Irvine - Arpana Dance Company (ADC) will present an exciting blend of traditional and contemporary Indian dance as a part of South Coast Repertory Studio Series (www.scr.org/studioseries) at the 94 seat Nicholas Studio from Friday Mar 11 thru Sunday, Mar 13, 2011. This series is designed to create stronger ties between arts organizations and expose audiences to the rich diversity of the local arts scene through an eclectic array of programming. ADC is led by teacher and choreographer, Ramya Harishankar, two-time recipient of NEA's Choreographer's Fellowship and the Helena Modjeska Cultural Legacy award from Arts OC for her contribution to the cultural landscape of Orange County. In the first half of the evening, Arpana will present traditional works from its repertoire of 16th to 20th Century compositions, accompanied by a four-piece live musical ensemble. In the second half, it will feature Ganga … life as a river, which layers post-modern choreography atop the classical Indian dance form, Bharata Natyam. Against a soundtrack that combines instrumentals, singing and spoken word, dancers in contemporary costumes perform vignettes reminiscent of a river traveling from a young, bubbling brook to the deep, calm waters uniting with the sea. In India, the River Ganga represents both eternal life and a goddess symbolizing feminine power, and so, too, this dance evokes both a river and the stages of women's lives.

While Bharata Natyam performances traditionally work with old compositions and music, Ganga features specially commissioned music arranged by OC resident, Babu Parmeswaran. Along with co director Dr. Priya Srinivasan of UC Riverside, Harishankar explores a new vocabulary within the language of Indian dance in this production. She has explored various themes in past productions such as using the Bharata Natyam technique to Spanish bolero music and choreographing Bharata Natyam movements to the rhythmic accompaniment of Taiko drumming, 'Nonetheless, this time the goal was to step out of the box completely and challenge oneself - physically, mentally and spiritually' said Harishankar of this work. The creation of this project was partly funded by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Fund for Folk Culture and features collaborative works in different genre including spoken word by poet/writer/artiste D'Lo.

Arpana Dance Company, the premier performing and touring Indian Dance Company in Orange County, is dedicated to fostering ancient artistic traditions and cross-cultural collaborations through education and performance of Indian dance. Its roster of dancers performs traditional and contemporary Indian dance based on the Bharata Natyam vocabulary and has toured throughout the U.S., Europe and India. Named an L.A. Milestone Dance Company by the Dance Resource Center of L.A., ADC has more than 15 full-length productions to its credit, along with several sold-out performances at the Irvine Barclay Theater.

Nicholas Studio/SCR is located at 655 Town Center Dr., Costa Mesa, CA 92626