The Women’s Diversity Forum is happy to present the narrative and art forms that Sam Cushman and Allie Berger represent as they journeyed from America to India. Come to hear and see the tabla player accompany the Kathak dancer.
Allie and Sam are scholar-performers interested in the intersections of music and dance in South Asia and the United States.
No RSVP is necessary. Just bring your curiosity.
Allie Berger has a background in ballet and modern dance and has been training in North Indian Kathak (Pronounced “Kah-tahk," it's one of eight Indian classical dance forms) for the past five years. Her creative practice explores the relationships between formal dance performance and movement in everyday life. She is a Ph.D. Candidate in Religion at Syracuse University.
Sam Cushman recently completed his Ph.D. in Music at the University of California, Santa Cruz. An active percussionist in multiple styles, he spent nine months in New Delhi researching rhythmic accompaniment for kathak with the support of a Fulbright-Nehru grant. While living in India, Sam studied both tabla and pakhawaj, two North Indian drums used to accompany dance. Together, Allie and Sam hope to educate audiences and bridge cultural differences through a combination of scholarship and performance.
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