The dancers of Kalapriya have again recreated a slice of old-Bollywood, taking the audience back to the classic Bollywood days of in this 75-minute multimedia dance event. Choreographed by Shalaka Kulkarni, a Kalapriya Dance alumni, the dancers of Kalapriya will entertain, emote and weave magic, while recreating the famous and storied Raj Kapoor charm with projections of classic film clips and live energetic dancing.
Raj Kapoor (14 December 1924 – 2 June 1988), the “Charlie Chaplin of India”, is easily one of the most celebrated actors and patrons of the Indian film industry, fondly called Bollywood by many. Actor, director, musician, producer with a fine eye for detail and an agenda of bringing Indian cinema to the world map. Kapoor was also adored by audiences in large parts of Africa, the Middle East, the former Soviet Union, China and Southeast Asia and his movies were global commercial successes. His films are considered iconic and were hugely influential in chalking the entertainment road map of a newly independent India.
True to the style of Indian movies, Raj Kapoor was also a huge patron of music and commissioned some of the most popular songs in the history of Bollywood. Kalapriya Dance company is recreating that old world charm that took thousands by storm when Kapoor and his leading ladies came on screen. This multimedia dance performance will incorporate classic Raj Kapoor film clips and live dance on March 7th and 8th 2014 at 7.30 pm at the Ruth Page Theater, located at 1016 N Dearborn St, Chicago, IL 60610.
Founded in Chicago in 1994 by critically acclaimed dancer and teacher Pranita Jain, Kalapriya’s programming supports India’s performing arts traditions through its dance troupe and dance classes, and through the presentation of Indian artists of dance and music, and through educational outreach in various community settings. Kalapriya programs are influenced by contemporary cultures of India, and the organization seeks diversity in its audience as well as among the artists with whom it works.
Shalaka G Kulkarni (www.shalakak.com) is a dancer, actor and choreographer. She started her Bharatnatyam training in India and continued her dance training when she moved to US. One of her teachers in Chicago has been Pranita Jain at Kalapriya. Under Kalapriya, Shalaka performed her solo debut in 2003. She has collaborated with dancers, musicians, video artists, visual artists, actors, and writers in creating interdisciplinary works. She founded a collective called SurTaal to create innovative work that fuses Indian Classical with other dance styles and media. She has presented her work at festivals and venues like Dance Chicago 2004-2007, Stockyards Women Festival, Loyola, University of Chicago, for Kalapriya Dance Company, Harper College, Depaul University, Columbia College Chicago, Prop Theatre and for FIA Chicago. She is the winner of the 2005 Dance Chicago Outstanding Award for her work, “Untamed”. She was commissioned to develop new work for Chicago Cultural Center through their 2007 Dance Bridge residency program. She holds MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts and Media from Columbia College Chicago.
Please contact Kalapriya at 312 436 2789 or info@kalapriya.org for further details. Please visit www.kalapriya.org or www.facebook.com/kalapriya for more information about the not-for-profit organization.
