Vedic Cultural Center gratefully acknowledges grants from
4Culture, the Redmond Tourism Fund and the City of Redmond Arts
Commission for conducting Ananda Mela: Joyful Festival of India in
2011. <<<more details>>>
Many cultures. Many art forms. Many cuisines. Many regions. Many languages. Many gods and goddesses. Many landscapes. Many colors. So diverse yet so united. So ancient yet so modern. So grand. So majestic. So mysterious. That’s incredible India.
Ananda Mela is the largest festival in the Northwest showcasing the diversity of incredible India. It is a FREE outdoor festival held at the Redmond City Hall campus, drawing around 20,000 attendees over a glorious summer weekend.
Enjoy the rare live performance of folk music, exotic instruments, folk dance, haunting tunes and lively rhythms, brought to you all the way from India by hereditary artists from regal Rajasthan! Dance to the ultra-modern electronica and world music at a live concert!! Revel in the excellence of a masterful Bansuri flute concert! And don’t miss the party hosted by high energy Bhangra and Giddha dancers in traditional costumes!!
Many more performances, visual art exhibition, demonstrations, displays, magicians, juggler, children’s activities, pony rides, community organization booths, and irresistible shopping opportunities to engage all attendees from start to finish!
Ananda Mela is conducted by the Vedic Cultural Center (www.vedicculturalcenter.org) under contract from the City of Redmond. The festival offers vast marketing potential for diverse businesses through sponsorship opportunities.
This three day event on July 29th to July 30th, 2011, organized by the Vedic Cultural Center (VCC) in partnership with many Indian-American organizations of the greater Seattle area, will take you on a journey you will enjoy immensely. Experience India in Redmond.
Delhi 2 Dublin A Wildly Contemporary High Energy Blend of Celtic and Punjabi Music
Vancouver-based Delhi 2 Dublin is a group of six musicians who mash up electronica and world music, keeping it heavy on the Bhangra, Celtic and Dub flavours. Fusing tabla, fiddle, dhol, Punjabi vocals, and electric sitar with scorching electronic beats - ranging from reggae to drum and base - the crew takes listeners on a wild ride through global sounds and synchronicities. Web:http://www.delhi2dublin.com
Born into a musical family, Josh
Feinberg was introduced to music through classical piano
at four years of age, and the bass at eight. As Josh
entered adolescence, he began studying jazz and
through that path found North Indian classical music. It
was the music of Ustad Ali Akbar Khan and Pandit Nikhil
Banerjee that made a particularly strong impression on
him. It was not unusual for him to practice Hindusthani
music for ten to twelve hours in a day. He studied with
Dr. Peter Row while attending the New England Conservatory
of Music in Boston. In 2005, Josh initiated his training
with Maestro Ali Akbar Khan. Presently, Josh is continuing
his training with Ali Akbar Khan’s sons Maestro Aashish
Khan and Sri Alam Khan, as well as his senior disciple Sri
Anindya Banerjee. Web:
http://joshfeinbergmusic.com/sitar-home/
Born in Seattle, Ravi Albright
has been a student of tabla in both India and the U.S.
since 1998. In 2006 he became a ganda-banda disciple of
Pandit Anindo Chatterjee of Kolkata. He began studying in
1999 with the talented student of Pt. Chatterjee,
Debopriyo Sarkar, and formally with Panditji himself in
2003. Ravi has studied accompaniment from and performed
with many accomplished musicians such as Pandit Debiprasad
Chatterjee, student of Pt. Nikhil Banerjee and Ustad Ali
Akhbar Khan, Bansuri player Deepak Ram, a senior disciple
of Pandit Hari Prasad Chaurasia, and sarod player Steven
Oda, a senior disciple of Maestro Ali Akhbar Khansab. Ravi
has also accompanied vocalists such as Mukesh Desi and
Sujata Gaynakar as well as performed in various classical
dance and folk festivals in the Seattle area, in
California, Oregon, and BC Canada. Web:
http://www.ravialbright.com/
Facebook:
a href="http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=28737218879">
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=28737218879
Formed in 2006, founded on their love and passion for
Bhangra. ABC brings 10 dancers to the dance floor, coming
from various background to showcase their talent and love
for bhangra. As a team Apna Bhangra Crew brings a new flavor
to the scene, although staying true to the traditional art
form, they incorporate a modern twist to their dance. First
and foremost the team's main focus is to entertain audiences
all across North America and spread cultural awereness
through competing at various stages/places and numerous
performances at cultural events, weddings and such.
