South Asian Wedding Celebrations at Bandhan: Festival of Cultures

Dance plays an important role in South Asian weddings, from pre-wedding rituals, to uniting the bride and groom and their families, to post-wedding celebrations enjoyed by the entire community. In this program, the National Women’s Dance Troupe of Sri Lanka will teach and showcase traditional wedding dances of Kandyan weddings in Sri Lanka. Aeilushi and Paulom Mistry will teach and showcase Garba dance from India and share the Guajarati adornment customs of henna, bindi, the saree for women and dhoti for men. Navdeep Matta with special guest Megha Kalia of NYC Bhangra dance company will teach and showcase bhangra, a lively form of music and dance that originated in the Punjab region of India and Pakistan. Annie Ferdous and the Bangladeshi Institute of Performing Arts (BIPA) will showcase elements of Muslim and Hindu wedding ceremonies in Bangladesh and teach the Bangladeshi dhamail circle dance. This program is presented in partnership with BIPA with support from Staten Island Arts. 

3-5pm (workshops)

6-8pm (performances)