Krishnan Debuts Choreography at UC Davis, Jacob’s Pillow

"16 Shades of Red," a full-length choreography created by Hari Krishnan, associate professor of dance, premiered at the Mondavi Center at the University of California, Davis, on May 12 and 13. Krishnan is a member of inDANCE, one of Canada's most progressive dance companies. "16 Shades of Red," presented in two chapters, integrates original courtesan dance from South India, complex choreography, and live music. Watch a video of his performance below: [youtube width="700" height="450"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajR3keGPns8[/youtube] At Wesleyan, Krishnan teaches Bharata Natyam, or South Indian classical dance. "BN1 and BN3 students had performed material this semester at Wesleyan so incredibly well, and it was…

In the March 21 issue, the Toronto Star profiles Associate Professor of Dance Hari Krishnan in connection with his latest full-length work, "Holy Cow(s)!" Krishnan discusses the ways in which he often endures "ridiculous if non-malevolent cultural prejudices," such as assumptions that he practices yoga or doesn't eat beef due to his Indian heritage. Krishnan would prefer people to look beyond the stereotypes, beyond what he calls such false binaries as East/West, white/coloured, masculine/feminine, tradition/modernity. Says Krishnan: “I’m brown. I’m a beef-eating Hindu from Singapore and I’m proudly gay. I’m not a tourism poster.” Krishnan, an award-winning dancer/choreographer, is founder of the performing company…

Associate Professor of Dance Hari Krishnan has been named one of "10 Toronto Stage Artists to Watch This Winter" by NOW Toronto magazine, which highlights his upcoming spring production, "Holy Cow(s)!" exploring cultural appropriation. It will run March 23-25 at Harbourfront Centre Theatre. The profile of Krishnan states: "A few years ago, Krishnan heated up the local dance scene with a sizzling, eyebrow-raising piece about queerness called SKIN. Now, just in time to melt winter's last snow comes a white-hot mixed program sending up ideas about gender, sexuality and cultural taboos. The night of solos and ensemble pieces includes works…

In its most recent meeting, the Board of Trustees conferred tenure on Hari Krishnan, associate professor of dance. He joins seven other faculty members who were awarded tenure earlier this spring. In addition, seven faculty members were promoted to Full Professor: Mary Alice Haddad, professor of government; Scott Higgins, professor of film studies; Tsampikos Kottos, professor of physics; Edward Moran, professor of astronomy; Dana Royer, professor of earth and environmental sciences; Mary-Jane Rubenstein, professor of religion; and Gina Athena Ulysse, professor of anthropology. Brief descriptions of their research and teaching appear below. Associate Professor Krishnan teaches studio- and lecture-based dance courses on Mobilizing Dance: Cinema, the Body, and Culture…

Hari Krishnan, assistant professor of dance, recently received the Choreomundus Scholars in Residence Award, which will support a three-week residence at the University of Roehampton in London, beginning May 18. During his residency, Krishnan will teach and mentor Choreomundus students who are working on their final project. Krishnan expressed excitement over his award: "I am delighted and honored to be one of two recipients of the prestigious Erasmus Mundus grant for visiting scholars to the "Choreomundus International Masters in Dance Knowledge, Practice and Heritage" at the University of Roehampton’s Department of Dance in London." (more…)

The Dance Department now has a studio/office space of its own, having opened new digs in a converted church at 160 Cross Street Feb. 28 with a grand opening gala. Artist-in-residence, African dancer/drummer Iddi Saaka gave the inaugural performance at an intimate reception attended by dance majors and some early alumni from the program (which first took shape in the late '60s and early '70s as an extension of the Theater Department). “We finally have our own space, our own building, our own entity,” said Hari Krishnan, assistant professor of dance. “Statistically, more than 40 percent of students at Wesleyan have…

Assistant Professor of Dance Hari Krishnan has been nominated for the Bessie Award for Outstanding Performer for his solo performance of "The Frog Princess," which he performed as part of the La Mama Moves! Dance Festival in New York City in June and July. Forty nominees for the 2012-13 Bessies, formally known as The New York Dance and Performance Awards, were announced at a press conference at the Gina Gibney Dance Center in New York on July 17. The 29th Annual Bessie Awards will be held on Oct. 7 at the Apollo Theater in New York. Krishnan was one of…

Hari Krishnan, assistant professor of dance, was featured in two recent journals, The Dance Currant and Religion Compass. The Dance Currant article, “The Singular Path of Hari Krishnan,” discusses Krishnan’s solo at “The Men Dancers: From the Horse’s Mouth,” a concert of original choreography for the 80th anniversary season of the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival. Krishnan also appears as the subject of The Religion Compass article, “Innovations in Contemporary Indian Dance: From Religious and Mythological Roots in Classical Bharatanatyam.” The three-part essay traces a history of the revival of bharatanatyam, citing Krishnan as a pioneer of Contemporary Indian Dance. Krishnan…

Hari Krishnan, artist-in-residence in dance, received widespread media attention for his dance company's performance season in Canada. Positive reviews and articles appeared in the Toronto Standard, Toronto.com, Xtra!, To Live With Culture, Mooney on Theatre, and Fab Magazine. In other exciting news, Krishnan's dance company, inDANCE, was invited to present "Quicksand" and a new solo (commissioned for Jacob's Pillow) at the Canada Dance Festival, the country's most prestigious contemporary dance festival, on June 11.

Artist-in-Residence Hari Krishnan’s dance company inDANCE presented the Canadian premiere of Fallen Rain Oct. 1-2 at the Robert Gill Theatre in Toronto, Canada. The dance troupe performs Indian classical dance style bharatanatyam with Western contemporary eroticism. Under the artistic direction of Krishnan, inDANCE performed the 60-minute premiere as part of the Festival of South Asian Literature and the Arts and the University of Toronto’s The Centre for South Asian Studies. Initially choreographed as a series of solos and duets, the Canadian premiere of Fallen Rain features seven lyrical dancers and six musicians. It includes rare genres of dance that have never been presented on…

Hari Krishnan, artist-in-residence in the Dance Department, was featured in the March 13 issue of The Toronto Star. In an article titled, "Dance: Traditional Meets the Postmodern," Krishnan speaks about his dance troupe, InDANCE, which performs Indian classical dance style bharatanatyam with Western contemporary eroticism. Krishnan was raised in Singapore, part of the small island republic's Indian minority. He studied bharatanatyam and an imported European form of ballet. He embraced Western contemporary dance as an undergraduate in Canada. He holds a master's degree in dance from York University in Toronto. As a result, he's hard to categorize and this has proved to be…

Krishnan Debuts Choreography at UC Davis, Jacob’s Pillow

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