Performance History
2007… 2023
As a performing arts company, we are always eager to perform at festivals, fundraisers, weddings, and more. Over the years, we have appreciated the opportunity to engage with our community through the arts in the DC Metro area. Additionally, we host our own productions where we arrange, choreograph, and direct a collaborative show for varied audiences.
2023
Ek Din (A Day)
What can happen in a day? Ek Din (A Day) is a SAPAN original production that explores the moments of a day through music, dance, and theater in diverse artistic styles. This show is an anthology of intricately crafted vignettes that was developed collectively by SAPAN resident artists.
AAPI Festival
SAPAN hosted two events for the Barracks Row Main Street’s AAPI festival! Ten artists performed in a one-hour music and dance show for the crowd, and dancers led a bollywood dance workshop!
2022
H St Festival
With a high-energy bollywood and bhangra dance, SAPAN performed at the annual H Street Festival
Art All Night
SAPAN performed at the DC Commission on Arts & Humanities’s Art All Night event. Our music and dance branches entertained the audience at the Eastern Market Metro Plaza for an hour!
2021
Legacy On Broad
SAPAN music performed for the first time since the start of the pandemic at the Legacy On Broad dance competition in Philadelphia, PA! Featuring two new arrangements, musicians entertained the audience as an exhibition act between dance performances.
H Street Festival
For our first in-person dance performance after the start of the pandemic, SAPAN performed a bollywood and bhangra medley at the annual H Street Festival. The festival features music, dance, fashion, heritage arts, poetry, and youth based performances from groups across the DMV.
2020
JOURNEYS
(Reprise)
SAPAN performed a reprise of our original 2019 production, JOURNEYS, at the 2020 Intersections Festival, hosted by the Atlas Performing Arts Theater.
2019
JOURNEYS
A SAPAN Original Production, JOURNEYS explores South Asian-American experiences through diverse styles of music, dance, and theater that draw from South Asian and American traditions.
This show is an JOURNEYS of intricately crafted vignettes that were developed collectively by SAPAN resident artists to reflect their personal experiences as South Asian-Americans.
SAPAN Presents: Ramita Ravi
SAPAN hosted a contemporary dance workshop, led by Ramita Ravi, in Washington, DC.
Around the World Embassy Tour 2019
The Embassy of India
SAPAN Dance had the opportunity to entertain an audience with an interactive performance right outside of the Embassy of India in Washington, DC during the Around the World Embassy Tour and Open House in May 2019.
2018
HACSI Annual Fundraiser
SAPAN had the opportunity to partner with HACSI, the Hindu American Community Services Inc, a nonprofit that has the mission to facilitate community, charitable, educational and relief services throughout the DMV. SAPAN was able to put on a full length collaboration showcase with our Dance, Music and Theater branches and was the featured performance at the HACSI annual fundraiser in December 2018.
H Street Festival
The annual H Street Festival is one of the most anticipated and highly attended single day festivals in Washington, DC, which features music, dance, fashion, heritage arts, poetry, and youth based performances from groups across the DMV. SAPAN Dance had the opportunity to perform a lively bhangra and Bollywood fusion medley at the festival in October 2018.
Six Degree Singers Spring Concert
Our dancers had the opportunity to accompany the Six Degree Singers choir group in their annual Spring Concert in June 2018.
SPRINGBOARD Performance Series
SAPAN Dance performed as a part of Dance Loft’s SPRINGBOARD performance series to bring together DC dance artists from a wide range of dance backgrounds. Our dancers put together new original Bollywood choreography for this performance in April 2018.
Fracture
(Reprise)
Fracture, at the 2018 Intersections Festival, hosted by the Atlas Performing Arts Theatre.
This was a reprise of our original Fracture 2017 production.
2017
An Evening of Music with Pratham
SAPAN Music had the opportunity to partner with Pratham DC Young Professionals to put on a full length musical showcase and raise money and awareness for Pratham.
Pratham is a nonprofit that is striving to eradicate child illiteracy in India. SAPAN Music put on this sold out show at the Busboys & Poets on 14th St in DC in December 2017.
International
Cultural Festival
Sponsored by the Asian Pacific Catholic Network, this showcase of performance art pieces from around the world was a fundraiser for youth projects, disaster relief and community development. Our dancers had the opportunity of performing at this festival in October 2017.
FRACTURE
A SAPAN Original Production, FRACTURE explored the themes of war and conflict. Through dance, music and theater, SAPAN depicted the emotions felt by two warring nations that in the end saw that their conflict was futile, yielding the overarching theme of: when you look deeper than the surface at two conflicting parties, are they more similar than they are different?
Sacred Profane (Reprise)
In April 2017, our dancers and actors had the opportunity to partake in the reprise of the 2015 multi-company collaborative production that explored women from diverse cultural traditions through various genres of dance.
This production was directed by Erica Rebollar of Rebollar Dance.
Two of Us:
A Showcase of Duets
Hosted by Rachel Turner’s Errant Movement group, this night of duets celebrated Valentine’s Day. Our dancers had the opportunity to perform two dance duets as part of this event in February 2017.
Six Degree
Singers Concert
Our dancers had the opportunity to accompany the Six Degree Singers choir group in their annual concert in January 2017.
2016
Pratham USA Gala
SAPAN performed at the annual Pratham USA Gala in December 2016, helping raise money to fund the organization’s efforts to eradicate child illiteracy in India.
FORCES
(Reprise)
Relay For Life
Relay for Life is a community-based fundraising event for the American Cancer Society. The DMV fundraising event in September 2016 occurred at the Nationals’ Bullpen and our dancers and musicians had the opportunity to entertain the participants with lively Bollywood and South Asian folk performances.
