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SIFA Celebrates 25 years in May 2004 |
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In May 2004, the South India Fine Arts (SIFA)
Association of the San Francisco Bay area marks 25 years of service in
promoting classical Indian music and dance in the Bay area, with a four-day
festival in downtown San Jose from May 28th to May 31st at the Center for
Performing Arts and at the Center for Employment Training (C.E.T.) in downtown
San Jose'.
SIFA is the premier organization in the San Francisco Bay area dedicated to the promotion, preservation, and presentation of South Indian fine arts. SIFA is a registered nonprofit organization, run by enthusiastic volunteers. Founded in 1979, from its humble roots with perhaps a 100 person audience at best, SIFA has matured into a respected North American arts association attracting a consistently large and diverse audience. In the early 80s, SIFA struggled to host five yearly concerts by visiting Indian artistes. There simply weren’t too many patrons of South Indian classical music and dance in the small pocket of South Indians in the bay area. The infrastructure did not exist nor were there many artistes visiting the bay area from India. Today, after twenty-five years, SIFA has taken the audio experience to the next level – for the performer and for the listener. Most programs are held at the state of the art facilities of C.E.T. in San Jose'. According to regular SIFA performers such as Sudha Raghunathan and Shashank Subramanyam, the bay area offers a savvy, receptive audience. Today, the 500 person theater at C.E.T. on San Jose’s Vine Street is packed many Sundays during the year, its sound systems seasoned by the strains of ‘Saveri’ and ‘Bilahari’, its foyer bouncing with the sounds of gossip and the smell of samosas, its ante-room always promising sambar, curd rice and masala chai to growling stomachs after a 3 hour concert! The gala SIFA festival will feature a wide array of leading artistes from India and talented bay area exponents of classical music and dance. On May 28th, the event opens with a grand vocal concert by Sangeetha Kalanidhi Shri T.V.Shankaranarayanan. Other senior visiting artistes include Aruna Sayeeram, Sudha Raghunathan, T. M. Krishna, Mysore Manjunath and the ever popular Mandolin U. Srinivas. The Jugalbandhi by flute maestros, Dr.N. Ramani & Hariprasad Chaurasia with Swapan Chaudhuri and Trichy Sankaran promises to draw an international crowd. In a tribute to the arts, respected teachers of different bay area dance schools will collaborate to present one grand dance production for the bay area audience, depicting ‘Sringara, the supreme emotion’. One of SIFA’s goals has been to preserve the South Indian Classical tradition in dance and music. During its Silver jubilee, SIFA will demonstrate its impact on the next generation of Indo Americans. The four-day event will also showcase the musical talents of many gifted youngsters who have pursued classical music with a passion. For further updates to the program and schedule, please visit SIFA’s website at www.southindiafinearts.org -- Input from Kalpana Mohan, SIFA, San Jose' |
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