January 20 at Standard Chartered, 21A Shakespeare Sarani; 11 am - 7 pm: Small is Beautiful, an exhibition of paintings on leather and vellum by Anirban Seth. Till January 31 at Arts & Ideas Designshop, UZ 213 Swabhumi; 12 noon - 8.30 pm: Arts & Ideas presents Down to Earth, an exhibition of Bengali pottery. Participants: Arun Mukhoty, Gourab Malakar, Manik Das, Manoj Kumar Das, Mousumi Roy, Payel Sarkar, Partha Dasgupta, Soumen Basu and Tanmoy Das.

DRAMA

January 6 at Academy of Fine Arts; 6 pm: Concluding day of 8th Dwandik Natyotsav in memory of Achintya Choudhury. Presentation of Achintya Choudhury Memorial Award to Goutam Mukhopadhyay followed by the staging of Dwandik?s Ekale Ekalabya. January 7 at Academy of Fine Arts; 3 pm: Shohan presents Utpal Dutt?s Megh. Dir: Anish Ghosh. January 7 at Academy of Fine Arts; 6.30 pm: Satyaasatya, produced by Gandhar and directed by Shyamal Chakraborty. January 7 at Padatik Little Theatre-II, 6/7 AJC Bose Road; 6.30 pm: Padatik and Brainchild Theatre present Thaneer Thaneer, a play in Hind directed by Kunal Padhi. January 7 at Madhusudan Mancha; 6.30 pm: Sayak presents Daibaddha. Dir: Meghnad Bhattacharya. January 7 & 8 at Proscenium?s Art Centre, 46 AJC Bose Road; 6.30 pm: Bikhartey Rishtey, one-act play in Hindi, an adaptation of Ugene O?Neil?s Home Coming. Dir: Ashok Churiwal.

PERFORMING ARTS

January 5 - 9 at Rabindra Sadan: 19th annual classical music conference hosted by Paschimbanga Rajya Sangeet Academy along with Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre and Sangeet Natak Akademi. Today at 5.30 pm: Partha Sarathi Desikan (khayal) with Parimal Chakraborty (tabla) and Braja Mukherjee (hramonium); Budhaditya Mukherjee (sitar) with Abhijit Bandyopadhyay (tabla); and Ulhas Kashalkar (khayal) with Gopal Misra (tabla). Till January 8 at Sri Aurobindo Institute of Culture, 3 Regent Park: Aspiration 2006, a celebration of dance, music and various aspects of culture. Today at 6 pm: Programme of Shakti Centre. January 6 at Santosh Mitra Square, Sealdah; 6.30 pm: Sobar Aanondey Shastriyo Sangeet, an evening of classical music organised by Maddho Kolkata Sangeet Sammelan. January 7 at Shaktigarh/Nabanagar, Jadavpore; 6.30 pm onwards: Baul Fakir Utsav. Felicitation of Sanatan Das Baul. Performances by Gour Kshyapa, Satyananda Das, Kartick Das, Mansur Fakir and party, Khaibar Fakir and party. January 8 at Uttam Mancha; 10.30 am onwards: Deesha, a day-long Odissi dance and music festival of Srijan Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra Odissa Nrityabasa, featuring leading disciples of Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra, the first presentation of the annual Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra Yuva Prativa Samman for the best solo Odissi dancer between 16 years and 18 years, and marking the commencement of operations of Srijan?s Calcutta Chapter. January 10 at Madhusudan Mancha; 6.30 pm: Bhavna presents an evening of Tagore songs by Manisha Murali Nair and Manoj Murali Nair.

EXHIBITIon

Till January 7 at 8/2 Loudon Street: Earthy Myths exhibits handcrafted sarees created by using elements of batik, tie dye and embroideries. Till January 15 at 108 Raja Basanta Roy Road; 11 am - 7.30 pm: Design?s annual silk saree exhibition along with costume jewellery in silver and gold. Till January 17 at Sen Bati, 3 Mandeville Gardens; 12 noon - 8 pm: Garvi/ Gurjari Calcutta hosts an exhibition-cum-sale along with live demonstration by renowned artisans from Gujarat. January 6 - 8 at Sasha, 27 Mirza Ghalib Street; 10 am - 7 pm; Sunday (10 am - 1 pm): Sasha Farm Weekends, an exhibition of basic kitchen necessities and alternative organic farm products. January 6 - 11 at Swabhumi: An exhibiution of art and craft from the seven north-eastern states.

TALK

Till January 8 at G.D. Birla Sabhagar; 5 pm - 8.30 pm: Sampurna Ramayan by Swami Advaitananda of Chinmaya Mission. January 6 at Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, Shivananda Hall; 6 pm: Ramaranjan Mukherji will speak in Sanskrit on Kalidasa?s Meghaduta. January 6 at Ramakrishna Vedanta Math, 19A & B Raja Rajkrishna Street; 7 pm: Dr Sasanka Bhusan Bandyopadhyay will speak on Shvetashvatara Upanishad.

CONFERENCE

January 6 - 8 at Nazrul Mancha: Rotaryn International District 3290 Conference. Inauguration by Union defense minister Pranab Mukherjee. Speakers: T.N. Seshan, Maneka Gandhi, Nafisa Ali and others. Music performances in the evening by Sreya Ghosal, Indranil Sen, Indrani Sen and others.

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