Dancing Storytellers performing at the Segerstrom Center!

After a well received performance at KidWallah,  part of the ArtWallah Festival, the Dancing Storytellers are rehearsing to present a newly improved excerpt of our show, “The ‘Summ’ of All Things” at the Segerstrom Center in September!

    Kidwallah 2018, photos by Adnan Hussain 

COME JOIN US!
Sept 15, 2018
10:55am-11:15am
Beckmen Arts and Science family Festival

Julianne and George Argyros Plaza,
Segerstrom Center for the Performing Arts, Costa Mesa

Free – No Tickets Required
The entire event is 10:30am-2:30pm
Check details and the other great line-up of performers here:  http://www.scfta.org/events/2018/beckman-arts-and-science

If you missed it at Kidwallah, here’s your chance!  If you saw, it spread the news and bring friends!  

Summ

The “Summ” of All Things, illuminates cycles in nature through imaginative South Asian dance, music, and stories. Audiences will delight in a Bhangra dance, which celebrates the harvest and contemporary Indian dance will unveil the trans-formative life of a butterfly.
Written and directed by Shyamala Moorty
Choreographed and performed by Shyamala Moorty and Ulka Simone Mohanty
Composed by Neelamjit Dhillon
Backdrop art by Khushboo Gulati
Set and Costume design: Ulka Simone Mohanty and Shyamala Moorty
Science consultation by Meredith Casalino
Special thanks to Dawn Dyson, Rosina Didyk, and Kashyap Trivedi
Created with support from Segerstrom Center for the Arts’ STEAM Integration Lab.

KidWallah Audience members hanging out and dancing after the show, photos by Adnan Hussain

*Don’t forget, you can book The “Summ” of All Things into your kids’ schools, theaters, and libraries through the Segerstrom Center for the Performing Arts:  www.SCFTA.org/artsteach
call 714-942-6201, or email artsteach@SCFTA.org

And our signature show Indian Mythology and Me is available both through the Segerstrom Center (info above) and the LA Music Center:
http://www.musiccenter.org/education/School-Programs
Phone: 213-972-4310
Email: schoolprograms@musiccenter.org

Sneak peek of our new show: The “Summ” of All Things

The Dancing Storytellers newest show, The “Summ” of All Things, illuminates cycles in nature through imaginative South Asian dance, music, and stories. Audiences will delight in Bhangra dance, which celebrates the harvest; an interactive hand dance will unveil the trans-formative life of a butterfly; and a beautiful Sufi story will uplift the audience as they follow a river on its cyclical journey.  The “Summ” of All Things was written and directed by Shyamala Moorty, choreographed and performed by Shyamala Moorty and Ulka Simone Mohanty, composed by Neelamjit Dhillon, science consultation by Meredith Casalino, and created with support from Segerstrom Center for the Arts’ STEAM Integration Lab.

Shyamala and Ulka in Summ Audition See these wacky new characters come to life: Shyamala Moorty as the “Monarch Queen” and Ulka Simone Mohanty as the “Farmer”

This Fall, The “Summ” of All Things will be touring Elementary Schools in Southern CA through the Segerstrom Center for the Arts.  Meanwhile, check out a sneak preview that you can bring your whole family to at Kidwallah, a part of the South Asian arts festival, Artwallah:  June 2, 11am-12:15pm, Highways Performance Space, Santa Monica, CA.

Click here for more information:  Kidwallah

Donate here to ensure a spot: Artwallah/Kidwallah Donations

Kidwallah banner
Photos from last year’s Kidwallah, courtesy of Adnan Hussain

 

Indian Mythology and Me

Now known as “Indian Mythology and Me” our show is represented on the Music Center on Tour Artist Roster and has undergone some upgrades, including this beautiful new backdrop by artist Khushboo Gulati (pictured below with the artist).

Dancing Storytellers Ulka 3Also pictured is our newest member of Dancing Storytellers, Ulka Simone Mohanty!

