Desi Theater Company based in NC. Our goal it is to tell stories that touch people's hearts.
Our vision is to reach out to people from all walks of life through the means of art. We aim to provide artists with a platform to express their talents in creative, original, and meaningful ways. We desire to create a space that allows people to connect with one another on a grand scale.
08/31/2020
Check out our latest mini-project, a visual interpretation of the poem ‘speak to me ...’ by Priyanka Harne Parab!
Visualization of a beautiful poem, 'speak to me ...' by Priyanka Harne Parab, with music by Alekh Jha and screenplay by Kriti Rakesh.
02/26/2019
Learn about how we collaborate with local Desi communities, organizations, and dance schools across the US to put on entertaining and engaging shows that appeal to all ages. [Contact: 919.656.5410]
02/26/2019
Hosted by the Indian Association of Eastern North Carolina, at Farmville High School. Dancers provided by Bollywood Beats.
Photo Credit: Yogesh Gandhi.
02/16/2019
Rangeela Revisited is coming to Green on Feb 24, at 5 PM at Farmville High School!
02/16/2019
Rangeela Revisited in Greenville, NC on Feb 24th Farmville High School at 5PM!
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We work in collaboration with local Desi communities, organizations, and dance schools all across the US, towards the goal of delivering high quality theatrical productions in your home town. We want to bring shows that tell interesting, meaningful, and entertaining stories to your local stage, and we want you to be an important part of the show, as dancers and actors, and more! We want to showcase the richness of Indian culture to Indian-American audiences - from Bollywood to Indian classical arts like Kathak. We want to give a voice to the Indian-American identity and experience - an identity that of course derives from the multitudes of cultures that comprise both nations - but an identity that is, in itself, emerging into its own unique place in the world, distinct in substantial ways from both the cultures from which is originates.
We would be glad to perform both for, and, more importantly, with you! So what are you waiting for? Get in touch, and together, let’s set the stage on fire!
Contact: 919.656.5410 // Message on FB [facebook.com/OorjaProductions]
(Dialogues for our shows are predominantly in English, making it possible to reach a wider audience; people originating from Kashmir to Kerela; from the children of Indian Immigrants, to completely non-Indian audiences. We like to throw in a few lines in regional Indian languages here and there to add that extra zing and relatability, as appropriate.)
Our Productions:
Oorja; From Black Hole to Intelligent Life (2014) - an interpretive dance set to original instrumental music on the evolution of the universe, from the big bang, the formation of the Earth, and the emergence of life. This show was the precursor to the formation of Oorja Productions. [Concept + Choreography: Kriti Rakesh, Music: Alekh Jha, Produced By: Kriti Rakesh]
Samraat; The Journey Within (2016) - an epic historic musical drama, depicting the spiritual journey of the Mauryan Emperor, King Ashoka. Set around BC 2500, in what is today the state of Bihar, in North Eastern India, this play explores a plausible recreation of the events in Ashoka’s life that could have resulted in him becoming the infamous, tyrannical, evil Chand Ashoka, and subsequently, what may have led to his complete reversal; his acceptance of pacifism, and his eventual conversion to Buddhism. [Concept + Story + Script + Music: Alekh Jha, Produced By + Choreography + Editing: Kriti Rakesh, Direction: Usha Bajpai, Production Management: Aadi Singh]
Jogan; A Woman’s Liberation Through Love (2018) - A Kathak Dance Ballet presented in collaboration with Aakriti Kathak Academy, on the legend of the mystic saint Meerabai. Jogan showcases top tier Kathak dance set to spellbinding Hindustani classical music, interspersed by expression based dance (abhinaya) interludes set to dialogue in English. The show begins with Meerabai’s initial fascination with Lord Krishna as a young girl, and traces her life of trials and tribulations in the context of a comparatively repressive society, ultimately depicting her transcendence into blissful divinity through her celebrated poems, songs, and dance. The performance touches upon both the individualist and feminist struggles for spiritual self determination that Meerabai has come to represent to subsequent generations. [Concept + Direction + Choreography: Kriti Rakesh, Music: Brij Joshi, Dialogues: Alekh Jha]
Rangeela Revisited (2018) - a high school romantic comedy set to A R Rahman’s forever-amazing songs from the super hit 1995 Bollywood movie Rangeela. Performed in a Bollywood-Broadway style lip-sync musical format with captivating dances influenced by hip hop to Latin dance styles, and more, this show explores all the ups and downs of first love, from hope and exhilaration, to insecurity and doubt; from hilarious goofs and slip ups, to sober conversation and parental advice from the ‘Desi Dad’ character. Shivani and Armaan are somewhat clueless but likable high school juniors. They like each other, sort of, I think? Their best friends, Randy and Monica, help them navigate the (unnecessarily) complicated, confusing, and treacherous road that lies ahead. Will they make it, or will all be lost? Find out with a show to remember that will appeal to all ages, with plenty of laughs, rocking music, and a blast from the past (or present, or future)! [Concept + Script + Background Score: Alekh Jha, Editing + Direction: Kriti Rakesh]
Contact: 919.656.5410 // Message on FB [facebook.com/OorjaProductions]
OORJA PRODUCTIONS is a theatrical company founded in Morrisville, North Carolina in 2016 by Kriti Rakesh and Alekh Jha.