FORCES
A SAPAN Original Production, Forces, explores the emotional range and two-face nature of the four elements: Earth, Wind, Fire and Water. Performed at Dance Place, this two-day sold-out show featured a cast of nearly 30 resident artists that collaborated across all three disciplines of dance, music and theatre.
National Cherry Blossom Festival
2009 - 2016
SAPAN performs near annually for hundreds of locals and visitors at the
Jefferson Memorial Tidal Basin.
Music on The Mall
SAPAN participated in the DCCAH Music on the Mall program, which features lunchtime performances by D.C. musicians on the National Mall.
Kennedy Center Millennium Stage
SAPAN musicians showcased their skills on the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage as part of MetroPerforms!
A Concert for HER
HER - Hope, Empowerment, Recognition
SAPAN performed alongside the world’s first and premier Hindi acapella group Penn Masala to raise funds for Talentnomics and the Pratham Foundation.
2015
Sacred Profane
2015-2016
A multi-company collaboration, under the executive direction of Erica Rebollar of Rebollar Dance, this production explored women from diverse cultural traditions through various genres of dance. The show included original choreography and participation by the SAPAN dancers
Dance Place - New Releases Showcase
SAPAN dancers were selected to perform at Dance Place’s annual curated Choreographer’s Showcase, featuring the best identified works by established and emerging choreographers in the Washington, D.C area.
Style it Forward - Fashion Show
SAPAN dancers performed at an Indo-Parisian fashion installation hosted at the Manor Club in Washington, D.C.
Theater at the Embassy
SAPAN was invited to perform the play – “Here We Are!” – for a select audience at the Indian Embassy in Washington, D.C.
Comedy Night
SAPAN hosted a sold-out comedy night fundraiser, showcasing the comedic talents of local stand-up comics.
House of NAACH
SAPAN hosted and performed at this nationally renowned dance competition and charity event. All proceeds were donated to the Indian American Foundation’s (AIF) Maternal and Newborn Survival Initiative (MANSI).
Here We Are!
SAPAN resident artists directed and performed this one-act play at the Natya Bharati 30th Anniversary Play Festival.
Arts for Kids
SAPAN collaborated with the Pratham DC Young Professionals to present an evening of music and short plays at Busboys & Poets.
2014
The Smithsonian Institution:
Living Beyond Bollywood (2014 & 2015)
SAPAN’s Living Beyond Bollywood production brought to life the Indian American experience as captured in the Smithsonian’s historic exhibit entitled, Beyond Bollywood: Indian Americans Shape the Nation. Through a series of in- exhibit theatrical scenes created in collaboration with the exhibit’s curator, we explored the Indian American identity from early migration to contemporary culture.
Wonder Starts Here
SAPAN dancers performed at the launch of the Smithsonian’s Wonder Starts Here fundraising campaign
Folk Life Festival
SAPAN musicians performed as part of the Busboys & Poets Potluck Poetry event
Congressional Night
SAPAN performed for members of Congress and their families during this annual event hosted at the National Museum of the American Indian
Asia After Dark
SAPAN performed at the Smithsonian Sackler Art Gallery for one of the most anticipated events of the year.
Dance Workshops
SAPAN kicked off Asian Pacific American Heritage Month through a series of dance workshops celebrating the historic opening of the Beyond Bollywood Exhibit in the Smithsonian’s Natural History Museum.
SAPAN Live:
Music To Your Ears
A music showcase performed in front of a sold-out crowd at Busboys & Poets, featuring SAPAN original compositions, covers, and mashups.
2013
Joy of Motion
Dance Project
SAPAN was one of eleven groups selected to participate in this annual showcase of the best dance companies in the Washington, D.C. area.
Ek Kala: One Art,
Many Rhythms
Presented to a two-day sold-out audience, the SAPAN dancers presented a unique dance repertoire, celebrating modern pop rhythms, nostalgic Bollywood tunes, and the bhangra beats of DJ Rekha.
A Doll’s House
SAPAN performed a South Asian spin on a Henrik Ibsen classic, adapting the characters for a new audience and setting the play in 1970’s Toronto, Canada during one of the early South Asian diasporas.
2012
Tapestry
SAPAN musicians presented an evening length showcase at Bloombars, featuring original compositions exploring our classical and indie rock sides.
For the
Love of Cricket
Performed at the annual Artomatic Festival, this one-act comedy was written, directed, and performed by SAPAN resident artists.
The Ekatva
Oneness Tour
SAPAN sponsored and performed in the Washington, D.C. leg of Manav Sadhna’s Ekatva Oneness Tour – an inspiring show featuring 16 children from the slums of India who presented a 90-minute dance drama around Gandhi’s ideals of strength, peace and oneness.
2011
The Eleventh Face: Ravana’s Untold Story
SAPAN’s first full length original production telling the story of the ancient Hindu epic – The Ramayana – through the eyes of the infamous antagonist Ravana. A year in the making, the show featured an original script, musical underscores, and dance choreography, and premiered for a three-day sold-out audience.
2010
Sangeet
SAPAN’s first music showcase, which presented original compositions fusing South Asian classical music with modern Jazz and Bollywood.
Naach
SAPAN’s first dance showcase, which presented original choreography of classical, folk, and modern South Asian dance styles.
2009
The SAPAN Mela
SAPAN hosted a community festival at the Navy Memorial to celebrate South Asian performing arts. The evening featured interactive dance and music demos by SAPAN resident artists, and performances by the SAPAN Performance Company.
Salsa and Samosas
SAPAN collaorated with a local Salsa group for an evening of Indian and Latin performances.