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Central Pennsylvania’s premier Indian music and dance event, the fifth annual Happy Valley Indian Performing Arts Festival features top artists from over the world. Join Society for Indian Music and Arts and Nritya on the evenings of April 5 and 7, for moving, spectacular, and memorable performances!

The evening of April 7th will present a soulful Hindustani vocal recital by Sandipan Samajpati, followed by a magnificent festival finale – a Bharatanatyam dance recital by Joyce Paul and the Arpan Arts troupe.

Khayal is the most popular form of North Indian classical (Hindustani) music today. “Khayal” literally means “a thought”, but it may also be interpreted as “a feeling” or “imagination”. Khayal can trace it roots to the classical form of dhrupad, and has strong influences from Hindu religious music, folk music, Persian, Sufi, and Islamic music and poetry.

Bharatanatyam, one of the oldest classical dance forms in the world, dates back to the 2nd century CE, and is derived from the ancient Sanskrit text, the Natya Shastra. Bharatanatyam originated in the Indian state, Tamil Nadu, and began as a form of worship. This dance form only appeared on stages in the 20th century, and was solely performed in Hindu temples before that. The word Bharata encompasses bhava, raaga and thaala, which combines expressions, tune and rhythm in this art form.