Performing in the 2016 Green Show on Saturday, October 8
The Anjali School of Dance and Northwest Children’s Theater perform excerpts from their theatrical collaborations. Performance incorporates various Indian dance styles (including Bharatanatyam, Bhangra, and Bollywood) to portray a range of animal characters. Animals represented include elephants, peacocks, and monkeys.
About Sarah Jane Hardy
Northwest Children’s Theatre’s Artistic Director, Sarah Jane Hardy was born in Liverpool, where she earned Advanced Certification in Ballet, Tap, and Modern from the International Dance Teachers Association. Her early career included work as a choreographer, dancer, and teacher throughout Europe and the Middle East before moving to the United States as an international student in 1993 and earning an MFA in directing from Utah State University.
In 2001 Sarah Jane began working for NWCT where she developed a series of new adaptations with an emphasis on meaningful and powerful female characters. She led NWCT’s Main Stage through many record-breaking and award-winning seasons, including the 22nd season which swept the regional Drammy and PAMTA awards with seven and nine wins, respectively.
About Anita Menon
Anita Menon is a director and choreographer who is recognized as one of the leading exponents of Bharatanatyam, a classical dance form originating in Southern India. Anita is the recipient of the prestigious Performing Arts Fellowship in 2014 from the Regional Arts and Culture Council (Portland, Oregon), the first Asian American to receive this honor.
As the Founder and Artistic Director of the Anjali School of Dance, her classical yet inventive approach, creates an exceptional style that is distinct, meaningful and appealing to diverse audiences around the world. Besides choreographing dances with strong women role models including Jhansi Ki Rani, Meerabhai and Chitrangadha, her passion has been to choreograph Western stories through Indian dance including Red Riding Hood, Pegasus and Wizard of Oz. Anita has directed theatrical productions that are Indian adaptations of Classical Western plays including Shakespeare’s ” Midsummer Night’s Dream” as well as Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot murder mystery “Death on the Nile” titled “Murder on the Ganges”. Her productions are known for their big dance numbers using several styles of dance including Indian classical, folk, Ballet, HipHop, Jazz and Bollywood.