| Ektaa Center for Arts and
Culture of India Set for Grand Opening
Irvine – For
the estimated 30000 Asian Indians in Orange County, the new Ektaa Center
will be home to the many arts and culture representing the vast diversity
of the sub continent. For all the residents of Orange County it provides
a window to that part of the world and to learn or experience the arts
and culture of India. 'This is the first Center of its kind in the South
County area if not in the Southern California' said Harish Murthy,
the executive Director of the Ektaa Center. Set to have its grand
opening on Oct 2nd, the Center will feature a variety of the traditional
arts of India as well as events to showcase various unique aspects of the
culture and the fabric of the ethnic community. The Deputy Consul General
from the Indian Consulate in San Francisco along with local city
officials Mayor Larry Agran and Councilmember Beth Krom are to be among
the many invited to partake in the this event.
Starting in 1989 as Arpana Foundation,
a non profit organization to present the Dances of India, the Ektaa Center
was born in 2003 as a result of a redefinition of its vision. Realizing
the rapid growth of people of Indian origin in the area and the increasing
curiosity of the broader community in Indian culture, the vision was restated
to encompass all the arts of India and to consider the possibility of a
Center to house all these activities. Since the renaming of the organization
in 2003, they have been actively seeking a suitable venue to house its
activities. While long term plans are afoot to build a Center, the immediate
objective was to secure a leased space to make a beginning. By virtue of
its location and diverse community, the organization set its sights on
Irvine as the location for the new Center.
In June 2004, the lease was
signed and the new Ektaa Center was established in Irvine. 'Since then,
we have been working towards getting the activities started and making
the community aware of our presence'. To date they have classes in Bharata
Natyam (S. Indian classical dance), Film and Folk Dances and Yoga.
Slated to start very soon are classes in percussion instruments such as
the Tabla and mridangam, North and South Indian classical vocal and
instrumental music, other dance styles from India and workshops on
Ayurveda and other aspects of Indian culture. People will also have opportunities
to learn Indian languages.
'We are extremely excited
about how we can make a contribution to cross cultural appreciation and
understanding and are forging valuable partnerships to accomplish these
goals' explained Murthy. The first collaborative project, a dance concert,
was with the Irvine Barclay Theater (www.thebarclay.org) in June 2003.
In June 2004, the Center worked with the City of Irvine Community Services
department to participate in the Irvine Global Village Festival to represent
Indian culture. In August, they jointly presented a program on the Nobel
laureate Rabindranath Tagore at the Cerritos Public Library. In
October, they will present 'Festival of Lights', a program on the popular
festival Diwali at the Lakeview Senior Center in partnership with the Irvine
Multicultural Association. They are also expecting to partner
with the local Universities such as UCI to promote the education of the
arts of India.
Irvine based Ektaa Center
is committed to create an awareness and understanding of the traditional
arts and culture of India through diverse medium such as dance, music
or theater and related arts. In the last 15 years, they have presented
over 30 visiting artistes such as Birju Maharaj, Kelucharan Mohapatra
and Prof. C.V. Chandrashekar at popular venues such as the Barclay
in Irvine and the Torrance Cultural Arts Center. With grants from Arts
OC, California Arts Council, Alliance for California Traditional Arts (ACTA)
and the Fund for Folk Culture, the Ektaa Center will continue to strive
for interesting art presentations and dialogues. For information please
call (949) 752-0666 or go online at www.ektaacenter.org or email info@ektaacenter.org
|
