A last-minute decision took me to the Rose to see Bijayini Satpathy for the first time in my life and hopefully not the last. I was excited to meet with my friend and colleague Claudia Norman, Satpathy’s manager and a multilingual, award-winning producer, consultant, and artist based in New York City.
After catching up with Claudia, I stepped into the Leona Wagner Black Box. My seat was three rows from Mayor Erin Mendenhall and her family. As a freelance artist, I appreciate seeing a political leader attending this event, although it would be even more valuable to see her actively involved in a local artist’s work. (My family and I are local artists who are very active in the arts scene in Utah and this is the first time in my more-than-three years here that I have seen the mayor at an arts event.)
Abhipsaa: A Seeking started and I sat there choosing to empty myself of any preconceived idea, stereotype or expectation, hoping to generously receive what was being offered. I am a Mexican contemporary dancer and creator, and I did not feel like I should be writing a review on a dance style I do not know intimately, but perhaps I could offer an appreciation of the universal language of movement even without a deep knowledge of the cultural context. And, I was not wrong, there was so much to enjoy.
Photo by Prem Shashi.
It is impossible not to see the mastery in Satpathy’s body as she navigates the Odissi Indian classical dance style. Years of experience were emerging in front of our eyes and pouring out of every step. A solo in four parts, this was a poetic journey taking the audience through metaphoric atmospheres, longing, joy, and freedom, depicted with a precision only Satpathy could muster. The performance was followed by a Q&A where it became evident that this work had inspired everyone in the room, perhaps particularly the young dancers present. Surprisingly, this has been one of very few events I’ve attended in this community where white people have been in the minority. It blew my mind seeing all these young girls excited to take a photo with the artist, inspired by a role model who will last in their minds for the rest of their lives, and, moreover, one in whom they could see themselves represented. This does not happen often and it cheered my spirit.
On the other hand, while observing and waiting for Claudia to speak before leaving the city the next morning, I was saddened by the fact that so many people I know in Salt Lake City had missed this performance. Bijayini Satpathy is a world-renowned artist who spent twenty-five years as a principal dancer, teacher, researcher, and administrator in the acclaimed company Nrityagram, and then decided to undertake a journey as a choreographer and solo dancer in 2019. Since then, she has been commissioned by Duke Performances and Baryshnikov Arts, has been an artist-in-residence at the Met, a Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio scholar, and a fellow at the Center for Ballet and the Arts at NYU. She was recognized with a Dance Magazine Award in 2023 and Bessie in 2020. In 2019, Dance Magazine acknowledged her as “Best Solo Dancer.” Why did Salt Lake City miss seeing such a world-class performer? Where were the dance students? Where were the faculty of the dance departments in the area? Where was the dance community in general? I know end-of-year events might have been underway, but surely this is the sort of thing that faculty and students ought to make time for. Why miss the extraordinary opportunity to see such an exceptional artist in our city?
Photo by Prem Shashi.
Sometimes I wonder why those of us in academia aren’t collectively in the habit of being up-to-date on things happening off-campus. Were there really no dance departments in the area interested in a master class with this esteemed artist? Or a talk, or another performance? Where were the bigger presenting organizations? The evening was produced independently by Srilatha Singh, who founded Chitrakaavya, a local company exploring Singh’s abiding passion for the classical Indian dance. To my knowledge, this was Satpathy’s only performance while here in town.
Still, at the end of the day, perhaps those of us who were there — members of the Indian community, a few white people, and this Mexican — were the best audience this show could have had. We are so lucky to have had Bijayini Satpathy come directly from India to perform in our city.
(The evening also notably included compositions by Srinibas Satpathy and Bindhumalini Narayanaswamy, and lighting design by Sujay Saple and Itohan Edoloyi.)
Stephanie Garcia is a multi-awarded Mexican artist, arts advocate, and arts administrator living between Salt Lake and Mexico City. More info at stephaniegarcia.art.