Sukanya Burman is pictured performing Bharatanatyam, an Indian Classical Dance form. Submitted photo

There was some misinformation surrounding the Bayadere, so Sukanya Burman tried to find the correct information.

Upon doing research, she found that much of the stories were fabricated to bring the ballet in line with Western forms. In the West, she said, dance can be viewed as entertainment, as art for art’s sake, as a vehicle for community gathering and of advocacy. In the East, Indian dance is viewed as a cultural and a spiritual tradition.

Burman said in the past, a Bayadere was a female Indian temple dancer that performed ritual dances.

Burman is trained in Bharatanatyam, an Indian Classical Dance form, and wanted to update any misconceptions, so she will perform The Bayadere, at 7 p.m. Thursday, at the Carl Cappa Theater, inside the Robert H. Jackson Center, 305 E. Fourth St.

“My research was to tell the story of the dance of Bharatanatyam through three generations of women who have been temple dancers,” Burman said.

According to the American Ballet Theatre, art.org, the ballet premiered in New York City at the Metropolitan Opera House in May 1980. Set in the Royal India of the past, La Bayadere is a story of eternal love, mystery, fate, vengeance, and justice. The ballet relates the drama of a temple dancer (bayadere), Nikiya, who is loved by Solor, a noble warrior. She is also loved by the High Brahmin, but does not love him in return, as she does Solor.

Her show will use Bharatanatyam and Modern Dance as the medium of artistic expression and music from both traditional Carnatic and contemporary genres, Burman said.

“We explore the story of three generations of women who are of the devadasi lineage living in pre-colonial, colonial and post-colonial times. Their performative spaces range from the sanctum of a temple through the public nautch houses and finally to a concert stage in the modern times. Each character has a monologue where they share a story of their unique experience as culture bearers followed by a traditional offering of a dance to the audience,” Burman noted.

The hour-long show, she said, takes the audience on a journey through lived experiences of the dancer through music, poetry and dance.

The project has been funded through the New York State Council on the Arts, a $10,000 Support for Individual Artist Grant, and also supported through the fiscal sponsorship of Arts Services Inc. of Western New York.

“I encourage other artists to apply (for grants) as well,” she said.

Burman is the founder and Artistic Director of Sukanya Burman Dance located at 106 E. Second St., and is a current member of the New York State DanceForce, a program funded by NYSCA.

For more information about the event visit sukanyaburman.com or email info@sukanyaburman.com.