- Hi, I'm Michael Gadlin.
- And I'm Kate Perdoni.
- Welcome back to Arts District on Rocky Mountain PBS.
- First up, a Denver-based traditional Indian dance school
with an exciting mission, to celebrate diversity
through the universal language of dance and music.
- So let's check out the beautiful people,
costumes and moves that combine to create
the Mudra Dance experience.
(sitar music)
- [Girl] Mudra Dance is my life.
- [Woman] It's a connection to my
culture and roots. - Support, and.
- [Man] A happy place to be.
- [Girl] Being with friends.
- [Man] Mudra Dance to me is a way
to express myself with amazing people.
- [Woman] To me is love and connection.
- Mudra Dance to me is family. - Family.
- Family. - Mudra Dance to me is family.
(sitar music)
(dancers talking indistinctly)
(soothing music)
- Can we get Sonali up and going?
The mission of Mudra Dance Studio is to celebrate
diversity through the universal language of dance and music.
And to expose the world to the beautiful
cultural fabric that India brings to our culture here.
(audience cheers)
Are we ready to immerse ourselves
in everything that is so beautiful
and wonderful about this camp?
Heritage Camp is a place where adoptees can come
with their families and learn about the rich
heritage they come from, where they're adopted from.
20 years ago I was brought into do an adult dance class.
And they invited me back to take over dancing
for the whole camp from that time on.
(lively percussion music)
So we meet once a year for three days.
And it's so special because a lot of these kids
and families come from all over the country.
So we don't get to see them for the whole year.
And it's just so special to see them still
feeling that connection, wanting to be there.
That is that same feeling that we bring into our cabin
when all our volunteers, they come together,
and we sit in the cabin and work out,
you know, different ingredients to put together workshops.
Like we're creating duputtas, which are scarves.
So somebody can cut in the middle and start.
The next day, when you have those children walk in,
and they see the beautiful activities waiting for them,
they're just so overjoyed, and it just,
it's the most priceless experience you can have.
- It fits 6:15 to seven.
- I just have a lot of fun, like, it's just nice,
'cause it's like we're not in our daily
routine of work and everything,
we just get to all come together.
And we all love camp.
So although we're like, okay, we've gotta learn this dance,
and we stay up late and all that,
we just have so much fun together.
'Cause we know, like, we're gonna enjoy
every single minute we're here.
And the kids are the best.
- I'm Joelle, and this is Shweta.
And I've been involved with Mudra Dance for 14 years.
And she has now been involved with Mudra Dance
for about two and a half years.
She went to our first Mudra event one week
to the day after landing in America.
For a long time, I've always known I wanted to adopt.
And being a part of Mudra, and coming to heritage camp
for 13 years now, that had a huge influence on me
wanting to adopt from India.
In August of '14 we were matched,
and then in November of 2015 I was
able to take full-time custody,
and we came home December 4th, 2015.
- We are so lucky that Joelle brought
this beautiful young lady, Shweta, back.
Shweta had special needs, but has the most amazing heart
and desire to succeed and do whatever is necessary.
And she actually inspires us.
- Around, outside.
- In the past, the five years before we joined,
the kids all learned dancing as groups.
But I was brought in to do an adults dance class.
And the parents came in and joined.
Again, every minute I think of you.
So that is what today's class was about.
And that adult class has kept increasing in number,
and today you saw 40 people dancing.
So, it was quite special.
(bhangra music playing)
To see the children, watch them perform,
was just so amazing.
Some of them were embarrassed, some of them were overjoyed.
And some have tears in their eyes.
And at the same time, the parents felt closer
to their kids because they were taking
a little piece of culture with them.
- I can't imagine my world without Mudra.
I mean, to be honest.
- If there was no Mudra, then I would take videos of me
dancing and stuff, and then once I grow up,
once I'm older and I'm all grown up,
then I would make a Mudra.
- You would make your own Mudra.
- Uh-huh.
That's what I would do, if there was no Mudra.
What is a world without dancing and singing?
I would grow up and make it happen!
(laughs)
- I cry all the time, and that is one of the things,
the emotional aspect, that connection, that we have.
I just hope that the diversity that we have
within our studio is able to extend beyond
not just the camp but the world.
So that we can all be happy to see different colors,
different races, different sizes, shapes, whatever it is.
And feel that connection because we're humans.
And that is what Mudra is about.
Mudra is about making this world
just fantastically celebratory.
(uplifting music)
- The Heritage Camp for Adoptive Families
happens each summer near Winter Park at Snow Mountain Ranch.
What a beautiful location.
- Oh, I bet it is.
Find out more online about Mudra Dance Studio,
its community and its mission.