The Indian dance company Nadanta will present “The Rhythms of India” Saturday at the Ford Community & Performing Arts Center. Pictured are: Priya Joshi (front row left), Rachna Chhaya, Priya Badhwar, Nikeeta Kanagaraj (back row left), Anjali Patel, Nirmal Pathak, Poonam Desai and Pooja Patel.
The world premiere of “Rhythms of India,” featuring music by A.R. Rahman and choreography by Chaula Thacker, will be performed by the Nadanta Indian dance company at 7 p.m. Saturday in the Ford Community & Performing Arts Center.
The performance, with dazzling costumes and sets, is designed to take the audience on a journey of discovery from India’s heritage of classical music and dance to the leading edge of contemporary Indian ar-tistic expression.
Rahman, a composer, musician and singer known as the “Mozart of Madras,” won two Oscars, two Grammys and a Globe Award for the movie “Slum Dog Millionaire.” His scheduled concert in June at the Pontiac Silverdome was cancelled when elaborate sets for the performance were destroyed in an infra-structure accident. The concert is being rescheduled.
Thacker, founder and artistic director of Nadanta, has won more than 100 awards for choreography and costume design. She has taught at colleges through-out Michigan, and her dances have been featured on television in the United States and India.
Among Thacker’s many metro Detroit students dancing or otherwise involved in the “Rhythms of In-dia” are former Riverview resident Priya Badhwar, Anjali Garg of Wyandotte and Bhavna Gupta of Grosse Ile.
Tickets ($20, $30 and $50) are available by call-ing (248) 705-8224 or e-mailing [email protected]
The Ford Center is at 15801 Michigan Ave., Dearborn.
Coming up . . .
July 31, Aug. 1, Sept. 4 and 5 — Film in Detroit Historical Society series, “Radio Priest,” the story of the rise and influence of Father Charles Coughlin and the nation’s changing attitudes toward him; 1 p.m. at the Detroit Historical Museum; free with regular ad-mission (adults, $6; youths, seniors and college stu-dents, $4; children under 4, free); parking, $4; for more information, call (313) 833-1801 or go to www.detroithistorical.org.
Aug. 5 — Fund-raiser for Officer Steven Prusak, former Wayne County Sheriff Deputy and officer with the Louisville Metro Police; 5 to 10 p.m. at Crystal Gardens Banquet Center in Southgate; Prusak is the son of Alice Prusak of Southgate, human resources director at Crystal Gardens; tickets, $20, include din-ner, beverages and raffles; for tickets or more infor-mation, call (734) 285-2210.
Aug. 18 — Talk and slide presentation in the Downriver Council for the Arts lecture series, “Bot-ticelli and Medici Intrigue”; 7 p.m. at the Wyandotte Arts Center, 81 Chestnut; the program will examine works of Sandro Botticelli, painter for the Medici fam-ily in Florence during a period of intellectual fervor and violence; the fee is $15 per person ($10, DCA members; $5, students); for more information, call (734) 720-0671.
Sept. 19 — “An Afternoon at the Opera,” to be presented by the Bellini Opera Society and the Down-river Council for the Arts; 4 p.m. at the Wyandotte Arts Center, 81 Chestnut; featuring Eva Evola, Shawn McDonald; Karl Schmidt, Dino Valle and special guest Lara Semetko; Jacqueline Csurgai-Schmitt will be the accompanist and Dino Valle, commentator; tickets are $20 (seniors and students, $15); for tickets or more information, call the DAC at (734) 720-0671 or Bellini Opera at (313) 702-9264.