Connection with street animals thru’ dance

Kathmandu

Belly dance to flamenco to kathak and fusion dance of all three — ‘The Connection’ was an event of dance performances, organised by Animal Nepal at Hotel Soaltee Crowne Plaza, Soaltemode on July 2. It was a charity event to create awareness and raise voice for voiceless animals, where people came together to support the cause.

With 15 performances by national and international artistes, the stage was set on fire. Famous Indian dance groups like Banjara Group, belly dancer Meher Mallik, flamenco dancer Dalagang Pilipina and Nepali kathak dancer Subima Shrestha among others presented their acts which were thoroughly entertaining.

A theatrical performance by Nepali group Kathak Kids — where seven girls performed a survival story of a street dog looking for human love through various postures — gave an emotional but good start to the event.

The performance of Nitisha Chaudhary from Banjara Group in Om Ganapathiye Namah added fun quotient to it with applause. Her fusion moves of belly dance and kathak were fantastic and so were her expressions. More kathak moves and mudras came from Kgroup that oozed grace and elegance.

Meanwhile flamenco performances by Algerian couples ignited the dance floor. Their energetic dance to live music included tapping of their feet on the floor and dance moves using paper fan.

But the showstopper was the Banjara Group. They mesmerised the audience with their belly dance performances in Tip Tip Barsa Paani and Hotel California while the audience joined them with claps and whistles in appreciation.

The event ended with a bang as three dancers — Mallik (belly dance), Pilipina (flamenco) and Shrestha (kathak) performed together in live music of guitar and cajon.

Elizabeth who hails from Canada “enjoyed all the performances, especially belly dance on Hotel California” while Bishnu Agrawal who came with his family at the event “simply loved the show. The dancers were fantastic”.

“The charity show was organised to support street animals. The proceeds will be used by Animal Nepal to support the street animals, focusing on dogs for vaccination and treatment among others,” Pramata Shah, President of Animal Nepal shared about the event.

And Shah urged, “Animal are being abused in Nepal. So, we should make laws about animals because we can’t neglect animals’ rights and our lawmakers must understand this. We can’t do anything alone, so we must unite for this.”

A documentary on Animal Nepal and its works was also showcased at the event. The Himalayan Times was the

exclusive media partner of the event.