A delightful evening of classical Indian dance in Milan: the Accademia Sangam end-of-the-year show

Milan is becoming more and more openly multi-cultural.

When I first came here from a large metropolitan multi-cultural city...More......

...more than twenty years ago (gulp), there were a few Chinese on the streets, though they mostly kept to Chinatown, and a few Tunisian ladies, who were maids or nannies.

Years ago, I remember catching myself staring at some very very black men at a train station, and I realized why I had been staring...I just hadn't seen any black people in donkey's years.

Now the inhabitants of the city--whether the Milanese like it, or not--are very multi-cultural, for one reason, or another. Time will aid integration...the more the kids mix in the school system and grow up, together, the better it is.

In the meantime, the Indian Consulate in Milan and the Association of Indians in Northern Italy are doing a lovely job of promoting Indian culture to the Italians, and it is through them that I discovered dott.ssa Lucrezia Maniscotti and her classical Indian dance school, Accademia Sangam. Lessons are held regularly in Milan and Monza, and I see that something is also planned for Mantua.

"So what?!," you say, "I'm not interested in learning to dance."

As an Italian would reply, "Male!" ("Bad/Wrong answer!").

But what if your physical condition doesn't allow you to take it up, even just for fun and exercise (even a non-expert like me can see that even the quieter movements require great control, strength and balance)? You're still in luck.

The school has a couple of public performances a year, and the general public is invited.

It's a super way to enjoy classical Bharatanatya Indian dance and support not just the school's efforts, but principally to give encouragement to the students ranging from very young to mature adults. Contact the school for more info and to be put on their mailing list.

Enjoy!

PHOTOGRAPHS: I snapped the pictures during last evening's end-of-the-academic-year show for your personal non-commercial enjoyment. In the first picture, dott.ssa Maniscotti is in the foreground. For any other use of the photographs, my permission, the permission of dott.ssa Maniscotti and of those appearing in the photograph are needed.

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