pennthillana

A touch of classical

Thillana was founded in September 2005 in order to share various forms of Indian classical dance with the Penn community and beyond. We aimed to create a group where students who had either already practiced or were interested in classical dance could come together to learn from each other's varied experiences. While one of our goals is to learn and grow from practicing classical dance at a personal level, the most important is to present others with the innumerable possibilities of classical dance. Our purpose is to allow our audience to join us in experiencing the complex rhythms and vivid story-telling of these enduring Indian dance forms - Bharatanatyam, Kathak, Kuchipudi, and Odissi - through our performances. In addition to our annual show, we also perform several times a semester at various venues at Penn and the greater Philadelphia area.