Co-presented by Natya Dance Theatre and Nrithyanjali School of Dance, Leela Samson's Spanda Dance Company brings NADI to the Chicago area. Spanda Dance is a group founded in 1995 that presents works conceived and choreographed by Leela Samson, explores group dynamics in Bharata Natyam. Spanda seeks to establish a relevant dialogue between dance, music and stage craft.

From Sufi fakirs in the North to Baul singers in Bengal to Sangam poetry and classical composers in the South, an ocean of poetry has been penned inspired by the river. NADI explores the love and longing, the physical changes and the deep philosophy that the river inspired through the centuries-old voices of India’s poets. NADI includes eclectic selection of poems in different languages and musical genres from the thumris of Varanasi, to Tagore’s melodies and the Baul renderings of Bengal, to Sangam poetry, the previous centuries Dikshitar, and to modern-day Girish Karnad of the South. These pieces are tied together by Rajkumar Bharathi, who has used some traditional tunes and has re-composed others to create dialogue between music genres and between languages of the vast nation of India. NADI is a common link with elements like the river teaching man the usefulness and beauty of nature and our link to it.