May his memory be a blessing for all.

Posted on: Jul 24, 2024 at 4:33 AM

Posted on: Jul 07, 2024 at 12:33 PM

Dana asked for updates, so here's a couple. I did a 2 day dance festival and seminar May31-June 1 bringing 2 dance groups from eastern India Odissa and Kharkand plus my own dancers and another troupe from Delhi. went well andgot great reviews. On my birthday my dance disciples are presenting a performance and I have no inkling of the planning except that there will be an AV plus performances.

Wishing a super duper birthday. It's so cute to see your now and then photos! Big hug from me. virtual as its too far to come from Delhi for the 75th

of course, we all remember Audrian Rodgers who became Rod Rogers when he left Detroit for New York and its nice to know that he welcomed Robert Lamb at the start of his NY career

I am sorry to know that Robert Rael has left us. I knew of thetrajectory of so many of my other dancer peers from Detroit and Ann Arbor but did not realize the fine career he had as well. May his memory be a blessing for us all.

from Sharon Lowen in New Delhi ( still performing and  teaching new generations of classical Indian dancers)

Posted on: Jan 07, 2024 at 1:57 AM

Wishing you a New Year of Peace and Happiness as I look back at 2023
2023 has been a year of personal contrasts. my own life has been as good as could be - filled with wonderful students, family and friends, and opportunities to positively impact others in the small ways I can. Conversely, the toxic events politically, socially and environmentally around the globe overlay a blanket of pain and angst for humanity and the planet.

The year included ongoing Odissi classes along with intensive winter and summer workshops teaching and connecting with dancers on and offline. It’s a joy to play a role in lives informed by dance and dance informed by their lives as they work, study and perform across India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Eastern and Western Europe, North and South America, Taiwan, Malaysia; from schools and dance schools where they teach and where they study from Oxford to Harvard to mapping the cosmos from Berkeley. Zoom lectures to students of students was also a pleasurable way to share with classical dancers of various genres in Argentina, Brazil and Portugal.

In April I performed with my 2 male disciples for the Guru-Shishya Natya Tarangini Festival of Radha/Raja Reddy.

In October, 4 of my disciples performed in the next festival reprising their G20 Hampi performances in the 4 styles Natya Tarangini production.

October was busy with student performances at Puja venues, LalitArpan Festival and my own at a 75 year old Ramlila.

The main highlight of the year was the Gandhi Jayanti Oct 2nd birth of my second grandchild, Sophia Daya Singh Chowdhry in Singapore, closely followed by the earlier auspicious Anand Karaj of my daughter’s brother-in-law Kabir with Harsuchetan in Amritsar. Lovely couple, lovely family and a joy for us all.


Living in Delhi means a weekly cornucopia of cultural programs to attend, inaugurate, feel nourished by, support and participate in occasionally. From a Lithuanian Fire Kindling ceremony and embassy national days to the music of Dagars, Amjad Ali Khan, Zakir Husain’s Shakti tour, Kalashram and other dance festivals and innumerable art exhibitions , I love living in the only world capital where the finest performing arts are available gratis to the public.

Out of Delhi, I was delighted to serve on the February G20 “Empowering Women to Lead across Sectors: Role of Digital Skilling and Future Skills”Inception meeting panel Art, Culture and a Better World in Agra.

I also performed in Bhubaneswar and Hyderabad along with receiving an award. In Delhi, I was deeply touched to receive the AMA GOURAB SAMMAM 2023 for unmatched commitment towards promotion of Odissi dance across the globe by THE INTELLECTS Delhi Odia community on the occasion of International Mother Language Day at the J.N. University Language and Literature Department last February. Their recognition of the language of dance, which I do speak, in promoting Odia language and culture was heart-warming as dance is the only language in which I’m fluent.

I was also honoured with GURU SAMAAN and performed at the Indradhanush Dilli 2023 in November.

Non-dance activities included attending a May-June 15 day retreat at Deer Park, Bir, HP led by Ven Geshe la of Tibet house New Delhi for Nalanda Master’s Course 1 participants who attended all the teachings on Madhyamikavatra (Entering the Middle Way) .

After the retreat we had a teaching in Dharamshala by HHDL with other diploma and recent masters’ course participants included. I managed to attend the recent Quantum Physics and Buddhism seminar day but missed too many Tibet House this year owning to scheduling conflicts.

The fall was also busy with house guests from Bangladesh, Nepal and France, presenting an illustrated talk on “What’s American about American Music?” for the India International Centre’s Music Appreciation Program and the book launch of Devotional Music of India for which I’d written chapters on Indian Jewish music and Buddhist devotional music of India.

Throughout the year I enjoyed Facetime with my grandson Michael who variously played piano, guitar, rebab, Tibetan bowls, recorder, flute, cello, tablas and his electronic compositions between warrior attacks from atop his bunk bed. Together in Singapore this December, we visited the Ice Cream Museum, Madam Tussaud’s and water sports at the Shangri-La Rasa Sentosa along with quality time with baby Sophia and proud parents Tara and Angad.

The week earlier was in Gauhati, Assam celebrating the marriage of my student Perrine with Partha along with her French family, college and work an National School of Drama friends. A fairy-tale wedding and a beautiful union. I managed to include a long desired elephant safari to see lots of Rhinos at the Porbitora Wildlife Sanctuary and darshan at the Kamakhya Temple one of the oldest and most revered centres of Tantric practices, dedicated to the goddess Kamakhya.

After Assam and Singapore, I popped down to Goa to participate in the That’s Not Indian Dance Marg Magazine panel at the Serendipity Arts Festival and back to Delhi for rehearsals for students’ performances on 27th Dec in Delhi and Bhubaneswar. Now I’m in Kolkata transitioning from 2023 to 2024 with my sister Jhumu, daughter of my first Manipuri teacher Lily Roy.

I hope the new year brings you and yours all the joys of traveling, staying home, doing much and doing little, being true to yourself and compassionate to others and I hope to meet in the not too distant future.
With love and affection,
Sharon

Show All…

Posted on: Jan 07, 2024 at 1:36 AM

Posted on: Sep 06, 2023 at 2:31 AM

Big hug and wishes for a super birthday and many happy returns of the day