Dance

In a recent issue of News & Notes, a twelve-week course on kolams was announced. It would help people, it said, to “find their compass, reorientate and be able to prioritise direction, regulate boundaries and thresholds within themselves and the surrounding world”.

The 15th August is always a special day in Auroville, but this 15th was particularly so as it marked the 150th anniversary of Sri Aurobindo’s birth and 75 years of India’s independence.

Vega is a facilitator of Nonviolent Communication, a “language of compassion” focused on deep listening and deep awareness of what we perceive, feel, and need.

On February 19th, a remarkable performance took place at the Sri Aurobindo Auditorium of Bharat Nivas. Inspired by the poem ‘Is this the end?’

Dance practices are even older than the invention of written languages. Archaeological evidence indicates that, for centuries, dance has played a major role not only as a performance art, but also as a form of storytelling and communication.

Alokananda Roy is a Calcutta-based dancer and educationist who gave a dance performance in Auroville called ‘Envisioning Our Mother: Sri Aurobindo’ in October.

Sangamam in Tamil means ‘confluence’ or ‘a group of people coming together’ and this was very much the spirit of this year’s gathering on the 4th of March that brought together around 8000 people from Auroville, its beautiful bioregion, and many friends and guests from around the world.

The occasion was celebrated with song, dance and poetry from around Europe

Bhu was a testimony to Auroville’s potential in bringing together diverse groups of people for synergetic collaborations. Conceived by Phillipe Pelen and Moucazambo Thierry of the visiting French theatre company “Les Porteurs d’eau,” Bhu drew its inspiration chiefly from conversations between the choreographers and Barbara of Ritam, Auroville and the work of Kalarigram, a Kalaripayattu institute in the vicinity of Auroville.

The month of February is culture month par excellence. Auroville Today selected three performances and one exhibition for a brief review - acknowledging that many other events deserved to be reviewed as well.

In 2009, the World Bamboo Congress in Thailand declared the 18th of September to be World Bamboo Day (WBD). This day is intended to raise awareness of bamboo, one of the best renewable resources, as one possibility for meeting the growing needs of our global population.