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Starting the Year Strong: Carnegie 2025

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by Sonia Ivancic



What do Shishyas do when they come back from winter break? Dance at Carnegie Hall! It’s true: 48 Shishyas of all ages—from our youngest performers to the adult class—will be taking on the grand Perelman stage on Saturday, January 18, 2025. Performing at this venue is the crowning achievement and lifelong ambition of many world-renowned artists. We are so grateful to Performing Arts Educators, an organization dedicated to giving young artists opportunities to perform in exceptional venues, for inviting us to Carnegie Hall. Our school, along with 13 others, will be dancing as part of The 16th Annual Performing Arts Educators Invitational. We will have the opportunity to meet and watch dance companies from across the country depicting forms ranging from Contemporary, Mexican, Irish, Ballet, and more. 

Some of our dancers are Carnegie veterans, having performed once with our school in January of 2020. Five years later, it feels amazing to return. We look forward to more memories on the awe-inspiring stage, moments of nervous-thrills and camaraderie in the wings, and enjoying the vibrant mix of international dance forms and cultures in the heart of New York. 

Learning the choreography is the easy part but finetuning the final component of spatial awareness is hard and requires a lot of imagination and focus.
Learning the choreography is the easy part but finetuning the final component of spatial awareness is hard and requires a lot of imagination and focus.

How does one even prepare for such a grand performance? The answer is a lot of practice! Our large team of dancers is divided into 5 smaller sections, each group meeting since early September to learn a portion of the dance. Our youngest dancers will begin our show with some perfected adavu sequences, followed by a melodious ode to the iconic Hindu Gods Ganesha and Krishna, by the intermediate students. Next, the advanced groups are presenting an energetic thilanna, before the adults come on with a strong Shiva piece. After months working on these segments with our groups, we began bringing our performance together over long afternoon rehearsals in the studio. All 5 groups finish as one on stage, each depicting one of the five elements for a powerful ending. Look forward to some brief lighting components that will enhance our classical, pure Bharatanatyam steps as we exit! 


After Sundays spent rehearsing in large gyms to familiarize ourselves with the vast size of the stage, we are ready for the second Shishya showing at Carnegie Hall. As the anticipation begins to mount, we are proud of our hard work, coordination, and joy that will surely light-up the Hall. More than that, as Shishyas, we are proud of the inclusivity and uplifting support that defines us and our Carnegie Team. Not only are we opening 2025 with this once-in-a-lifetime experience, Shishya will be opening the entire Carnegie Hall show as the first school to take the stage!


Costume rehearsal and group photos add to the excitement of Carnegie!
Costume rehearsal and group photos add to the excitement of Carnegie!


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