Navaratri Festival

The 48th annual Navaratri Festival at Wesleyan will take place from Thursday, October 10 through Saturday, October 12, 2024.

Since the 1960s, the teaching of South Indian music, dance, and the arts have been central to the Wesleyan University curriculum. Formally established in 1976, Wesleyan’s Navaratri Festival (based on the Hindu holiday) remains an annual opportunity to celebrate this legacy, bringing together artists and scholars across campus and from throughout the world, more recently widening the focus to include representation of artforms connected to South Asia that expand the classical canon.

Highlights of this years festival include a showcase of Indian dance styles featuring Connecticut-based choreographers Sarada Nori and Rachna Agrawal alongside Wesleyan students Akhil Joondeph '26 and Tanvi Navile '25, a concert by violin master Shri. V.V. Subrahmanyam, and a public program by Hansini Bhasker on the history of the Navaratri Festival at Wesleyan.

Navaratri is traditionally one of India’s major Hindu festivals, a time to see family and friends, enjoy music and dance, and seek blessings for new endeavors. Wesleyan’s 48th annual festival is held in the same spirit of celebration, offering audiences a chance to experience the diversity of music and dance from India and across South Asia.

Navaratri Festival Subscription
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Navaratri Festival Subscription packages include all three ticketed performances. For more information please visit the Wesleyan University Box Office. 

• Free for Wesleyan students and anyone under age 18
• $24 for senior citizens, Wesleyan faculty/staff/alumni, and non-Wesleyan students
• $30 for the general public

Offer ends on Friday, October 11, 2024 at 7pm.

Presented by the Center for the Arts, Music Department, and Dance Department, with leadership support from the Madhu Reddy Endowed Fund for Indian Music and Dance at Wesleyan University.

To view the archive of past Navaratri Festival events, please click here.