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June 28, 2010 No Comments

Diverse entertainment options broaden Charlotte’s mainstream arts scene
by Angela Lindsay Hilst

From Bangladesh to Boston, one aspect of life we all share, regardless of our cultural backgrounds, is the arts. As Charlotte’s population expands in diversity, so have the offerings by the city’s arts and entertainment community.

A universal theme
For Maha Gingrich, founder of Dances of India at Central Piedmont Community College, it’s all about celebrating unity and diversity.
In the past nine years, she has produced and choreographed the event showcasing the traditional 3,000-year-old classical dances from the Southern and Northern regions of India, as well as the folk dances of India.
Gingrich says she researches which cultures around the world hold similar celebrations to India, then brings in representatives from those cultures to show the similarities.
“For the themes that I am showcasing with Dances of India, I want to show the unity and diversity. I want to show that we are more similar than different, and so in order to prove my point through performing arts, that’s what I do. I pick and choose to see which culture has influences of India,” she says.
In the past, she has presented a “clapping” theme showed how Russian gypsy dance evolved from Indian gypsy dance; a “stick” theme featuring Filipino dancers performing a bamboo dance; and, last year, guest artists from West Africa who participated in the “animal” theme.

Gingrich’s focus on unity and diversity extends also to the orchestra — comprising musicians from different countries with whom she composes music — that accompanies the dances. She also works with various choreographers to create authentic dance steps.

“Through performing arts you can break the barriers of language, and you can actually see it,” she explains.
A native of Hyderabad, India, where she danced professionally, Gingrich came to Charlotte in 1986 and has been teaching dance since then. She is trained in three dance traditions and says the city has been welcoming of different cultures.

“I strongly believe Charlotte is an international city. … (Residents) want to learn. They want to understand. They want to embrace,” she says.
Though happy knowing that she’s preserving her heritage and exposing the city to her culture, Gingrich is most pleased with the fact that the performances are more than entertainment for the audience, which “takes something back” from the show. Many audience members, moved by the performances, tearfully hug her after the show.

“It’s amazing,” she says.

Happy feet
Dancers at the Walsh Kelley School of Irish Dance execute moves with precision and passion. Aine Walsh Kelley founded the school in 1999. A native of Cork, Ireland, she moved to Charlotte in 1994 after being awarded a visa to work in the United States. Before that she danced competitively in Ireland for 12 ½ years and later became a dance teacher there. She is certified to teach by An Coimisiun le Rinci Gaelacha in Dublin, Ireland and by the North American Irish Dancing Association.

“I feel Irish dancing is unique because there is so much history that has been passed on through the generations,” she explains. “While Irish dancing has evolved through the years, the basics of Irish dancing remain the same. Unlike any other dance form, we dance from the waist down, not moving any part of our upper body.”
Students, who range from age 4 through adulthood, start by learning the basics, then advance to more intricate moves in soft shoe and hard shoe. Kelley says she begins by teaching the student’s solo dancing. After advancing to level two, they can participate in group dances.

She feels the school contributes to the growing diversity of culture in the city.

“Irish dancing has a rich cultural heritage, spanning many generations. It is a form of dance that is not mainstream, like ballet is, for example,” she says. “While there is an Irish and Irish-American connection in the school, it attracts students interested in dance from a variety of ethnic backgrounds. Audiences see our Irish dancing performances and are intrigued by the style of dancing and heritage of the colorful costumes. The Walsh Kelley School often performs at international festivals and events in order to promote and celebrate diversity of culture in Charlotte.”
Kelley says WKS dancers have been well-received during performances at the city’s St. Patrick’s Day celebration, the Charlotte Philharmonic on opening night at the Blumenthal Performing Arts Center, and during halftime at Charlotte Bobcats games.
“Diversity in the arts is something that will always need room for growth,” she feels. “But organizations like the McColl Center for Visual Arts, the Arts & Science Council, the Light Factory and the Levine Museum of the New South have made incredible strides to help Charlotte get on the road to becoming a world-class cultural arts city. We are now seeing much more diversity in all aspects of the arts Charlotte-wide.”
Lights. Camera. Arysley.
Kenny Mahtani, a Mumbai India native, owns a clothing store in Gastonia’s Eastridge Mall. But his passion is movies.

“Ever since I was young, I have been an avid fan of films, and I do this because I love Indian cinema, and I love bringing it to the people over here in the Charlotte community,” he says.

Moving to Gastonia in the early 1980s, he opened a video rental store for Indian movies much like the one he owned when he lived in Buffalo, N.Y. Mahtani also played Bollywood films at a theater in Buffalo and brought that concept to Charlotte. In 1990, he began showing Indian films in Tryon Mall Theater, Queens Park Cinemas and Stonecrest Regal. In 2006, he moved his operation to Arysley Theaters, where he shows Bollywood movies three times a day each week from Friday to Thursday.

“India is so diverse in its culture and languages, and the majority of the people over there speak a language called Hindi, and that’s what most of the Bollywood films come in,” he explains. “So, basically everybody in India would watch a Bollywood film because that language is universal and then each different culture has their own films …”

The Bollywood films have subtitles, which Mahtani says tend to attract Americans. However, he also plays regional South Indian movies called Teleugu and Tamil, which do not have subtitles and are normally shown three times a day on the weekends.

As with Hollywood films, turnout for the Indian movies hinges on the genre and its stars. Through it all, Mahtani says the management at Arysley has been accommodating.

“They are very supportive of bringing different cultures and different types of movies to the Charlotte community,” Mahtani states. “They are very much into playing different types of movies for everybody.”
In addition to film, Mahtani also presents Indian stage shows with musical groups and Bollywood actors and actresses who come to America for tours. He has conducted these performances over the last 10 to 15 years at venues such as Ovens Auditorium, Blumenthal and CPCC’s Halton Arena.

Mahtani is optimistic about the growth he has seen in Charlotte, observing that while he used to play one movie for just one or two shows on Sundays in the 1990s, he is now playing movies for an entire week for three shows a day.

He says, “It definitely has grown over the past 20 years as far as diversity and Indians coming over here to the Charlotte area.”

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