The Woodland Dance Academy is marking a major milestone by taking its celebration of East Indian culture from the television screen to a live audience.
The Academy recently hosted the seventh edition of its Shubh Din concert at the National Council of Indian Culture (NCIC) Auditorium in Chaguanas.
Founder, Tutor and Director of the Woodland Dance Academy, Shalene Surajbally-Persad, hosted the production over the weekend.
She said this year is particularly significant for the Academy as it prepares to celebrate nine years of promoting Indian dance and culture.
“On the 23rd of September the Woodland Dance Academy will make nine years’ anniversary, and the styles that we focus on are pure Bharatanatyam fused with Bollywood. Bollywood or film, as you all may know it, from the movies.”
This year’s Shubh Din also marked a major change for the production.
Traditionally recorded for television broadcast, the show was presented before a live audience for the first time, bringing together dance and music in a vibrant celebration of Indian culture.
Among the featured performers were the Rampersad Brothers, who said the opportunity to share the stage as a family is one they deeply value.
“It’s one opportunity that we have as brothers to share that stage to bring that energy together, and like my other brother mentioned earlier, it’s not always about just one and two of us. If one of us is missing, the chain is weak, one link missing, that’s it. So there’s a balance with work and music, and whenever we get that opportunity to share the stage, we appreciate that opportunity.”
Singer Peggy Seepersad, who frequently performs alongside the Rampersad Brothers, said she was impressed by the talent on display throughout the evening.
“Well, it has been spectacular. I think we have seen maybe about six dancers so far, and I have been blown away by each and every single one of them. Ms Kimlyn and Sudesh opened the programme with a beautiful bhajan, and I cannot lie, I was brought to tears. It is always a pleasure joining the Rampersad Brothers.”
For the Woodland Dance Academy, the seventh edition of Shubh Din was a celebration of artistry, heritage and community, with a new generation of performers helping to preserve and carry forward the rich traditions of Indian culture.