Year: 2025-2026
DanceForce Member: Kim Engel
Partnering DanceForce Member: Ivan Sygoda
Artist: Barkha Patel
Community Partners: Albany Academy; Ellen Sinopoli Dance Company; Russell Sage College Dance Program; Schenectady City School District; UAlbany; Union College Department of Theatre and Dance, Schenectady
Audience: 862
Counties: Albany, Rensselaer, Schenectady
In March 2025, Kim Engel & Elena Mosley arranged outreach for Juried Bessie award winner Barkha Patel in Cohoes, Troy and Hudson in relation to an already planned upstate performance. The residency was so successful that Barkha and Kim conceived of and executed a follow-up residency in the Capital Region which took place on three occasions in the first half of 2026.
In February, Barkha performed “ramti aave: her playful arrival” along with three musicians before a full capacity audience in the Yulman Theatre at Union College in Schenectady. In a headline that read “Barkha Patel Leaves Audience Breathless,” local dance writer Wendy Liberatore described Barkha as “an intrepid explorer, using her skills in kathak dance and the hypnotic music of sarangi, tabla and voice, to lead her audience into an unseen world.”
About the performance experience, Barkha claimed, “It felt like a gift to my future dream performance. That opportunity immediately brought me clarity for the next version of the work I will present this fall at the Tribeca Performing Arts Center!”
Prior to the performance, Barkha presented a master class to students at Russell Sage College in Troy. About the experience, one participating student said, “”I think it was cool to have the opportunity to try something new…I probably would never have sought out a kathak dance class.”
Also during the February visit, Barkha began rehearsals on a commissioned piece for the Ellen Sinopoli Dance Company (ESDC), resident company of The Egg.
Returning in March, Barkha resumed rehearsals with ESDC along with participating in a presentation at the Emeritus Center at UAlbany and visiting Albany Academy for a demonstration and two classes. Thrilled at the experience for the students, Academy’s dance teacher claimed, “Ms. Patel’s visit reinforced for our community that dance serves as a universal language of connection across cultures.”
In a final visit in April, Barkha taught a World Dance class at Schenectady High School, had more rehearsals with ESDC and attended the premiere of her new work “Zikr” on April 25 at The Egg. According to Ellen Sinopoli, Barkha’s time with the company’s dancers “challenged them to expand beyond their modern dance training and apply that expertise to Kathak dance.” It also challenged Barkha who shared, “creating work for Ellen Sinopoli’s company has been an eye-opening experience that has further pushed my thinking as a dance maker.”
The work was reviewed by Wendy Liberatore who wrote, “Dressed in long golden smocks, a single dancer appeared haunted by the pounding feet and clapping hands inserting themselves into her mental rhythm. As others came out of the shadows to join her in her isolation, they wove a society that acknowledged pain, but fed on unity.”
Overall, Barkha’s multiple visits to the region put her in direct contact with over 800 community members from elementary school age through senior citizens.
“Yet again, I find myself offering deep gratitude to the NYS DanceForce,” says Barkha. “This wonderful organization continues to shape my experience as an artist and dance educator.”