Battery
Dance Company
The Battery Dance company from New York
on it's 5th tour of the country, recently performed in
the capital on the 19th and the 20th of April at Kamani
auditorium. The dance performance - 'Layapriya'
was choreographed by Jonathan Hollander, founder
as well as the Executive and Artistic Director of Battery.
The dance company has completed 25 years of innovative
dance throughperformances like 'Zero.Two.Blue.Heaven.Seven'
and 'Mother Goose' all of which were choreographed
by Hollander himself.
 'Layapriya',
the much-awaited performance could be described as a
fusion between the dance styles of the East and the
West. Decorative hand gestures and an occasional step
suggest borrowings from the rich storehouse of Indian
tradition, yet these references are smoothly absorbed
into the contemporary idiom in a manner that attests
to Hollander's detailed observation of East Asian styles.
The Battery Dance Company was established in 1976 in
New York. Having over 50 productions to their credit,
they have performed at major concert halls and festivals
in North America, Europe and throughout South
Asia. The Battery enthusiastically promotes International
Cultural Exchange, engaging in cross-cultural collaborations
with dance and music artistes and designers participating
from many regions of the world.
 Many
of India's leading dancers have been introduced to American
audiences namely, the Jhaveri sisters, C.V. Chandrasekhar,
Mallika Sarabhai and Darpana, Sucheta Chapekar, Gopal
Dubey, Indira Bora and Arjun Misra to name a few.
Samuel Freeman Charitable Trust, ICCR,Indo American
Arts Council, Ford Foundation -India, Mazaa Media, The
Oberoi Group and Air -India, sponsored Battery's
Tour of India.
The Battery team visiting India consists of Jonathan
Hollander (Artistic Director), Frank Carlberg
(Composer/pianist of Zero and Mother Goose), Eero
Hameenniemi, Pat Dignan (Lighting Designer),
Barry Steele (Technical Director and Lighting Supervisor),
Dinesh Poddar (Co-Technical Director- India),
Christine Correa (Vocalist), Miche Sarin (Percussionist),
Noelle Braynyard (Costume Designer).
Battery's dancer's include: Adrianna Thompson.
She joined the company in 1996 and has performed throughout
the U.S., Europe and Asia. Tadej Brdnik. He joined
Battery in 1998 and returned to his native Slovenia
to perform with the Company in Ljubljana in1999. Ariel
Bonilla has performed in New York, Europe and South
Asia. Virginie Victoire Mecene. She has returned
to Battery Dance Company for its India tour, after accompanying
the company in 1996 to India with the cast of Hollander's
production 'Purush', 'Expressions of Man'. Nai-Yu
kuo, a native of Taiwan, makes her debut with the
company during this tour. Maurio Nardi also makes
his Battery debut during its 25th Anniversary Season.
Mariella Rietschel joined the company in the
year 2000 after having completed a 9-year tenure with
the Royal Swedish Ballet.
Address: Indian Council for Cultural
Relations (ICCR), Azad Bhavan,
I.P. Estate, New Delhi - 110 002
Phone: 371 2639, 371 0732 Fax: 331 8647
- Pritika Sethi
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4:39:54 AM 