Senior disciple of world-renowned bansuri maestro Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia
Best Instrumental Album, South African Music Awards, 2000
Nominated Best Male Artist & Best Instrumental Album, South African Music Awards, 1999
Deepak Ram is a versatile artist who is well known for his evocative performances in traditional North Indian (Hindustani)
Classical Music, his collaborations with musicians of other genres, his innovative compositions and for his excellence as a teacher. &>>more details
Eric is the creator of the Comprehensive
Lifestyle Plan (CLP) - a personal training philosophy with
the focus on the whole person.
Since 1998, Eric has
successfully used the Comprehensive Lifestyle Plan to change
the lives of countless clients. Core focused, the plan
encompasses preventative and rehabilitation therapy tools
designed with an element of fun. Eric has developed "African
Fitness Jam" as an alternative to traditional exercise. His
classes are based around safe movement and African dances
from a variety of African countries, but their main focus is
helping students become conscious of their body movements
and getting them to engage their core muscles.
Nalini/Blue Lotus
New Age Flamenco
Nalini/Blue Lotus with
New Age Flamenco
Nalini is an accomplished dancer trained in classical Indian
dance traditions. She has combined her formal training with
more modern expressions of Bollywood and Belly Dance.
Audiences are thrilled by her graceful and colorful
performances. Her dance school in Seattle is a fun
destination for learning dance and exercise disciplines to
body tone and health. Nalini has trained a group of
beautiful young ladies who perform Bollywood, Belly and
Gypsy dances that captivate audiences.
New Age Flamenco is a group of
professional musiciansformed in 1998 by bass player Oleg Ruvinov.Their music reflects an eclectic mix of Latin
influences, Mediterranean folk, European roots, jazz and a
Gypsy soul, blended with the infectious rhythms of modern
music. The influences are absorbed, and combined to create a
new, unique personal sound.
Ratna Roy, Ph.D., started her training in Odissi dance in 1972. One of his seniormost disciples of the guru of gurus, Pankaj Charan das, she has performed extensively as a soloist in India, the USA, Canada, Mexico, Great Britain, the Baltics, South Africa, Indonesia, Singapore, the Philippines, China, and Japan. She formed her dance company Urvasi in 1975 to train dancers in the guru’s legacy. Today Urvasi is considered to be one of the ten foremost companies in the world. In the US she is well-known for her own choreography based on her dual heritage as an Indian and an American.
Gatka is a weapons-based martial art of the Sikhs, imparted
to them in the time of Guru Hargobind Ji (the sixth Guru of
the Sikhs) by the Rajputs (Hindu warriors of northern India)
in the 16th century, in gratitude for their release from
imprisonment by the fledgling Sikh army of that time. Gatka
is taught as a spiritual exercise. Sikhism and gatka are
inextricably intertwined, in many ways. Gatka can be
practiced either as a sport (khel) or as a ritual (rasmi).
Though primarily an armed fighting style, gatka also
incorporates wrestling as part of its empty-handed training
component.
Anjuman: em>Indian/Afro-Cuban Ensemble is a Seattle based fusion group that combines the rhythmic vitality of salsa drumming with the melodic poignancy of East Indian ragas
Anjuman is Brandon McIntosh (sarod), Seth Littlefield (percussion) and Phil Georgas (bass). Anjuman regularly invites guest artists to perform with them. A few of the past performers are Archana Kumar (Indian kathak dancer), Johnny Conga (conga player), and Sri Neeraj Prem (sitar player).
The vast unending expanse of burning hot sand that makes up
the Thar Desert of Rajasthan hosts one of the most vibrant
and evocative music cultures of the world. The heady,
spellbinding combination of rhythms and melodies sung and
played by the Langas and Manganiars are part of the eternal
appeal of this mysterious and wondrous land. Rhythms of
Rajasthan comprises hereditary musicians of Langa and
Manganiar communities as well as a gypsy dancer of Kalbelia
tribe. Legends of heroism and romance are captured in the
vibrant evocative music and dance of these traditional
performers from the desert of Rajasthan. The hypnotic
combination of rhythm and melodies is part of the eternal
appeal of this mysterious and wondrous land, and reflects
the centuries-old traditions of Rajasthani life. Youtube Video
The Rhythm of Rajasthan tour is part of World Music
America and is made possible in part by a grant from the
National Endowment for the Arts.
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