I’m posting this a few days early to make up for not doing an August entry and to remind you to buy your tickets for VOICES OF RESISTANCE!

Voices of Resistance 9: Fair and Lovely @ Old Town School of Folk Music
Sunday, September 12 @ 6:00pm

Join SAPAC for our 9th annual political/performing arts showcase! This year’s theme, Fair and Lovely, elicits many images and responses, including complexities of identity; the divisions within us, our families, communities and beyond; historic and contemporary understandings of beauty; privilege within our communities; and the struggles for acceptance and compassion in our lives. VOR 9: Fair and Lovely promises to be an entertaining, inspiring and informative evening, continuing the tradition of showcasing fine South Asian talent! Buy your tickets today!

SAPAC presents Dr. Subba Rao @ Hamdard Center ADDED 8/26
Thursday, September 2 @ 6:30pm

Dr. S.N. Subba Rao, a fellow of Gandhi Peace Foundation and founder of National Youth Project, gives a talk at the Devon office of the Hamdard Center.

Anjal Chande @ Harold Washington Library ADDED 8/30
Wednesday, September 1 @ 12:15pm

Bharatanatyam dancer Chande performs and discusses using dance in storytelling.

Jitish Kallat @ Art Institute of Chicago
Saturday, September 11 – January 2, 2011

“September 11–—today the date alone refers to the unforgettable events of 2001, the terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Yet, 108 years earlier in 1893, this date was marked by a very different occasion, the landmark speech by Swami Vivekananda at the First World Parliament of Religions promoting religious tolerance. Internationally renowned Indian artist Jitish Kallat draws attention to the great chasm between these two events with his site-specific installation, Public Notice 3,” opening September 11.

Kallat gives an introductory lecture on the exhibit at 6:00pm on Friday, September 10. At 9:00pm the same night, the museum hosts an After Dark event featuring tours of its Indian and Southeast Asian art collections, a set by DJ Madrid, and performances by theater collective Collaboraction.

Subcontinental Drift @ Delicious
Thursday, September 16 @ 7:00pm

The 3rd installment of this South Asian open mic moves to River North for the downtown working crowd. Comedian Saurin Choksi emcees, and a desi DJ spins after the show.

3rd International Ramayana Conference @ Northern Illinois University
Saturday, September 18 – Sunday, September 19

NIU, the University of Illinois, and the International Ramayana Institute of North America co-sponsor this annual academic conference.

India Calling! @ Various venues
Tuesday, September 21 – Thursday, September 23

This year’s edition of the venerable World Music Festival kicks off with India Calling!, a free 3-day festival featuring music and dance performances, an exhibit of photographs by Steve McCurry and paintings by Paresh Maity, yoga and meditation classes, films, artisans from rural villages of India, and more. Events take place at Millennium Park, the Chicago Tourism Center, and the Chicago Cultural Center.

The opening night concert at Millennium Park’s Pritzker Pavilion features tabla virtuoso Zakir Hussain and Bharatanatyam dancers Mythili Prakash and Ensemble.

September 21 schedule
September 22 schedule
September 23 schedule

Delhi 2 Dublin & Red Baraat @ Darkroom
Friday, September 24 @ 9:00pm

World Music Festival Chicago and Bhangratheque present a night of bhangra music with Vancouver-based 5-piece Delhi 2 Dublin and dhol ‘n’ brass band Red Baraat. Includes a set by DJ Jimmy Singh and bhangra dance lessons by Ajanta.

Geetakshari @ Prairie Center for the Arts
Sunday, September 25 @ 7:00pm

Navarang presents this musical contest for fans of Bollywood. Teams of 2 will be auditioned Sept. 12, 1-4pm, at Schaumburg’s Prairie Center, and finalists will compete for prizes of $200-400 on Sept. 25. Contact navarangentertainment@gmail.com, 630-980-9870, or 630-881-0757 for more info.

Jaswinder Bolina @ Sherwood Conservatory
Wednesday, September 29 @ 5:30pm

Bolina, the 2010-11 Liberal Arts and Sciences Emerging Poet-in-Residence at Columbia College Chicago, joins felow poet Becca Klaver for a fall reading.