Ulka joined us in early 2017 when Sheetal was busy with wedding plans to perform the show while we continued to tour various schools across Southern CA.

She was a hit with the fans (as seen below signing autographs for kids)

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Ulka and Shyamala performed for over 2,000 kids in the 2016-17 school year.

Stay tuned for more news on the Dancing Storytellers spreading peace in all things, everywhere!

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Ulka and Shyamala  after performing at Dolores St. Elementary

 

Stories…on the MOVE! at the FORD

Thanks to all that joined us at the FORD!

Here are some memorable moments captured by Wendy Moorty:

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Sharing new choreography

 

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Dancing with musicians

 

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Interacting with the kids

 

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Dancing up a storm

 

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Making beautiful music

 

 

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Performing funny characters

 

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And finally, meeting families after the show!

The Big Elephant and the Little Mouse

One of the Panchantantra Tales we include in Stories…on the MOVE!, coming to the Ford Ampitheater Sat July 27,  is the tale of The Big Elephant and the Little Mouse:

Breaking the notions of big and small, powerful and weak, this is a story that teaches us never to under estimate anyone based on what they look like.

Here we are at Palisades Elementary, the big elephant towering over the little mouse….

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And here is a clip of the elephant rhythm we are working on in rehearsal…

[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/70343368 w=500&h=281]

Stories Moving People

Yesterday we had an open rehearsal of the new version of Stories…on the MOVE!  We were told by our colleagues that came to give us feedback that the show is “joyful” and “clever”!  We hope you join us for the fun on July 27th at 10am at the Ford Amphitheater! Get tickets here.

Meantime here’s some photos of some of the funnest parts of the show where we interact with the audiences, thanks to Gemina Gowdy who took photos at one of our performances at Palisades Elementary School.

After we taught this poem to the kids, using hasta mudras (hand gestures) to tell a story,  a kindergartener told us he thought the story was about how we’re all connected with our hearts!

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Here we’ve chosen a kid who was able to use abhinaya (expression) to show and angry demon king, Mahishasura.

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And now the courageous Durga has come to challenge Mahishasura’s repressive regime!

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The audience has to guess what happens…

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A bunch of 3rd grade boys saw us after the show and told us we were “cool!”

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Photo by Chris Emerick, courtesy of the Segerstrom Center for the Performing Arts.

Making Music, Making Magic!

Check out what we’ve been up to with our new musical collaborators Jas and Kamaljeet Ahluwalia!

See us live  Saturday July 27, 2013 @10am at the FORD  Get your on-line tickets here!

In the meantime, here’s a tidbit from our musical rehearsals:

[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/69760208 w=500&h=281]

A rhythm from Northern Ghana on the Calabash mixing with Hindustani music on the tabla and santoor.

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Making music in front of the altar at Khmer Arts Academy while Khmer Art’s Associate Artistic Director, Prumsodun Ok, works in the background.

Our rehearsals for the Ford’s BIG!WORLD!FUN! series have been generously supported with rehearsal space from West LA College (video above) and at the Khmer Arts Academy (pic above).

“To Watch Us Dance Is To Hear Our Hearts Speak” – Hopi/Choctaw Proverb by Derrick “Suwaima” Davis

Welcome to the blog and website of Dancing Storytellers, Sheetal and Shyamala!

We are dancers and storytellers,

singers and percussionists,

actors and educators.

We are here to bring ancient stories from India to life…in new ways.

These stories were passed down to us by our families, by our gurus, by hours of reading Amar Chitra Katha comic books, and now we are going to pass these stories on to you!

We are currently working on adapting our children’s school-assembly show, “Stories…on the MOVE!” for the 2013 Big! World! Fun! Family series at the FORD AMPHITHEATER.  This includes working with live musicians, Jas and Kamaljeet Ahluwalia.  We’ll be posting more on these incredibly talented musicians in future posts.

In the meantime, get to know us.  We’re looking forward to getting to know you!

~ Sheetal and Shyamala