If you are traveling to South India during the end of 2018, there is a series of events happening in Chennai organized by Dance and Music Academies based out of Chennai. There are multiple series of events hosted by a various organization who are evangelists of art, music, and dance, specific to South India. The annual Music and Dance festival starts from mid-November 2018 and will continue until end January 2019, across multiple venues in Chennai. The main action, however, will be between 15th to 31st December 2018, mostly scheduled to happen during the evening and tickets will be available a few weeks closer to the event dates. Two renowned institutions associated with music and dance are the Kalakshetra and The Music Academy Madras. These are landmark institutions nurturing artists in the respective fields and organize annual events that are a grand celebration for lovers of Music and dance.
The Music Academy Madras is a great institution that has marked its presence in the field of fine arts. The All India Congression session held at Madras (modern-day Chennai) gave way to the inception of this Music Academy. In the year 1929, the academy gave way to numerous art and music based conference, since then the December Music festival of Madras organically nurtured the institution and gave way to one of the most significant cultural events of the world. You can download the schedule of the 92nd Annual conferences and concert from the below link; it is from the 15th of December to the 1st of January. (This link is an extraction from the academy website - https://musicacademymadras.in/conference-and-concerts
Another landmark institution that promotes South Indian art form is Kalakshetra. Founded by Rukmini Devi Arundale in Madras (Modern-day Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu. She was a lady with a vision, it was
"Kalakshetra is an institution not merely for the development of art. It exists in order that youth may be educated, not to become artists alone, but to have the right attitude to life, the right attitude to art, in order that they may be of great service to our country." - Rukmini Devi (1904-1986)
Rukmini was born in Madurai and later moved to Chennai, she had a very close bonding with Theosophical Society, Adayar. The inception of Kalakshetra had its origins within the Theosophical society campus and later moved to a 100-acre campus of their own, which is a must visit academy campus focused on art. Rukmini Devi's life as an evangelist of art is an admiring story. She had a very close association with prominent individuals like Annie Besant, Dr. George Sydney Arundale (who was her husband), and other thinkers and theosophists of the time. She broke many societal norms and stood firm in what she believed. There are guided campus tours available at the academy office. The annual art festival at Kalakshetra is scheduled from the 20th of December, 2018 to the 2nd of January 2019. The schedule of the events would be available on the below link.
We are sharing about these festivals for travelers who would love to engage themselves in experiencing dramatic art forms based out of South India. They are colorful and evokes your senses to the world of art.