Photo: Alisha Price

Lasandhi = Lasya: the feminine aspect of dance + Sandhi: the creation of a new sound by joining two vowels

Lasandhi is a performance company featuring a dance & music collaboration. Lasandhi had its beginnings in 2000 and debuted in May of 2001. Since then they performed several times in New England (including Silk Road Gala, Boston, Green Street Studios and Cambridge Multicultural Arts Center, Cambridge, Holy Cross College, Worcester, the Groundwerx Choreographers Showcase at Carriage House Theater, Providence, ArtBeat Somerville and  their final performance at Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival in Becket, MA in 2003).

Photo: Carl Rosenstein

In a dynamic fusion of the ancient and contemporary, dancers merge classical Indian dance and modern choreography, using their classical expertise in Bharat Natyam and Kuchipudi and drawing on their respective movement training: West African dance, Modern dance, Taiko drumming and Kalaripayat (Indian martial art). The dancers choreograph in conjunction with Indian melodic musicians and Japanese and Middle Eastern percussionists. The musicians create compositions based on the nine major moods in Indian dramatic theory, ranging from amazement to anger. Within the music, a lyricist weaves the poetry (in English) of Indian women from varied religions and backgrounds, addressing different themes in the lives of contemporary women in South Asia and the diaspora.

"The clincher for the evening...when Tara Ahmed's Lasandhi erupted onto the stage. Dancers became musicians, musicians became dancers, feet slapped the floor, drums pounded, classical Indian movement was asked to become something else to which it responded beautifully..."  Deborah Nash, Dance Company News

Lasandhi began as Lasya, a work choreographed by Tara Ahmed and Wendy Jehlen. They collaborated with musicians Elaine Fong, Nandlal Nayak, Durga Krishnan and Ramani Sripada-Vaz.

Photo: Laura Wulf