Program: Arangetram, Kavitha Devi Vijayasekar, 2007
Subject
Kavitha Vijayasekar
Date2007 August 11
MediumPaper
ClassificationsInformation Artifacts
Credit LineConnecticut Cultural Heritage Arts Program collections
CopyrightIn Copyright
Object number2015.196.37.2
DescriptionProgram: Bharatha Natya Arangetram, Kavitha Devi Vijayasekar, August 11, 2007.
This event was the arangetram,the first full Indian classical dance performance, by Kavitha Vijayasekar. She was an apprentice in Year 10 of the Southern New England Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program, learning Bharata Natyam from mentor Ranjani Saigal in 2007-2008.
NotesSubject Note: The Southern New England Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program is a CCHAP initiative since 1997 that fosters the sharing of community-based traditional (folk) artistic skills through the apprenticeship learning model of regular, intensive, one-on-one teaching by a skilled mentor artist to a student/apprentice. The program pairs master artists from RI, MA, or CT with apprentices from one of the other states, as a way to knit together members of the same community or group across state lines. Teaching and learning traditional arts help to sustain cultural expressions that are central to a community, while also strengthening festivals, arts activities and events when master/apprentice artists perform or demonstrate results of their cooperative learning to public audiences. The Connecticut Cultural Heritage Arts Program at the Connecticut Historical Society manages the program in collaboration with the Folk Arts Program at the Massachusetts Cultural Council and independent folklorist Winifred Lambrecht who has a deep knowledge of the folk arts landscape of Rhode Island. Primary funding for the program comes from the National Endowment for the Arts, with support also from the Connecticut Commission on the Arts, the Institute for Community Research, and the Connecticut Historical Society.This event was the arangetram,the first full Indian classical dance performance, by Kavitha Vijayasekar. She was an apprentice in Year 10 of the Southern New England Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program, learning Bharata Natyam from mentor Ranjani Saigal in 2007-2008.
Subject Note: The Year 10 Indian bharata natyam dance apprenticeship spent considerable time and money to develop a new story-dance with a high-quality music ensemble led by teacher Ranjani Saigal and a remarkable 90 minute performance by 15 year old apprentice Kavitha Vijayasekar in the lead role. The student’s family organized everything in collaboration with Milan, a CT-based Indian cultural group, drawing a large audience from the community.
Biographical Note: Ranjani Saigal is the founder of one of the oldest schools of Indian classical dancing in Boston and was honored by Governor Deval Patrick for her contributions to Indian Heritage and Fine Arts in Massachusetts. She received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Asian American Commission.
Biographical Note: Kavitha Vijayasekar is now (2021) a physician in Elmhurst, New York.
Additional audio, video, and/or photographic materials exist in the archive relating to these artists.
Cataloging Note: This project was made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services MA-245929-OMS-20.
Status
Not on view
Kavitha Vijayasekar
2008 June 21
