MADE for a Cause
Indian dance on stage
Indian meets Western in a stage first at this year’s annual Hawke’s Bay Indian Cultural Centre Music and Dance Event, Made For a Cause, next month.
Hawke’s Bay Indian Cultural Centre was established in 2015 by Deepthi Krishna and husband Sreejith Nair to promote Indian classical arts in the community.
“We have started classes for Indian classical dance followed by Indian classical music and both managed to attract the interest of not only the people from the Indian community but also from all the local communities,” Deepthi says.
To celebrate the centre’s progress and success, they put on a variety show event each year and donate part of the proceeds to a different charitable organisation. The chosen charity for this year’s Made for a Cause is Kidney Kids NZ. The show will include two hours of entertainment with theatre/drama, Indian classical dance and music. The ticket price includes a three-course Indian meal before the show.
“The public response to last year’s event was amazing — our anticipation is even higher this time with more attractions on stage.”
Deepthi says the highlight of this year’s event is the debut staging of Shakuntala! an original Indian/Western fusion of contemporary theatre and classical Indian dance, telling the tale of the young maiden Shakuntala from the world’s longest epic poem, the Mahabharata. Shakuntala! is a collaboration between director Ken Keys, scriptwriter Pauleen Hayes and music director Anton Wuts. Deepthi says also in store are a variety of Indian dance performances from the students of HBICC, with an appearance by Abhishek Ravi, winner of the 2018 TV3 dance reality show The Great NZ Dance Masala, The Disciples, winner of the Indi King Evolution 2018 dance competition, other contestants from the TV3 show and other talented dancers.
■ Made for a Cause, Napier Municipal Theatre, Saturday, March 9, 4.30-8.30 pm. Tickets available through Ticketek. Adults $30, children under 10 years, $15.