(JERSEY CITY, NJ) -- On Saturday, October 24, 2020, Surati for Performing Arts hosted their 2nd Annual Fall Colors Walk and Navratri Celebration. This kid-friendly event actively and safely brought people from diverse communities together to celebrate the resilience of Jersey City. Brad Japhe, from CNN Travel, recently cited the event as an example for why Jersey City is “the country's most vibrant Indian neighborhood”.
Participants met at City Hall and received a one hour, all-levels Vinyasa yoga class from Chilltown Yoga. Then, they walked along the Hudson River with dhol drummers and threw color. The walk ended at Raaz and Cosi restaurants, where attendees and walkers were greeted by a violin performance by renowned performer and musician Sujata Biswas. Attendees also had the opportunity to participate in a Dandia dance workshop. Rimli Roy, Surati for Performing Arts’ Founder and Artistic Director, will celebrate Indian dance again as a guest performer in an online concert this weekend, called Linked by Tradition.
A safe, socially distanced event: The Fall Colors Walk was one of the community's last chances for a safe outdoor event before winter brings everyone indoors. This was a socially distanced walk where masks were mandatory. T-shirts, color packets, masks and sanitizer were provided with ticket purchase.
Sponsors: The Fall Colors Walk was made possible in part with support from Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of NJ, VisitNJ.com, New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, administered by the Hudson County Office of Cultural and Heritage Affairs and County Executive Thomas A Degise.
A timely message: Surati’s Holi Slogan: “When everyone is colorful, no one is different.”
The Fall Colors Walk was a Holi Hai celebration, as the company’s normal spring celebration was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Holi is an ancient Indian tradition, with the first mentions of it dating back to a 4th century poem. Though Holi has its roots in Indian mythology, Surati for Performing Arts celebrates it as a strictly secular event, encouraging participation from all cultures and ethnicities. Holi is also a great equalizer in India, with rules of caste and creed briefly forgotten. Originally a way to present empowering stories of good over evil, Holi has become a more general celebration of spring, new beginnings, brotherhood and diversity.
Surati For Performing Arts is a 501(c)(3) organization that educates and enriches communities through dance, music, theatre, events and festivals while also promoting Indian art and culture. Based in Jersey City, New Jersey, Surati’s team of professional dancers, musicians and instructors perform and instruct at corporate functions, fundraisers, and cultural events throughout the U.S. and abroad.
Founder and Artistic Director of Surati for Performing Arts, Rimli Roy is a choreographer, producer, and director that breaks boundaries of traditional Indian dance and music forms. Roy is trained in three distinct Indian classical forms, studying Bharatnatyam, Manipuri and Odissi by reputed masters in India since the age of four. Ms. Roy is also trained in Hindustani classical vocals and western classical piano.
In 2017, Roy adapted one of the most epic tales from India The Ramayana by fusing traditional and contemporary movement and music styles, as well as Shakespearean verse, opera and Broadway storytelling. The piece, called Ramaavan - A Musical was presented in English and featured at Surati’s Diwali Festival. Rimli Roy co-wrote, designed and directed the work with a team of 30 dancers, musicians and crew. Rimli first produced a more traditional version of the Ramayana at the World Financial Winter Garden in 2007 as part of the 'Tyohaar- Festivals of India' show.
Rimli is also the recipient of grants from the Hudson County Office of Cultural and Heritage Affairs, City of Jersey City, Dance NYC and the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. She has been engaged in promoting Indian art and culture across the United States and beyond by means of stage performances, educational collaborations with various institutions (museums, schools, libraries) as well as teaching Indian classical music and dance for over two decades.
Rimli, along with the Surati team, have performed at prestigious venues like the United Nations, The Lincoln Center, The Kennedy Center (DC), The Library of Congress (DC), The Reichhold Center - University of the U.S Virgin Islands, The Alaska Performing Arts Center (AK), The University of the West Indies in Barbados, and The World Financial Center Wintergarden, now known as Brookfield Place, to name a few.
PHOTOS BY PAUL MARTIN
