On Saturday, November 5, Flushing Town Hall will host its eighth annual Diwali Festival – a celebration that welcomes audiences of all ages and cultures and a very popular event each year at the Hall.
Abha Roy, a master teaching artist and artistic director of Srijan Dance Company, will share the stage with IMGE: Ishita Mili Global Exposé for a performance rooted in Indian classical, hip-hop and contemporary dance. Participants can also enjoy a dance party with instruction on traditional moves from Roy, a classical Kathak dancer and Mili, a Bharatanatyam dancer. Festival goers can also explore traditional rangoli design with artist Anju Gupta, savor Indian food with Queens Curry Kitchen and discover Ayurvedic treatments with Shweta Parmar.
The Indian holiday of Diwali, also known as the Festival of Lights, is a day of solidarity, where the gentle light of knowledge – or kerosene candles – illuminates streets and homes, banishing the darkness of ignorance and suffering. It began as part of an ancient harvest festival, which celebrated the fertility of the land and the bounty of new crops. Although Diwali has taken on a significant meaning in Hinduism, in India it is celebrated by all groups, regardless of religious affiliation, as a time of renewal and growth.
At this event, Flushing Town Hall will present the artwork of the winners of the Rangoli Design Contest. Rangoli is an old art form from India. Derived from a Sanskrit word meaning “rows of color,” rangoli is a festive Hindu art form that is usually drawn in homes or courtyards in the hope of inviting blessings from the gods.
Abha Roy has led the Flushing Town Hall Diwali Festival since its inception. A master of Kathak dance, she studied under the late great Guru Kundan Lal Gangani and achieved professional precision under the training of Pt. Durgalal when she completed her specialization at Kathak Kendra, New Delhi. She represented the Indian Council on Cultural Relations and has lectured and performed in South America, Guyana, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago. She has also performed throughout Europe and at venues such as Lincoln Center and the Queens Museum, among others.
Roy lost her beloved husband and creative partner, Sandeep Roychowdhury, to COVID in June of 2021 when he contracted the disease while on a trip to India to help care for family, and she dedicated the year’s festival to past his memory and their love.
“We are so fortunate to work with the talented Abha Roy, who has helped our community heal and experience joy again – even as she has gone through her painful loss,” says Flushing Town Hall’s Executive and Artistic Director , Ellen Kodadek. “We are a resilient community and I look forward to the delicious aromas, lively dancing and vibrant colors soon filling our hall for Diwali.”
New to the festival this year is Ishita Mili Global Exposé, founded by Ishita Mili, a dance company that uses classical Indian movements (like mudras hand gestures) as well as hip-hop and contemporary dance vocabularies to tell new stories and powerful global. . IMGE transcends regional and cultural boundaries by creating an inclusive dance language that can speak to anyone.
“We are excited to celebrate Diwali with our audience, welcome new performers, and showcase the great Rangoli submissions we received through our contest this year,” says Flushing Town Hall Director of Education and Public Programs Gabrielle M. Hamilton. “We will select artwork in five categories (children, teens, adults, seniors and professional artists) and display their winning designs along our outdoor fence along North Boulevard.”
The Rangoli Contest is accepting entries until October 21, 2022. A panel of judges will select one winner in each group who, in addition to displaying their work, will receive a free, one-year membership to Flushing Town Hall and pairs of tickets to each future group programs of their choice. For submission instructions, visit: https://www.flushingtownhall.org/rangoli-competition
The Diwali 2022 festival will be held in person and will also be streamed live on YouTube to serve the global audience.
Anyone can purchase tickets in person to attend the Festival, which takes place on Saturday, November 5, for the 11:00 am to 1:00 pm show or the 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm show in Flushing Town Hall, located at 137-35 Northern Blvd. Flushing, Queens.
Individual tickets are $15 and $10 for Flushing Town Hall members and children. Tickets must be purchased in advance; they will not be available at the door. Virtual tickets are $7 and $5 for members. Visit https://cloud.broadwayworld.com/rec/ticketclick.cfm?fromlink=2204386®id=&articlelink=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.flushingtownhall.org%2Fdiwali-festival?utm_source=BWW2022_recamparrallmutarmt for more details and to buy tickets.
