Azmiuth Program
Letter from the Directors
Dear Audience,
Welcome back.
A year ago, we stood before you with a vision still taking shape, with a friendship still finding its footing, with a show we had willed into existence through sheer belief. Tonight, we return with something harder-earned and more certain.
The world outside this theater has grown heavier. And in living through that, alongside people we love and trust, our work has only become clearer. We are doing something we believe in with greater conviction than ever: we are pioneering a form of cross-cultural sharing through music and dance that refuses the logic of division. We are building a living space where our traditions can breathe together, teach each other, and reveal what has always connected them. In a historical moment saturated with violence and fracture, we believe this is one of the most necessary things artists can do.
This year's program weaves together BAILA Society's repertoire with Navatman's as a genuine integration of sensibilities, aesthetics, and stories. The ancestors and predecessors whose work we carry forward would recognize each other across these traditions. Our own lives are in this work too. That has only deepened. Our friendships have deepened with it.
We named this program Azimuth. In navigation, an azimuth is the angular measurement that orients you toward a fixed point in the sky, a way of locating yourself in relation to something larger and more enduring. We have come to think of this work as our north star, the fixed point we return to when the world makes it hard to know which way to move. It has guided our journey together, and tonight it guides yours.
To our cast and students: we owe you more than gratitude. What you showed us this year was extraordinary. You came to this process with commitment and discipline, yes, but also with something rarer. When hard decisions needed to be made, you made them together. You did not wait to be told what to do. You problem-solved as a collective, with generosity and seriousness, and you brought a spirit of independence that made this work genuinely collaborative rather than top-down. You are more than performers. You are the living argument for everything we believe about community and art. Watching you find each other in this process has been one of the most moving experiences of our creative lives.
To our families, friends, and ancestors who have held us through another year of this: your love sustains us. None of this exists without you.
To everyone in this room tonight: thank you for being here. Thank you for choosing, in this particular moment in history, to sit together in the dark and watch human beings tell the truth through their bodies. That is an act of faith, and we do not take it lightly.
The work continues. We are glad you are with us.
With love and gratitude,
Sahi & Ahtoy
Directors and Co-Producers
Welcome back.
A year ago, we stood before you with a vision still taking shape, with a friendship still finding its footing, with a show we had willed into existence through sheer belief. Tonight, we return with something harder-earned and more certain.
The world outside this theater has grown heavier. And in living through that, alongside people we love and trust, our work has only become clearer. We are doing something we believe in with greater conviction than ever: we are pioneering a form of cross-cultural sharing through music and dance that refuses the logic of division. We are building a living space where our traditions can breathe together, teach each other, and reveal what has always connected them. In a historical moment saturated with violence and fracture, we believe this is one of the most necessary things artists can do.
This year's program weaves together BAILA Society's repertoire with Navatman's as a genuine integration of sensibilities, aesthetics, and stories. The ancestors and predecessors whose work we carry forward would recognize each other across these traditions. Our own lives are in this work too. That has only deepened. Our friendships have deepened with it.
We named this program Azimuth. In navigation, an azimuth is the angular measurement that orients you toward a fixed point in the sky, a way of locating yourself in relation to something larger and more enduring. We have come to think of this work as our north star, the fixed point we return to when the world makes it hard to know which way to move. It has guided our journey together, and tonight it guides yours.
To our cast and students: we owe you more than gratitude. What you showed us this year was extraordinary. You came to this process with commitment and discipline, yes, but also with something rarer. When hard decisions needed to be made, you made them together. You did not wait to be told what to do. You problem-solved as a collective, with generosity and seriousness, and you brought a spirit of independence that made this work genuinely collaborative rather than top-down. You are more than performers. You are the living argument for everything we believe about community and art. Watching you find each other in this process has been one of the most moving experiences of our creative lives.
To our families, friends, and ancestors who have held us through another year of this: your love sustains us. None of this exists without you.
To everyone in this room tonight: thank you for being here. Thank you for choosing, in this particular moment in history, to sit together in the dark and watch human beings tell the truth through their bodies. That is an act of faith, and we do not take it lightly.
The work continues. We are glad you are with us.
