Indo-American Arts Council’s Erasing Borders Dance Festival 2026, A Feast For Afficionados

The Indo American Arts Council held its signature event, two nights of the ‘Erasing Borders Dance Festival’ at the Kaye Playhouse, Hunter College. September 19 to 20.

It was two nights, nine performances, and a stage that moved from Bharatanatyam to Odissi without losing a beat, September 19 and 20, with tasteful and diverse portrayals of classical and contemporary manifestation of Indian dance forms.

The IAAC thanked those who came to fill Kaye Playhouse this year, noting the highlights and “some moments from the festival worth holding onto.”

Ganesh Vasudeva & Nitya Narasimhan

Bharatanatyam, duo

The evening opened on the precision of two dancers with a duet built on symmetry, then quietly breaking it.

Preeti Vasudevan

Contemporary, solo

A solo that pulled the vocabulary of classical form into open, contemporary space. Restraint used as its own kind of power.

Sreelakshmy Kallungal Govardhan

Kuchipudi, solo

Footwork and storytelling in the same breath. The audience’s first hush of the night arrived somewhere in the middle of this piece.

Radhe Jaggi

Bharatanatyam, solo

Day One’s closing solo, a performance so splendid and so exact that it commanded the applause it received.

Organizers and participants posing at closing of Day one

Dr. Neena Prasad, with musicians

Mohiniyattam

The gentlest performance of the festival, and one of the most spellbinding. A masterclass in how much can be said by how one moves. With live musicians accompanying the piece, it was a rare treat for the audience.

Radha Varadan

Kathak, Solo

Aparna Sindhoor & Anil Natyaveda

Sindhoor Natya

Co-directors Aparna Sindhoor and Anil Natyaveda performed excerpts from their dance-theater repertoire, weaving Mysore-style Bharatanatyam with the sharp physical language of Kalarippayattu.