Dancing the Gods: Night One - Kasi Aysola and Archana Raja (Kuchipudi)

Asia Society is pleased to collaborate with World Music Institute for Dancing the Gods, an annual festival of Indian Dance celebrating its 13th year, featuring some of the leading performers of Indian dance. Each night begins with a slide presentation by Rajika Puri, festival curator, and acclaimed dance storyteller. Night One features Kasi Aysola and Archana Raja performing Kuchipudi.

Kasi Aysola is a performer, choreographer, and nattuvangam artist based in the United States. Apart from his solo performances, as Artistic Director of the Prakriti Dance Company, he also collaborates with and trains artists across America. Moreover, he is renowned for his original rhythmic compositions and the musical insight with which he has accompanied dance artists like Rama Vaidyanathan, Mythili Prakash, and Janaki Rangarajan, all of whom have appeared in Dancing the Gods over the years. WMI last presented Kasi as part of our virtual Dancing the Gods festival in 2022, where he performed the world premiere of a series of Kuchipudi works. For this year’s festival, he will be joined by Archana Raja, a Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi practitioner, teacher, and choreographer based in the Bay Area who is currently a student of Kasi in the Vempati style of Kuchipudi.