“This is the first time salsa, bharatanatyam and kathak have been staged together as a single choreographic and musical work in New York.” — Organizers of When the Sun Rises
A new dance and music production set to premiere at the Alvin Ailey Citigroup Theater later this month will bring together salsa, bharatanatyam and kathak in what organizers describe as a first-of-its-kind collaboration on a New York stage.
Titled When the Sun Rises, the production will be presented from June 26 to 28 by Baila Society and Navatman as part of their ongoing Roots of Resilience series. The work is co-directed by Sahasra Sambamoorthi, artistic director of Navatman, and Ahtoy Juliana, founder of Baila Society.
According to the organizers, the production marks the first time the three dance traditions have been integrated into a single choreographic and musical work while maintaining the artistic integrity of each form.
The performance will feature a live original score developed over two years and performed by nine musicians representing both South Asian and Afro-Latin musical traditions. The ensemble includes Andrea Chavarro, Katherine Ocampo, Daniela Serna, Ayamey Bell Torriente, Juan Pulido, Radhika Iyer, Shraman Sen and Sanjay Natesan, with compositional consultation from Manuel Marquez.
The score blends a diverse range of musical influences, bringing together Carnatic vocals, Cuban son, mridangam, congas, sitar and saxophone. Organizers say the production explores themes of separation, loss, grief and resilience while examining the process of building connections across cultural and social differences.
Among the featured sections are a Virutham in Durga ragam, a flamenco-inspired passage built on the Bowli scale, a Krishna-Elegua segment combining Carnatic devotional music with Yoruba bembé traditions, a piece titled Taken, and a trilingual bolero called I Woke Up With a Dream. The performance concludes with Matriarchy, an extended finale structured around a bharatanatyam varnam.
The production is led by two women-founded arts organizations and has been developed in response to contemporary social and cultural conversations, according to the creators.
When the Sun Rises will be staged at the Alvin Ailey Citigroup Theater at 405 West 55th Street in Manhattan. Performances are scheduled for June 26 at 8 p.m., June 27 at 7:30 p.m. and June 28 at 3 p.m.
Organizers note that the production contains emotionally intense material and may not be suitable for children under the age of five.
