Shamsa: Light of God

Shamsa: Light of God<br>
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<b>The SanDiego Museum of Art, Balboa Park, James S. Copley Auditorium</b>
$40 / $60 premium reserved seating. Members of the Museum, the Persian Cultural Center of San Diego, and full-time students with ID receive a $20 discount on prices.<br><br>

Purchase tickets in person at the Museum admission desk (M-S 10-5; Sun 12-5); Ticketmaster.com, or through the Persian Cultural Center by phone at (858) 653-0336 or email at pcc@pccsd.org.
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PCC membrs enjoy $20 discount.
We accept: Visa, MasterCard and Check. You can also pay online via Paypal. For More information please call 858-653-0336
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Payable to: Persian Cultural Center (PCC). <br>
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The San Diego Museum of Art and Naatya proudly present a unique classical dance and live music performance to celebrate the inauguration of the Museum's new galleries and to honor Maestro Ravi Shankar's 90 Glorious Years. A shamsa is an ornate sunburst that appears at the beginning of Persian manuscripts made throughout Iran and India. This specially choreographed performing arts event is to be like a shamsa, taking place to herald the beginning of the new permanent collection installation, Temple, Palace, Mosque: Southern Asian and Persian Art.<br><br>


Shoba Sharma is an internationally acclaimed classical Indian dancer. Together with a team of choreographers, scholars, and musicians from India and Iran, Shoba will perform three dances, each set to a different style of music that accords with the themes of the new galleries. The performance will open with an invocation to Ganesh and close with a triumphant grand finale composed by Maestro Ravi Shankar.<br><br>

The first piece, in association with the art in the Temple gallery, will be South Indian in style and will feature the story of the Tamil child saint, Sambandar, who lived in the 7th century. It focuses on the theme of liberation (moksha) through devotion.
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The second piece will be set to Hindustani music, and the subject will be love. The verses will be drawn from those on the actual paintings from the Gita Govinda and Rasikapriya that are on view in the Palace gallery, now including paintings made at the court of Bikaner in Rajasthan.
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Persian musicians will provide the accompaniment to the third dance, and the mood will be heroic, with reference to scenes from the Shahnama, the Persian Book of Kings.
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Each of the three dances will not exceed thirty minutes, with a short costume change in between, during which the Curator of the exhibition, Dr. Sonya Rhie Quintanilla, will present images of the works on view with an explanation of the theme of the gallery space as it pertains to the upcoming dance.
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Be sure to join us for this unique, spectacular art, dance, and music event.
Tickets are on sale now.