San Jose Dancers Examine Family Lineage

Abhinaya Dance Company of San José is bringing lineage to the foreground with “Trikaala – Then, Now, Becoming,” a new solo by principal artist Rasika Kumar on May 9 at Cubberley Theatre in Palo Alto. (abhinaya.org) The company says Kumar is returning to solo Bharatanatyam 30 years after her arangetram, the full-length debut performance that marks a classical dancer’s formal entry into the form. (abhinaya.org) (tikkl.com) “Trikaala” uses the margam, the structured sequence of a Bharatanatyam recital, as its frame while mixing personal memory, mythology and spiritual inquiry. (abhinaya.org) (tikkl.com) Abhinaya says the piece asks what it means to inherit a tradition and then choose it again in the present. Its description ties that question to teaching, motherhood and the handoff between generations. (abhinaya.org) The company places the work inside an Indian American context, describing artists who carry rituals, stories and temple traditions across oceans and generations. (abhinaya.org) That framing comes from a Bay Area institution with a long local footprint. Artistic director Mythili Kumar founded Abhinaya in 1980 to present South Indian classical dance in San José. (abhinaya.org) Abhinaya says it has spent more than four decades teaching and performing Bharatanatyam in the region, building a pipeline from students to professional artists. (abhinaya.org) (actaonline.org) Kumar’s own public artist bio describes her as a California-based Bharatanatyam soloist and choreographer working from Silicon Valley with “contemporary sensibilities” inside a traditional form. (rasikakumardance.com) Tickets for the May 9, 2026 performance are listed at $25 to $35, with the show scheduled for 4 p.m. at Cubberley Theatre. (sfcv.org) (abhinaya.org)