With love and gratitude,
Sahi & Ahtoy
Directors and Co-Producers
Program
Chaos/Harmony
Encendido
Revelation
Bad Girls
Community Building
Dancing Gangsters
Breaking Cycles
Los Muchachos de Belen
The Power of Art
The Passing
Aqui Estoy
Encendido
Revelation
Bad Girls
Community Building
Dancing Gangsters
Breaking Cycles
Los Muchachos de Belen
The Power of Art
The Passing
Aqui Estoy
Production
CREATIVE CIRCLE
Sahasra Sambamoorthi, Ahtoy Juliana, Edwin Tolentino, Jessica Ho, Isabel Freiberger, Brandon Grant, Cielo Gonzalez, Andrew Avila.
MUSICIANS AND COMPOSERS
Radhika Krishnaraj, Shraman Sen, Sanjay Natesan, Ucchal Banerjee, Sahasra Sambamoorthi (Musical Director)
STAGE MANAGER
Alec Mori
LIGHTING DESIGNER
Mark Fortunato
SPECIAL THANKS
Sridhar Shanmugam (Co-Founder Navatman), Aadtihya Prem, Aashutosh Mukerji, Alysa Chen, Andrew Yu, Ankita Khanna, Annam Hussaini, Hana Martinez, Laila Zubair, Lavanya Jagirdhar, Moneesha Kumar, Nila Natarajan, Pavan Kumar Ananth, Prachi Ghera, Guru Prashant Shah (Kathak Dept. Head Navatman), Sahana Gupta, Sahana Kumar, Wenly Liparanon, and All Our Volunteers
IN MEMORIAM OF
Willie “Marine Boy” Estrada
Sahasra Sambamoorthi, Ahtoy Juliana, Edwin Tolentino, Jessica Ho, Isabel Freiberger, Brandon Grant, Cielo Gonzalez, Andrew Avila.
MUSICIANS AND COMPOSERS
Radhika Krishnaraj, Shraman Sen, Sanjay Natesan, Ucchal Banerjee, Sahasra Sambamoorthi (Musical Director)
STAGE MANAGER
Alec Mori
LIGHTING DESIGNER
Mark Fortunato
SPECIAL THANKS
Sridhar Shanmugam (Co-Founder Navatman), Aadtihya Prem, Aashutosh Mukerji, Alysa Chen, Andrew Yu, Ankita Khanna, Annam Hussaini, Hana Martinez, Laila Zubair, Lavanya Jagirdhar, Moneesha Kumar, Nila Natarajan, Pavan Kumar Ananth, Prachi Ghera, Guru Prashant Shah (Kathak Dept. Head Navatman), Sahana Gupta, Sahana Kumar, Wenly Liparanon, and All Our Volunteers
IN MEMORIAM OF
Willie “Marine Boy” Estrada
Cast
Navatman Cast:
Aadhya Kasarabada, Aadithya Prem, Abha Karki Rajbhandari, Aditi Naik-Talapadatur, Anjali Shukla, Annam Hussaini, Anushree Tibrewal, Aratrika Sarkar, Ariana Parekh, Arya Anand, Ashianna Ally, Che Mampilly, Diya Sethi, Dolon Chakraborty, Gayatri Shandar, Isha Kumbhani, Janani Bhagat, Katya Viswanadhan, Kavya Aggarwal, Kayla Hicks, Laila Zubair, Leeandra Boodlal, Lekha Wood, Maya George, Maya Kaur Gill, Medha Patil, Mia Kraft, Miraaya Belani, Monica Kumar, Nadia Halder, Navya Prasad, Neena George, Nimmi Mohan, Nisha Lakhiani, Noyonika Roy, Pavan Kumar Ananth, Priyal Tare, Rewa Verma, Richa Vijayvergiya, Roshmi Ganguli, Saanvi Kasarabada, Saara Wood, Sanya Agrawal, Sarah Kuruvilla, Satya Sishodia, Shefali Dahiya, Shreya Mahajan Mehta, Shruti Sharma, Sisira Veerapaneni, Sonal Rai, Suhani Prasad, Sulakshana Reddy, Uma Poduval, Uma Rau, Vidhir Verma, Zalini Persaud, Zayna George
BAILA Society Cast:
Alejandra Isidro Gualdron, Alexandra Maniacci, Alla Bronskaya, Alysa Chen, Alzahraa (Zizi) Ahmed, Andrea Hernandez, Brandon Grant, Caleb Wright, Cielo Gonzalez, Claudia Sol Hinojosa, Cristina Timotei, Denise Ozer, Elvis Collado, Gabriel Alatorre, Giovanna Braganza, Hana Goldstone, Isabella Lee, Jazzlyn Diaz, Jenny Lin, Jessica Thomas, Jessica Torres, Jessie LaMasse, Jillian Pacheco, Kay Powers, Laura Eguia, Lea Leventhal, Lesley Sahagun, Linda Yu, Lisa Mammano, Lynn Ortega-Smith, Maiysha (Maya) Mondesi, Malik Brown, Natasha M. Alexis, Roberto Arias-Yacupoma, Ronniel Munoz Betances, Ryan Bisumber, Sam Marcillo-Gomez, Seanley Feliz, Veronica Polanco, Yasmine Rodriguez.
