Swaranjali

May 31st 2025
Pranav Balasubramanian, Michigan Sahana

This grant funded Michigan Sahana’s Swaranjali, which translates to “musical offerings” in Sanskrit. This winter performance showcase, open to all University of Michigan students free of charge, was designed to be accessible and enjoyable even for those without prior knowledge of Indian classical music or dance. The program featured performances celebrating various South Asian classical art forms, including: Kathak, Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi, Odissi, Carnatic and Hindustani vocal styles, and instruments such as tabla, guitar, violin, and mridangam. Through these diverse performances, Michigan Sahana aims to foster cultural appreciation and create a space where students can engage with the richness of South Asian classical traditions.

October 19th 2024
Reeva Bohra, Michigan Sahana

Michigan Sahana, a classical arts performance group at U-M, performed a fall show based on the theme Shakti, or power. All the performances are based around South Asian classical dance, singing or instruments, with underlying theme of how the students’ art form gives them power. The event showcased South Asian traditional dance forms such as Kathak, Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi, and Odissi as well as classical singing forms and instruments such as the tabla and sitar.

That Brown Show

April 16th 2022
Michigan Sahana

Michigan Sahānā, a student organization aimed to promote and preserve Classical Indian Music and Dance, organized and hosted That Brown Show. This was a showcase of all the University of Michigan's South Asian Performing Arts groups (including Two Bollywood teams, Raas, Bhangra, Mayuri, Indian Classical Dance and Indian Classical Music).

April 10th 2021
Akshay Gopinathan, Michigan Sahana

Kala Sagara is a nationwide virtual conference that includes many student and professional performances and workshops to educate and expose others to Classical Indian Music and Dance.

November 8th 2019
Kavyapranati Pratapa, Michigan Sahana

Sahana performers expressed the aura of the elements through their avenues of the Indian classical arts. The audience saw musicians create wind and dancers create fire; Hindustani and Carnatic music was presented, as well as Kathak, Bharatnatyam, and Kuchipudi dance styles. The show was free and open to all audiences.

March 10th 2018
Laboni Bayen, Michigan Sahana

Michigan Sahānā presented the 8th annual That Brown Show (TBS), featuring University of Michigan's premier South Asian performance groups including Michigan Manzil, Maize Mirchi, Michigan Bhangra Team, Michigan Raas Team, Michigan Izzat, and Michigan Sahānā. The event featured over 100 performers lighting up the stage with their performances representing various music and dance styles. Each team included in That Brown Show had an originally composed dance or music piece. They composed, choreographed, or mixed their performances independently allowing students with more advanced skills sets to push their creativity, while teaching students with more developing skill sets. Overall, through the That Brown Show, students were able to learn and engage each other in the Indian arts.

February 10th 2018
Laboni Bayen, Michigan Sahana

Michigan Sahana put on their free annual winter concert, Swarānjalī. The concert is kept unthemed every year, so performing artists have the flexibility to choose music and dance pieces which express their creativity and knowledge of the art form. This show exhibited a combination of Indian classical dance styles like Kathak and Bharathanatyam and the Hindustani and Carnatic styles of Indian classical music. It was composed of 7 performances by student groups of 3 to 4 people. These students worked together over the course of a month to choreograph, teach one another, and improvise on the piece of dance or music they had chosen to perform.