2,500 attendees fill NJPAC to watch performers from US and India.
By Deepak Chitnis
WASHINGTON, DC: The New Jersey Performing Arts Center hosted the “Mystic India: The World Tour” event on Saturday, March 8 in Newark, New Jersey, where nearly 2,500 people gathered to watch an Indian musical and sensory extravaganza.
“Mystic India brought Bollywood to Newark, dazzling over 2300 patrons at [the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC)],” said David Rodriguez, Executive Producer at NJPAC. “With 60 performers, Mystic India was a spectacle that had the crowd dancing in their seats, and showcased the breadth of music and dance that India has to offer.”
The show commenced with performances that had religious connotations, with dances that were tributes to the many Gods of Hinduism. This was followed by a series of performances that highlighted specific regions throughout India — for example, bhangra represented the Punjab region, while garba was performed for the state of Gujarat. India’s history was also highlighted, with performances dedicated to rulers such as King Akbar and other royal emperors. And of course, there were plenty of dances to popular Bollywood songs.
“Mystic India” was put on by Aatma Performing Arts; in a statement, “Mystic India” founder and director Amit Shah said that the entire show was a tribute to how far Aatma had come in such a relatively short amount of time.
“It feels incredible to have performed on such a prestigious stage and to have worked with the NJPAC administrative and production team,” said Shah. “When I was on stage, I had the opportunity to look out into the audience and see the packed house. I took a deep breath and really let the feeling sink in. It hit me and made me realize how far Aatma Performing Arts has some in such a short time.”
The show featured dancers from New York and Mumbai, with over 60 dancers performing throughout the evening and an enormous 1,000 costume changes transpiring during the performances. The show was part of NJPAC’s World Music Series sponsored by American Express. Programming was made possible in part by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, by funds from the National Endowment for the Arts, and by Discover Jersey Arts.
To contact the author, email to deepakchitnis@americanbazaaronline.com