Alexa Ramos Seda, Alicia Raquel Morales, Anna Patterson, Carmel Bendit-Shtull, Christianna Pepingco, Devorah Shubowitz, Dina Goodger, Erick Martinez Jr, Eugene Serban, Haley Collins, Johnny Ong, Nataly Carbonell, Neyda Colón-DiMaria, Nicole Arriaga-Bell, Rafael Reynoso, Sara Mazzilli, Stacey Justice, Veronica Aranov, Victoria Celis, Yvelisse Gonzalez, Yolanda Nicole Lotson.
Aadhya Kasarabada, Aadithya Prem, Abha Karki Rajbhandari, Aditi Naik-Talapadatur, Anjali Shukla, Annam Hussaini, Anushree Tibrewal, Aratrika Sarkar, Ariana Parekh, Arya Anand, Ashianna Ally, Che Mampilly, Diya Sethi, Dolon Chakraborty, Gayatri Shandar, Isha Kumbhani, Janani Bhagat, Katya Viswanadhan, Kavya Aggarwal, Kayla Hicks, Laila Zubair, Leeandra Boodlal, Lekha Wood, Maya George, Maya Kaur Gill, Medha Patil, Mia Kraft, Miraaya Belani, Monica Kumar, Nadia Halder, Navya Prasad, Neena George, Nimmi Mohan, Nisha Lakhiani, Noyonika Roy, Pavan Kumar Ananth, Priyal Tare, Rewa Verma, Richa Vijayvergiya, Roshmi Ganguli, Saanvi Kasarabada, Saara Wood, Sanya Agrawal, Sarah Kuruvilla, Satya Sishodia, Shefali Dahiya, Shreya Mahajan Mehta, Shruti Sharma, Sisira Veerapaneni, Sonal Rai, Suhani Prasad, Sulakshana Reddy, Uma Poduval, Uma Rau, Vidhir Verma, Zalini Persaud, Zayna George
BAILA Society Cast:
Alejandra Isidro Gualdron, Alexandra Maniacci, Alla Bronskaya, Alysa Chen, Alzahraa (Zizi) Ahmed, Andrea Hernandez, Brandon Grant, Caleb Wright, Cielo Gonzalez, Claudia Sol Hinojosa, Cristina Timotei, Denise Ozer, Elvis Collado, Gabriel Alatorre, Giovanna Braganza, Hana Goldstone, Isabella Lee, Jazzlyn Diaz, Jenny Lin, Jessica Thomas, Jessica Torres, Jessie LaMasse, Jillian Pacheco, Kay Powers, Laura Eguia, Lea Leventhal, Lesley Sahagun, Linda Yu, Lisa Mammano, Lynn Ortega-Smith, Maiysha (Maya) Mondesi, Malik Brown, Natasha M. Alexis, Roberto Arias-Yacupoma, Ronniel Munoz Betances, Ryan Bisumber, Sam Marcillo-Gomez, Seanley Feliz, Veronica Polanco, Yasmine Rodriguez.
Alexa Ramos Seda, Alicia Raquel Morales, Anna Patterson, Carmel Bendit-Shtull, Christianna Pepingco, Devorah Shubowitz, Dina Goodger, Erick Martinez Jr, Eugene Serban, Haley Collins, Johnny Ong, Nataly Carbonell, Neyda Colón-DiMaria, Nicole Arriaga-Bell, Rafael Reynoso, Sara Mazzilli, Stacey Justice, Veronica Aranov, Victoria Celis, Yvelisse Gonzalez, Yolanda Nicole Lotson.
