american mirror
Indian kathak dance and Western chamber music come together in this rare and innovative collaboration inspired by composer Derrick Skye’s work, American Mirror.
“Performing [these pieces] with Leela gives the music a brand new flavor, as well as a feeling of inevitability; it’s as if the music was always meant to be accompanied by their choreography.”
– Maia Jasper White, Co-Artistic & Executive Director, Salastina
About American Mirror
Derrick Skye’s American Mirror reflects on the coming together of cultures in our society, through the generations of refugees, immigrants, and slaves that have landed on the shores of America. In so many ways, the music speaks to the story of kathak dance in America. The form was brought to the U.S. by Indian immigrants in the 60’s and 70’s and has evolved over the decades through conversation and exchange with the diverse cultures and communities here. The meeting and melding of cultures is quintessentially American. Leela Dance Collective’s choreography weaves another dimension into the story that American Mirror tells.
What Audiences Are Saying
“Salasntina’s virtuosic musicians burst forward on a journey outside of western lyric and rhythmic boundaries, and from the east Leela answers in kind with the ancient, sublime and percussive movement vocabulary of kathak dance. It is an innovative and engaging dialogue; meditative, explosive, global and timeless”
– Ronda Berkeley, Leela Dance Collective Board Member & Audience Member
Performances
Association of Performing Arts Professionals Conference – Showcase Performance, New York, NY
The Edye at BroadStage – Featured performance at the 2023 California Festival, Santa Monica, CA
Western Arts Alliance Conference – Showcase Performance, Seattle, WA
Electric Lodge – Open Rehearsal and Reception, Venice, CA
Doheny Mansion – Premiere Performance as a part of Salastina’s 22-23 Season, Los Angeles, CA
Newman Center for the Performing Arts – Artist Residency, Denver, CO
Show Information
Run Time: 30 minutes
Cast: 5 dancers, 4 musicians
Choreography: Rukhmani Mehta, Seibi Lee
Composers: Derrick Skye
Original Cast
Dancers: Seibi Lee, Rukhmani Mehta,
Joanna Meinl, Ahana Mukherjee,
Sonali Toppur, Carrie Jennings
String Quartet: Salastina – Kevin Kumar, Maia Jasper-White, Yoshika Masuda, Meredith Crawford
Leela Dance Collective
23650 Community Street
Los Angeles, CA 91304
P: 323.457.4522
E: info@leela.dance
Bookings
P: 775.560.2598
E: bookings@leela.dance
