Spectacle assured with new edition of India Dance Festival

[Press release, The Hague, 15-01-2024] Korzo and the India Dance Festival bring the world premiere of Cloud Messenger and the grand performance Fires of Varanasi to The Hague. The upcoming edition of India Dance Festival promises to be a spectacular one. The festival offers eleven days full of striking performances, from May 16 to 26 in Korzo.

India Dance Festival (IDF) is a celebration of Indian dance and culture. Since 2011, IDF has been a festival where classical dance styles such as Bharatanatyam, Kathak and Odissi come together with new interpretations by talented makers. A festival where we celebrate the unprecedented richness of Indian dance in intense performances that are both classical and contemporary.  

Indian and Western traditions meet

The first two confirmations for the program are here: the world premiere of Cloud Messenger and the critically acclaimed performance Fires of Varanasi can be seen during IDF in Korzo. Cloud Messenger is inspired by the poem of the same name by one of India's greatest poets Kalidasa and is about loneliness and the separation from people you love. A multidisciplinary work with new music by the Dutch-based Indian composer Samhita Mundkur in collaboration with Boudewijn Ruigrok and with parts from the composition of Cloud Messenger by classical composer Gustav Holst. Indian and Western traditions meet in this performance with musicians, a large choir and dancers. Dancers perform an impressive mix of modern dance and various Indian dance styles such as Odissi, Kathak and Bharatanatyam.

Five-star performance about the holy city of Varanasi

The Ragamala Dance Company tours the world with Fires of Varanasi; everyone wants to see this five-star show. Fires of Varanasi is a performance by mother and daughter Ranee Ramaswany and Aparna Ramaswany and revolves around a pilgrimage to the holy city of Varanasi. Varanasi with its famous holy banks on the Ganges River is a world-famous cremation site for deceased Hindus. Fires of Varanasi is a representation of everything earthly, everything beyond and everything in between, with a prominent place for the gods and rituals. All this choreographed in a flamboyantly intense bharatanatyam style. A grand performance with a stage design that you rarely see in Korzo. 

Watch the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNkK36fouOw

A sneak peek, because we will announce the full program for India Dance Festival (16 to 26 May) in Korzo and the start of ticket sales later.

(Image of Fires of Varanasi, © Steven Pisano)

For journalists

For questions and/or to request interviews regarding the performance Cloud Messenger, please contact Boudewijk Ruigrok via boudewijn@collectiefklapstuk.nl.

For questions and/or to request interviews regarding the India Dance Festival, please contact Mitchell-lee van Rooij via mitchell@korzo.nl or / t: 06-28677860.

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