Indo-American Arts Council presents Erasing Borders Dance Festival

The Indo-American Arts Council presents the Erasing Borders Dance Festival on Saturday, September 20, 2025 and Sunday, September 21, 2025 at 6pm at the Ailey Citigroup Theater, 405 W 55th St, New York, NY. Tickets start at $25 and can be purchased online at

iaac.us/erasing-borders-dance-festival-2025/.

The Erasing Borders Dance Festival, New York’s premier Indian dance festival, is proudly hosted by the Indo-American Arts Council. The seventeenth annual festival will include performances by eminent Bharatanatyam artists and several US based dance companies. The first night of the festival on Saturday, September 20, will feature acclaimed Bharatanatyam artist Priyadarsini Govind. The second night of the festival on Sunday, September 21, will include a performance from legendary Bharatanatyam artist Rama Vaidyanathan with Dakshina and Sannidhi. Experience the magic of the Erasing Borders Dance Festival by reserving your tickets for this unforgettable two-night celebration.

Saturday, September 20, 2025 | 6-8PM, Ailey Citigroup Theater

School: Nrithyanjali School/Guru: Ramya Ramnarayan/Bharatanatyam student group

Trina Sarkar: Odissi solo

Kalanidhi: Kuchipudi group

Chitresh Das Dance Company: Kathak group

Priyadarsini Govind: Bharatanatyam solo

Sunday, September 21, 2025 | 6-8PM, Ailey Citigroup Theater

School: Odissi Dance Company/Guru: Aparupa Chatterjee/Odissi student group

Pranamya Suri: Kuchipudi solo

Rovaco Dance Company/Rohan Bhargava: Group contemporary

Preeti Vasudevan: contemporary solo

Rama Vaidyanathan trio: Bharatanatyam

Additional Programming:

The New York Public Library will be leading a discussion with Priyadarshini on September 18 at 6pm in the Bruno Walter Auditorium at the Library for the Performing Arts. Priyadarsini Govind is an influential dancer in the world of Bharatanatyam. For the fourth annual Dr. Sunil Kothari Honorary Lecture presented by the Jerome Robbins Dance Division at the Library for the Performing Arts, Govind who studied in depth the art of abhinaya from the master inheritor of the rajadasi tradition, Kalanidhi Narayanan, shares how human emotions are interpreted and transformed from everyday reality to stylized yet accessible aesthetic form.

Apart from this, on Monday September 22, from 11:40am – 1:00pm some of the artists will be participating in a panel talk with students at Barnard College under Uttara Coorlawala, senior curator EBDF and also Professor, Dance at the Barnard/Columbia College, room TBA.

About the Artists

Priyadarsini Govind is one of the foremost Bharatanatyam dancers in the world today. Trained by two stalwarts, Kalaimamani S.K. Rajarathnam Pillai and Padma Bhushan Smt. Kalanidhi Narayanan, Priyadarsini has imbibed this art form from the best. With her natural aptitude for abhinaya coupled with her passion and dedication to her art, Priyadarsini has become a flag bearer of Smt. Kalanidhi’s padam repertoire and has been performing in prestigious venues all over India and the globe, taking Bharatanatyam to many major International and national Festivals as a soloist. She is also actively engaged in creating new repertoires for dance and teaching. She served as the Director of the Kalakshetra Foundation between August 5 th , 2013 and June 19th , 2017 and is the founder and director of NavaDarshana- an initiative that teaches dancers to view dance holistically.

Rama Vaidyanathan is one of the foremost Bharatanatyam dancers of her generation. She trained intensively under the legendary dancer Yamini Krishnamurthy and the celebrated Guru Saroja Vaidyanathan. In a performance career spanning more than 40 years, Rama has developed her own individual style without forsaking the core principles of her dance form. Her technique is grounded, and yet there is a fresh approach to the innumerable dance compositions that she has added to the Bharatanatyam repertoire. Having performed at every major dance venue in the world, she has been awarded with the titles “Kalaimamani” by the Govt of Tamil Nadu and “Kalashree” by the Govt of Kerala. Other notable awards are the Kumar Gandharv Puraskar from the Madhya Pradesh Govt, Nadanamamani from Kartik Fine Arts Chennai, Vani kala Sudhakara from Tyagabrahma Gana sabha Chennai, Nritya Choodamani from Krishna Gana Sabha Chennai and the Nritya Kalanidhi from the Music Academy Madras. Rama is also the recipient of the Central Sangeet Natak Akademi Puraskar. As the President of Ganesa Natyalaya New Delhi, she has been actively engaged in teaching for more than 25 years. Rama balances a hectic performance schedule while conducting workshops and master classes all over the world, inspiring a whole generation of dancers. ramavaidyanathan.com

Sannidhi Vaidyanathan learned Bharatanatyam from her grandmother Padma Bhushan Saroja Vaidyanathan and her mother Rama Vaidyanathan. Apart from traveling within India, Sannidhi has performed at various venues in the United States, Canada, France, Spain, the United Kingdom and Singapore.

Dakshina Vaidyanathan Baghel has undergone rigorous training at Ganesa Natyalaya under the able tutelage of her grandmother Guru Dr. Saroja Vaidyanathan (Padmabhushan awardee) and her mother Guru Rama Vaidyanathan. She was awarded the CCRT scholarship by the Department of Culture Govt. of India in 2003 and then again in 2014, the Kalpana Chawala Award in the Young Achievers’ category in 2005, the NIRBHAYA PURASKAR by OYSS in 2015 and NATYA RATNA by Trinity Arts Chennai in 2015 for her contribution to Indian Classical Dance.

About the Indo-American Arts Council

The IAAC supports all the artistic disciplines in classical, fusion, folk, and innovative forms influenced by the arts of India. We work cooperatively with colleagues around the United States to broaden our collective audiences and to create a network for shared information, resources and funding. Our focus is to help artists and art organizations in North America as well as to facilitate artists from India to exhibit, perform, and produce their work here. For more information, visit iaac.us.