In 1987, Pandit Anju Babu of the 25-year-old Kathak Kala Kshetram felt that Hyderabad should have its own dance festival, akin to the ones in Khajuraho and Konark. And that thought led to one of the most happening classical dance events of the twin cities, the Deccan Dance Festival.
Held in the Qutb Shahi Tombs till 1999, this event has, over the years, seen famed dancers across the country take part in it, including Uma Sharma (Kathak), Bharath Shivaki (Odissi), Illiana Citirst (an Italian Odissi dancer), Alarvally (Bharatanatyam), Radha Mohan (Kuchipudi), Vani Ganapathi (Bharatanatyam), Sharion Looin (an American Odissi dancer) and Vijayalakshmi (Mohiniattam).
This year it's happening over three days at the Ravindra Bharathi, and the schedule is as follows:
19th March
6:30pm Sushmita Banerjee (Kathak)
7:30pm Vasundhara Doraiswamy (Bharatanatyam)
20th March
6:30pm Iliana Citirst (Odissi)
7:30pm A Kuchipudi recital
21st March
6:30pm Rashmi Menon (Mohiniattam)
7:30pm An Andhra Natyam recital
Please contact Anju Babu at 765-0713 for further details.