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On man and Nature
When the Cleveland Cultural Alliance presented the dance theatre production, "The Living Tree" in Chennai early this year, it got a very encouraging response from its audiences. Enthused by that, the production is being staged once again in Chennai on November 22, 6.30 p.m., at the Music Academy. The performance is in aid of the Spastic Society of Tamil Nadu.
The Cleveland Cultural Alliance (CCA), a non-profit organisation, was established in 1991 by Uma Ganesan to promote Indian art traditions among American audiences.
The CCA has been the driving force behind several productions, including "Jaya Jaya Devi", "Abhyaasa" and "Jungle Book". The CCA also holds summer camps in the U.S. annually, conducted by dance teacher G. Narendra.
The story of "The Living Tree", based on a folk tale, works on two levels. If on one level, it deals with the relationship between a young village girl and a tree, on another level it is about the strong bond Man has with Nature; it is all about the spirit of sharing and caring.
G. Narendra has choreographed the production, which is inspired by Shel Silverstein's story "The Giving Tree" and based on an Indian folk tale, "The Mango Tree".
The music is by violinist V.S.Narasimhan (of the Madras String Quartet fame), while Lucille Gruber has scripted the dance drama. In fact, Lucille has done extensive reading of the Upanishads to select verses for the production.
Among the dancers, Mahalakshmi plays the little girl, with C.A. Joy Neewin Hershall and M. S. Hariharan, among others, lending support.
Donor passes (Rs 500, Rs 300, Rs 200, Rs 100 and Rs 50) for the production are available at The Music Academy premises from November 15 onwards between 11.00 a.m. and 6.00 p.m. For more details, call 4942985.
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