Art In Education Conference of N Y State Education Dept (1976)
In March 1976, the Dhananjayans were invited by the NY State Education Dept to undertake an educational tour of NY State, a great honour because among many institutions in India that were screened for the purpose, the Dhananjayans were chosen for the educative quality of their presentation.They were invited to participate in the ‘Towards Harmonising Education’ annual conference of New York State University, a rare privilege extended only to top dancers and co-sponsored by the Education Dept of UNESCO and Indian Council for Cultural Relations. The 3-day conference attracted around 3000 delegates from all over the State including educationists and artists. In addition to discussions, lec/dems on Indian dance and regular dance performances formed part of the conference. Though there were other representatives from India, the Dhananjayans represented Indian dance at the conference. Dhananjayan got a standing ovation for retaining his Indian identity by wearing his customary white dhoti and kurta and the red tilak on his forehead.
"I want to tell you of the superb performance made by Mr. & Mrs. Dhananjayan, here in New York State. They have made a fine impression and are indeed brilliant representatives of India…"
"The Dhananjayans were magnificent during their visit. Every one they met seemed to feel better for having met them. Educationally, their techniques, personalities and universal humanism combined to create beautiful learning experiences in every situation. They never failed to produce the most highly desirable outcomes, integrating their art into psychological, sociological, philosophical, historical and aesthetic learnings."
ART IN EDUCATION CONFERENCE OF N Y STATE EDUCATION DEPT - Details