Of Beauty & Deities: Music & Dance of India

--Telling stories of the deities--

This one hour film:

demonstrates and explains bharatanatyam, an ancient and classical southern Indian dance form
features interviews with the world-famous K.P. Kunhiraman (now deceased) and his dancer wife Katherine Kunhiraman
gorgeous costumes, skillful dancing
gives insight into southern Indian, and Hindu, culture

Kalanjali: Dances of India (artistic directors: K.P. and Katherine Kunhiraman)

K.P. Kunhiraman and Katherine Kunhiraman are the artistic directors of Kalanjali: Dances of India, which provides the music, dance, and interviews for this documentary. The Kunhiramans trained in India’s famous Kalakshetra Institute in Chennai (formerly Madras), India. The dance form is a kind of sign language and Katherine Kunhiraman translates one of the dances for us.

The Kunhiramans moved to California decades ago. They founded the dance academy and ran it together until K.P. passed away; Katherine has continued it on. It serves primarily the daughters of Indian immigrants anxious to pass their heritage on to the next generation.The dances are both beautiful and colorful, and the stories, fascinating.

The documentary features the academy’s young dancers, musical performance from musicians brought over from India, interviews with K.P. and Katherine Kunhiraman, and a solo dance by K.P. Yeshoda, niece of K.P. Kunhiraman.

Mailing Address:

Palomino Productions
P.O. Box 8565
Berkeley, CA. 94707, USA