2023
Featured in "The Hindu"
"Walking into Navatman’s new, in-house theater space, an intimate 30-seater black box auditorium, is like heading home ... Am I in Chennai? No. I am just enjoying a slice of the city in the middle of Koreatown in Manhattan. Welcome to the Drive East festival, where Indian arts come alive far away from their home."
"Walking into Navatman’s new, in-house theater space, an intimate 30-seater black box auditorium, is like heading home ... Am I in Chennai? No. I am just enjoying a slice of the city in the middle of Koreatown in Manhattan. Welcome to the Drive East festival, where Indian arts come alive far away from their home."
Featured in "Dance Magazine" and "Dance Teacher Magazine"
"Bharatanatyam dancers are known for their ability to imbue small movements with giant meaning. A pointed turn of the head, shift of the gaze, or movement of the hands and fingers can move the choreography forward or reveal the nuances of a specific character. “The moment you walk on the dance floor, you are learning how to articulate your fingers,” says Sahasra Sambamoorthi"
"Bharatanatyam dancers are known for their ability to imbue small movements with giant meaning. A pointed turn of the head, shift of the gaze, or movement of the hands and fingers can move the choreography forward or reveal the nuances of a specific character. “The moment you walk on the dance floor, you are learning how to articulate your fingers,” says Sahasra Sambamoorthi"
Featured in "The Dance Enthusiast"
"Both events were part of a remarkable lineup of music and dance at the Navatman studios, whose entrance was transformed into a shrine with sacred images, garlands of flowers, and colorful draperies, and where audience members were offered rose-water refreshments before the show."
"Both events were part of a remarkable lineup of music and dance at the Navatman studios, whose entrance was transformed into a shrine with sacred images, garlands of flowers, and colorful draperies, and where audience members were offered rose-water refreshments before the show."
2021
Coming soon....
2020
The Indian Panorama: NAVATMAN Music Collective & Dance Comes to Flushing Town Hall
woollywesterneye: Satpathy at Drive East’s 2019 San Francisco’s Opening
The Hindu: Time for Drive East
woollywesterneye: Satpathy at Drive East’s 2019 San Francisco’s Opening
The Hindu: Time for Drive East
2019
Drive East 2019
New York Music Daily: The 30 Best Concerts of 2019
The New Yorker: Powerful Expressions of Indian Dance at the Drive East Festival
Dance Tabs: Bijayini Satpathy at the Drive East Festival – Kalpana bill – New York
The Hindu: Drive East festival showcases the best of India’s classical performance traditions
Drive East in San Francisco
Mahabharata Stage Production
News Indiatimes: Mahabharata by female dancers
New York Music Daily: The 30 Best Concerts of 2019
The New Yorker: Powerful Expressions of Indian Dance at the Drive East Festival
Dance Tabs: Bijayini Satpathy at the Drive East Festival – Kalpana bill – New York
The Hindu: Drive East festival showcases the best of India’s classical performance traditions
Drive East in San Francisco
Mahabharata Stage Production
News Indiatimes: Mahabharata by female dancers
2018
New York Times: An Epic Heroine in New York
New York Times: 5 Dance Performances to See in N.Y.C. This Weekend
India Currents Magazine: Carnatic Music in a New Flavor
Patch: Successful Fundraiser Held for Summer Camp Scholarships
News Center Maine: The sights and sounds of the American Folk Festival
New York Times: 5 Dance Performances to See in N.Y.C. This Weekend
India Currents Magazine: Carnatic Music in a New Flavor
Patch: Successful Fundraiser Held for Summer Camp Scholarships
News Center Maine: The sights and sounds of the American Folk Festival
2017
New York Times:
The best dance of 2017: Sujata Mohapatra and Christopher Gurusamy at Drive East!
New York Times: An Odissi Dancer Contains Sublime Multitudes
New York Times: Traditional Indian Dance with Room for New Blood
Financial Review: Sujata Mohapatra, Drive East, New York - delightful, fierce, sexy
Drive East 2017
The Hindu feature article
The New Yorker preview
New York Times preview
Feature in Garam Chai
DanceFest 2017 in Tompkins Square Park
The best dance of 2017: Sujata Mohapatra and Christopher Gurusamy at Drive East!
