CSUMB hosts theatrical dance performance by Sheetal Gandhi

Nationally acclaimed choreographer and performer Sheetal Gandhi will visit California State University, Monterey Bay’s World Theater on Oct. 9. Showtime is 7:30 p.m.

She will perform her one-woman show, “Bahu-Beti-Biwi” (Daughter-in-law, Daughter, Wife), which explores her cultural heritage as a 21st century Californian whose life is still shaped by age-old Indian traditions.

“Bahu-Beti-Biwi” wraps North Indian music and family characters into a contemporary exploration that moves between humorous portraiture and active resistance. Gandhi merges dance, singing and the text and subtext of centuries-old North Indian women’s songs to move from one portrayal to another. Her characters have conversations with each other across time and space, revealing complex tensions around freedom and compromise, desire and longing, duty and love.

The 50-minute performance is an evocative examination of the multiple roles of women that reflects Gandhi’s love for tradition with her equally urgent desire to break from it.

The original score for the work is the product of a collaboration with composer Joe Trapanese whose music for the stage has been described as “precise and evocative” by the New York Times.

Gandhi has a varied resume. She has toured with Cirque du Soleil, performed with the National Dance Ensemble of Ghana, and acted on Broadway; she’s a percussionist with a university degree in psychology and dance.

This event is free; no tickets or reservations are required. Attendees must purchase a parking pass for a nominal fee. Driving directions and a campus map are available here.

The performance is sponsored by Student Activities and Leadership Development and the World Theater, with funding support from the New England Foundation for the Arts National Dance Project.

For more information, contact Tim Bills, director of Student Activities and Leadership Development, at 582-4645 or tbills@csumb.edu