The United States of America fascinated me at first sight. Recently, I had the privilege of visiting this beautiful place for a month (Sept 25 to Oct 25, 2005), for Bharatanatyam performances, lecture demonstrations and teaching assignments. Though I have visited the States before, this was my first visit to Pittsburgh. With two renowned universities - the Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh, and the famous Balaji temple, the steel city as it was known earlier, had lots to offer.

During my month-long stay, I had the opportunity to perform before a cross-section of people - Asians, Afro-Americans, Americans, students of different age groups ranging from kindergarten to high school students and postgraduate students, who enrolled in a theatre workshop. My tour was organised by Vijay Palaparty, a Bharatanatyam dancer in Pittsburgh, who also works with the African American Cultural Centre and Shreyasi Dey of Shrishti Dances of India.

Just two days after my landing, I gave my first performance, along with Vijay Palaparty, at the Chatham College auditorium. The programme was organized by Shrishti Dances of India, a local cultural organization, which Vijay is part of.

On October 9, we presented 'Varnam: Colors of South Indian Dance' hosted by the Allegheny Regional Asset District (ARAD) at Kelly Strayhorn Theatre.

Our next performance was at the inauguration of the conference organized by the Carnegie Mellon University’s, Centre for Arts in Society.

I also gave performances at the Creative and Performing Arts High School, for LABCO Black Box series and at the Pittsburgh Balaji temple. The programme at the Balaji temple was dedicated to our guru Vidwan Madurai N. Krishnan.

Lecture demonstrations were held at different venues and for students of different age groups. For the 5-8 age-group, the topic I chose was an introduction to Bharathanatyam, basic movements and gesture language. Here, as I demonstrated a jungle scene, the children narrated the story with enthusiasm. For the 13-15 age-group, I spoke about the classical dance styles of India in general, abhinaya in Bharatanatyam and choreography.

In my lec-dem for post-graduate students specialising in theatre, I took up a different theme. Here I talked about the different classical and folk arts of India, a comparative study of Bharatanatyam as a solo performance and dance dramas and theatre. The visual presentation through videos to emphasise the dfferences was much appreciated by the students.

After every interaction, the students of all age groups wanted to try the head and eye movements, hand gestures and the dance movements like the 'thattadavu' and 'mandi adavu' and even the Nataraja pose.

The residential areas in Pittsburgh were bereft of people at any time. There are hardly any shops in the streets. Once I even had to cancel my shopping trip, for want of exact change for the bus! I demonstrated this as an abhinaya sequence to the students in a lec-dem and they enjoyed it.

During the weekend, I traveled to Columbus, Ohio where my dear friend Smitha Karpur Magal runs her own dance institution 'Silambam'. The pleasure of spending a weekend with Smitha and her family, made me feel like being back in Chennai. Smitha organized a performance at the Srinivasa temple. Here, I rendered a 'Varnam' on Lord Srinivasa. I was presented a silk saree that adorned the Lord and it was an experience which I shall cherish... At the end of this performance I was reminded of a performance which I gave about 20 years ago before Lord Srinivasa of Kalyanapuram, Thanjavur at the Garudotsavam festival.

Another unusual place that I visited was the Children's museum in Pittsburgh. This place is equipped with costumes, make-up and other accessories. Children come here with their families and friends, and use the make-up and costumes to enact and enjoy themselves. I had the pleasure of giving a performance here. The spontaneous response and joy I saw in the children is something which I shall remember for ever...

During my visit, I also had the opportunity to visit the African American Cultural Centre, where Vijay Palaparty works. The Centre had organized a promotional event for the launch of their mega project. The African-Americans at Pittshburgh are planning a $40 million project, with an 85,000 sqft Cultural Centre designed by San Francisco architect Allison William. The centre will have a 500 seat state-of-the-art theatre, an exhibition gallery, an outreach and education department, a multipurpose room, among other things. It will bring people together from different cultural backgrounds and of all ages. I had the pleasure of attending this event and I got to meet Ms. Allison William, the architect.

The hills and greenery, the empty streets and the Balaji temple, the pizzas and bus journeys...continue to linger on in my memory...

You can write to Padma S. Raghavan at padmaas284@yahoo.co.in