New York Times: An Odissi Dancer Contains Sublime Multitudes
New York Times: Traditional Indian Dance with Room for New Blood
Financial Review: Sujata Mohapatra, Drive East, New York - delightful, fierce, sexy
Drive East 2017
The Hindu feature article
The New Yorker preview
New York Times preview
Feature in Garam Chai
DanceFest 2017 in Tompkins Square Park
2008 - 2015
Drive East 2016:
Drive East 2015:
"[Navatman]...offers classes in a small, friendly atmosphere", Hinduism Here Blog
Drive East 2014:
Drive East 2013:
Review of Odisha Dance Academy; New York Times
Review of Ramya Ramnarayan Margam with Live Orchestra; New York Times // PDF Version
Review of Pappu Can Sing, Salla by The Anamika-Navatman Youth Board; India Ink New York TImes // PDF Version
Review of Bhinna Pravaaha with Maya Kulkarni; Lassi with Lavina || PDF version
Blog Post on Indian Khana Made Easy about the first Brunch Performance Series
Interview with Sahasra; Artist Spotlight: Art + Culture
Review of Her Story: The Hindu
Interview with Srinidhi about Her Story: The Times of India
Review of Her Story: Eastern Eye
Review of Her Story: Confluence
Review of Her Story: Narthaki.com
Review of Her Story: Lokvani.com || PDF version
Review of Her Story: Rasikas.org || PDF version
Review of Sahasra's and Srinidhi's performance at the IAAC Downtown Dance Festival: New York Times || PDF version
Review of Sahasra's and Srinidhi's performances at the IAAC Downtown Dance Festival: Narthaki.com
- Rukmini Vijayakumar, Yamini Kalluri, NADAM & Sunanda Nair got a preview in the New York Times.
- A preview of the Fest in: Brown Girl Magazine, India.com, The Indian Eye, The Universal News Network and Asana.
- An editorial piece by our very own student Jessica Perez on the role of Indian Classical Dance and Music in her life - featured in Guernica Magazine.
- The New Yorker recommended us here.
- Time Out New York said that Drive East was one of the best things to do in the East Village.
- A mention in the Narthaki.
- Kedar Naphade got a special mention in the NewYork Music Daily.
- Navatman Music Collective also got a review in the New York Music Daily.
- Sahasra Sambamoorthi had a feature in Dance Teacher magazine
- We were promoted on various local radio stations, encouraging people to come to the performances
Drive East 2015:
- Archana Joglekar at Drive East; NJArts.net
- New York Times Review: Archana Joglekar
- New York Times Review: Ashwini Ramaswamy
- New York Times Drive East Preview
"[Navatman]...offers classes in a small, friendly atmosphere", Hinduism Here Blog
Drive East 2014:
- Nivedha Ramalingam Review in the New York Times
- Review in Financial Times
- Smitha Rajan, Anjal Chande & Ramya Ramnarayan Reviews in the New York Times
- The New York Times: Sattriya and Kathak
- The New York Times, Dance Listings
- The New York Times, Drive East Preview "Moves Rarely Seen in the East Village"
- Preview in Time Out NY
- Eye on Dance Reviews: Krithika Rajagopalan, Niveda Ramalingam, Smitha Rajan
- The Assam Tribune
- NJ.com, "Undiscovered Gems"
Drive East 2013:
- "Drive East one of the top 10 dance events of the year" NJ.com
- Review of Bhinna Pravaaha, by Rajika Puri New York Times
- Preview of Bhinna Pravaaha, by Rajika Puri New York Times
- Review of Drive East; India Abroad
- Review of Jin Won at Drive East; New York Times
- Review of Shambhavi Dandekar and Sonali Mishra at Drive East; New York Times
- Review of Opening Night at Drive East; Financial Times
- Review of Rama Vaidyanathan at Drive East; New York Times
- Preview of Drive East; NJ.com
- Preview of Drive East and Navatman's student showcase; India Abroad
Review of Odisha Dance Academy; New York Times
Review of Ramya Ramnarayan Margam with Live Orchestra; New York Times // PDF Version
Review of Pappu Can Sing, Salla by The Anamika-Navatman Youth Board; India Ink New York TImes // PDF Version
Review of Bhinna Pravaaha with Maya Kulkarni; Lassi with Lavina || PDF version
Blog Post on Indian Khana Made Easy about the first Brunch Performance Series
Interview with Sahasra; Artist Spotlight: Art + Culture
Review of Her Story: The Hindu
Interview with Srinidhi about Her Story: The Times of India
Review of Her Story: Eastern Eye
Review of Her Story: Confluence
Review of Her Story: Narthaki.com
Review of Her Story: Lokvani.com || PDF version
Review of Her Story: Rasikas.org || PDF version
Review of Sahasra's and Srinidhi's performance at the IAAC Downtown Dance Festival: New York Times || PDF version
Review of Sahasra's and Srinidhi's performances at the IAAC Downtown Dance Festival: Narthaki.com