AK: Mayuri dancers bring Bollywood to Anchorage

Where ya gonna go when looking for a professional dance group to demonstrate the intricacies of traditional Indian dance? Russia, of course. Or that’s what the Asian Alaskan Cultural Center did to bring Mayuri, a group of twenty or so young dancers, to Anchorage. The the troupe performed for high schools this week and for the public Friday evening  at the Alaska Performing Arts Center.

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It’s dress rehearsal time at Anchorage’s Performing Arts Center.. the Atwood theater is empty, but on stage, dancers dressed in long, shiny purple skirts and colorful blouses twirl for a few minutes…. then stop.

One dancer speaks to the group, then gestures from the stage to the sound man in his booth. It’s the afternoon before their performance, and the music and lighting cues have to be just right. Despite the traditional Hindi music, the woman is speaking Russian, because Mayuri dance group hails from the town of Petrosavadosk, a community closer to Finland than it is to Moscow. This weekend, Mayuri performs in Anchorage.

Sanjay Talwar, with the Asian Alaskan Cultural Center, says an India-Russia connection is not uncommon.

“We have lots of filmmakers who go over to Russia to film Hindi films. It is a little over three hours flight from Delhi to Moscow, and our India culture in Russia is pretty big.”

Neil Bhargava, president of the Cultural Center, said residents of Mother Russia’s sub-arctic climate are eager to embrace spicy, color – drenched Indian culture.

“Bollywood films are very famous in Russia,” Bhargava said.

As if on cue, a singer picks up the microphone  and begins to sing.. in Hindi. Talwar said he’s impressed by the accuracy of how the singers and dancers are interpreting his cultural heritage.

Now, with sound and lighting to their liking, the dancers regroup, and begin their intricate movements to an unmistakably Indian beat.

The Asian Alaskan Cultural Center represents eight countries. Each year, one country is represented in the centers Culture Night performance, and this year, it is India’s turn.

“In India we have five regions and each region has a different culture, traditions and social values. And based on the costumes, based on the lyrics. we can make out what region they are from,”  Talwar said.

And Mayuri represents India well, Talwar said.

“And to have the movements, to have the expressions you have to have the Hindi words. They are doing a good job,” said Talwar.

Backstage, when the dancers take a break over pizza lunches,  the dancers have time to chat with reporters.

Dancer Anastasia Basante says she’s been with Mayuri for about 19 years, and that she learned everything she knows about Indian dance with the troupe’s leader, Vera Evgrafova.

“Because she really has God’s gift, I can’t explain it any other way,” Basante said. “Just she [Evgrafova] felt it from her childhood, that she can dance and that she’ can’t live without this art and culture.”

Mayuri has been teaching and performing dance for three decades, and has traveled the world. This trip is their first to Alaska, but not to the United States. They have performed in New York City, to rave reviews for the lively, colorful show.

“We practice a lot and every year we do new items, and we have new costumes, and at this moment we have about 250 dance items,” said Basante. “The school of Mayuri is very big now. We have 400 students and about 60 students in the main group.”

Mayuri performs only one public show Friday evening in Anchorage at the Alaska Performing Arts Center.