Ethnic Dance at Ashkenaz Presents Harsanari

Since 1997, under the leadership of Michael Ogi, Harsanari has specialized in dances from Sunda, West Java, Indonesia. From classical masked dances and dramas that enact the great Hindu epics the Mahabharata and the Ramayana to the contemporary folk dance forms that incorporate martial arts movements, Sundanese dance is rich and complex. It shows the influence of the many groups that have traded and settled in the area over the centuries but remains uniquely distinctive, with its dynamic syncopated drumming patterns, quick wrist flicks, sensual hip movements, and fast shoulder and torso isolations.