Storm and Ember
Shalaka Kulkarni

On February 21st, the Heritage Museum of Asian Art hosted a captivating and thought-provoking performance by Asian American artist, Shalaka Kulkarni as a part of our 3rd Friday Open Admissions Night. Visitors were treated to a beautiful showcase of Kulkarni's performance of "Storm and Ember", a small part of her original piece in the making!​

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Attendees were brought in to admire Kulkarni's ingenious connection of contemporary and traditional dance. As she told the audience, her work combined the techniques from both Bharatanatyam and Kathak, two traditional dance styles in India. Kathak, providing traditional techniques that she preferred to stay within and Bharatanatyam, with more fluidity and freedom in terms of contemporary movement. With the rhythmic intensity of Kathak and the fluidity of contemporary movement, the piece unfolded as a battle between order and untamed energy.

"Storm and Ember" was said to be inspired by the constant battle of conflicted emotions that all of us experience and how the battle inherently makes you feel something is always getting lost or unresolved. Kulkarni stated that all of her works are equally as driven with subtext of her personal experience of feeling driven by two cultures and not knowing how to describe home-- a familiar tale that many diasporic artists struggle with as well.

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Guests of all different backgrounds were able to ask questions and relate to many of her insights as a diasporic artist in America. Kulkarni's unique ability to blend the practice of contemporary movement and ancient Indian dance forms left attendees with a deep appreciation for the vast cultures of Asia. ​​​