DANCING INTO THE 21ST CENTURY
2008 : May 4
Kaufmann Theater, American Museum of Natural History, New York City

BHAV BATAANA – The Art of Abhinaya
2007 : July 14
Sangeet Millenium, Carver Auditorium, Austin, Texas
Ghir ghir aaye baadara….
Thumri by Maharaj Bindadin

TIME TRAVEL – Kathak Through The Ages
2007 : June 15 & 16, 8pm
Ailey Citigroup Theater, The Joan Weill Center for Dance, New York, New York

SILSILAH: New Links in the Chain
2006 : July 12, August 24, August 26, and October 22
Summer in the Square – Union Square Park Summer Stage at 14th Street and Broadway – produced by the Union Square Partnership – July 12, 12:30pm
Downtown Dance Festival – produced by Battery Dance Company – Chase Plaza – August 24, 2006
Downtown Dance Festival – produced by Battery Dance Company – Battery Park – August 26, 2006
Sundays @ 3 ” in The Harkness Dance Center in the 92nd St Y – October 22

THE WORLDS OF KATHAK: Dancing for God, King & Commoner
Solo or duet classical Kathak with live musical accompaniment. “All those who attended enthusiastically praised your grace and skill and the way in which you related your dance to the visual art, as well as the excellence of the musicians and vocalist who accompanied you.” Sheryl Bar, The Philadelphia Museum of Art.

FROM DESERT TO RIVER DELTA
A lively mix of of classical Kathak and North Indian folk dance takes the audience from the Rajasthani desert, to Delhi where remnants of the British Raj mix with sights of India’s fast-paced modern capital, to the forests and river banks of Vrindavan where Krishna danced, to Agra’s Taj Mahal built by Shah Jahan for his beloved Mumtaz, to the nineteenth-century Moghul court of the Nawab of Oudh in Lucknow, and finally to peaceful and innocent Bengal as described in the songs of Nobel prize poet Rabindranath Tagore. Ensemble of five dancers, accompanied by live or recorded music.

POWER PLAY
2004 : Wednesday through Sunday, November 17-21, Wednesday – Saturday: evening shows at 8pm, Saturday & Sunday: matinee at 3 p.m.
University Settlement, 184 Eldridge Street, Manhattan
Choreography – Janaki Patrik
Commissioned Music – Dinuk Wijeratne

NEW YORK DELHI MIX
2001 : November 30
Kaye Playhouse, Hunter College, New York City.
A non-stop parade of dance styles and song forms, NEW YORK DELHI MIX follows six Indian dancers as they join their American friends in exploring the New York dance scene. Crossing stylistic boundaries in this journey of discovery, the artists communicate with each other in vibrant song and dance, including shades of humor, romance, classicism and urban chic. Nine Hindustani and jazz musicians accompany the journey through American gospel, bop, jazz and swing, and Indian folk, sacred, classical and Bollywood song and dance. “NEW YORK DELHI MIX transported the audience across centuries, countries and cultures in the space of an enchanted evening. One is tempted to use the classical Indian metaphor for the confluence of two streams: Kathak and tap flow into each other as beautifully as the Ganga and Yamuna at Prayag.” Jyotirmoy Datta in “Desi Talk – News India Times,” New York City.

ANDAAZ-E-RAQS: The Moghul Aesthetic
2000 : November 29
Ames Auditorium, The Lighthouse, New York City.
Janaki Patrik and Rani Khanam, both disciples of Pandit Birju Maharaj, illuminate the rich poetry and distinctive movement vocabulary of Moghul Kathak. Dances from the Moghul courts and social gatherings (darbar and mehfil) are filled with the grace and style (andaaz), which characterize an art born from the amalgam of Hindu and Muslim cultures. In languages ranging from classical Persian and medieval Braj to modern Urdu and Hindi, poets including Hazrat Amir Khusrau (thirteenth-fourteenth century) and Faiz Ahmed Faiz (twentieth century) explore concepts of the beloved as god, king or commoner. Poet and translator Tahira Naqvi is joined by Pandit Ramesh Misra on sarangi, Narendra Budhakar on tabla and vocalist Deepak Kumar. “You are the real cultural ambassador of India and your efforts to bring the rich culture of the two great nations closer are commendable.” Dr. Dinesh Paliwal, Education Consul, Consulate General of India in NY.

TARANA-TILLANA: North Indian Kathak and South Indian Bharata Natyam
1999 : December 3
Ames Auditorium, The Lighthouse, New York City.
Kathak dancer Janaki Patrik and Bharata Natyam dancer Maya Kulkarni perform jewels from the traditional repertoires of two North and South Indian classical dance styles. They are accompanied by an ensemble of musicians, tabla and mridangam drums, sarangi, bamboo flute, Hindustani and Carnatic vocal. “Miss Kulkarni showed her full brilliant range in the alternating series of pure dance and dramatic passages of the Varnam.” Anna Kisselgoff, The New York Times. “Patrik’s insistent and rapid-fire footwork (as wedded to the tabla as flamenco is to the guitar), detailed hand gestures and ever-shifting eye and body positions brought the dance drama Sadra to stirring life.” Pamela Sommers, The Washington Post.

VIOLENT PEACE: Mythology & Modern Dilemma
1998 : January 11
In traditional Indian storytelling (katha), good always triumphs. Gods and goddesses, heroes and heroines always reassuringly restore the balance between good and evil, often unleashing violence to restore peace. But in real history (itihas), the boundaries between good and evil prove illusory. Exploring the classical Kathak repertoire – and then adding a few stories from modern history – Janaki Patrik leads the audience into the heart of modern dilemma – does the end justify the means? Who are the heroes and who are the villains? Classical and modern stories are told with special reference to India’s great epic RAMAYANA, as illustrated by an 8 foot X 10 foot tradition Indian cloth painting (kalamkari) on which scenes from the story spiral into the central images of Ram, Sita & Lakshman enthroned. Three accompanying musicians. Created for OUT OF INDIA: Contemporary Art of the South Asian Diaspora, Queens Museum of Art, NYC, December 10, 1997 – March 22, 1998.