PURUSHA: DANCING LIKE MEN

Samskriti’s curtain raiser for its 2025 season of programs is also a celebration of the organization’s 30 years of glorious service to Houston arts. As a mark of this special milestone, Samskriti has made this event free to the public. Three dynamic young male dancers, Dr. Puneet Panda from Atlanta, Vivek Ramanan from New Jersey, and Shashank Iswara from Dallas, will showcase their unique talents, and their mastery over the technique of the South Indian classical style of Bharatanatyam, in PURUSHA: DANCING LIKE MEN. It is a matter of great pride to Samskriti to present three artists who live and practice their art here in the US, but are frequently invited to perform all over the country and abroad.

For a long time Bharatanatyam was perceived as a female prerogative, and that men should not pursue this art form. But that line of thinking has, fortunately, changed. Our three exceptionally talented dancers, who have full-time careers, are passionate about their art and committed to it, and prove, beyond any doubt, that men make excellent dancers. After all, the first male dancer in the universe was Shiva-Nataraja, Lord of the Dance!