.

Voices of Resistance 9: Fair and Lovely
Sunday, September 12, 2010
6:00 – 8:00pm
Old Town School of Folk Music
4544 N. Lincoln Ave.
Chicago, IL

BUY YOUR TICKETS TODAY!
$15 General Public/$13 Old Town School Members/$11 Seniors & Children

In its ninth year, Voices of Resistance (VOR) seeks to create a space for South Asian artists to use their art as a powerful means of social commentary that empowers and transforms.

Our event last year at Old Town School of Folk Music was a great success, with over 300 attendees. This year we look forward to continuing the tradition of politically conscious art with a show that speaks to our VOR9 theme of Fair & Lovely. This year’s theme elicits many images and responses, including complexities of identity; the divisions within us, our families, communities and beyond; historic and contemporary understandings of beauty; privilege within our communities; and the struggles for acceptance and compassion in our lives.

VOR9 Performers:

Sapna Kumar
Storytelling

Pushkar Sharma
Poetry

Mary Anne Mohanraj
Spoken Word

Ahalya Satkunaratnam
Dance

Shilpa Bavikatte and Kant Desai
Music

Fawzia Mirza
Video

Raman Sachdev
Music

Faisal Mohyuddin
Poetry

VOR 9: Fair and Lovely promises to be an entertaining, inspiring and informative evening, continuing the tradition of showcasing fine South Asian talent! Spread the word!

July 31 is the deadline to submit an application to perform/participate in this year’s VOR: FAIR AND LOVELY! Please forward the call to your friends/colleagues who may be interested in participating. We are specifically looking for proposals from visual artists and dancers–so network away, folks, and help this year’s VOR committee!

Please direct your friends/potential applicants/artists extraordinaire to the following address where they can find info and our Call for Artists:

http://www.sapac.org/blog/2010/05/16/are-you-fair-lovely/

Thanks so much for all of your help! We look forward to receiving your submissions!

Best,
SAPAC and the VOR committee

The dancing itself is passable, but nothing great (at least with Jose). What really bothered me were the ridiculous costumes and motif and the judges’ reactions.

Let’s start with those costumes. As my friend Sandhya exclaimed over email during the show, “SERIOUSLY, GENIE IN A BOTTLE???!!!?!???” The portrayal of South Asians as genies in a bottle, along with the stupid “I Dream of Jeannie“/Aladdin costumes, were enough to ruin whatever positives might come from a mainstream show featuring an aspect of desi culture. If this truly is “the Indian-American decade,” some people desperately need to catch up and ditch those age-old stereotypes.

Then there were the judges. Ah, the judges. So often encouraging and constructive in their critiques, but just as often awkwardly inarticulate. In this case, they were just dumb. They ripped Billy for his unconvincing krumping, Alex for his not-smoldering-enough Fosse, and Kent and Ashley for not emoting enough–even though they all neared technical perfection–but gave a pass to Jose for his technically incompetent Bollywood dance because he was “having fun.” It might have been the most blatant double standard I’ve ever seen on reality TV, and I’ve watched every season of “Top Chef.”

If they really want to be able to judge technique, why not tackle a classical South Asian dance form like Bharatanatyam or Kathak–or even Bhangra, which many people don’t realize is quite challenging when done correctly?

• A behind-the-scenes glimpse at a rehearsal — Thursday, Feb. 25, 10am-1pm (free with museum admission)
• Three performances — Friday, Feb. 26 – Sunday, Feb. 28 ($40/$32 MCA members/$10 students)
• A masterclass — Saturday, Feb. 27, 11am-1pm ($15/$10 with performance ticket)

Khan’s work looks very cool. Plus composer/musician Nitin Sawhney created an original score for the piece. (He’s also collaborated in the past with Anish Kapoor, known to Chicagoans as the creator of Millennium Park’s Cloud Gate, and entertainers Juliette Binoche and Kylie Minogue). Check out a video of Khan’s work:

EDIT: Time Out Chicago and the Chicago Tribune also posted nice articles about Khan’s company’s visit.