There are few times and places in which a mass dance event seems appropriate, outside of a Bollywood film, that is.
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But you'd be disappointed in yourself if you happened to be in Civic Square on Saturday and didn't find yourself spontaneously joining in the free Bollywood workshop that's happening as part of the Confluence Festival of India in Australia.
Dancer and choreographer Gilles Chuyen has run mass Bollywood workshops around the world and will be leading the charge from 5-7pm in the forecourt of the Canberra Theatre.
By all accounts, such events – often involving thousands of people – are every bit the personal inhibition-busting phenomena you'd expect, with a build-up of joyous energy as the two-hour workshop reaches its climax.
But for those who prefer to experience Indian music through another equally immersive but not quite as interactive format, the Canberra Theatre is also hosting the Raghu Dixit Project on the same night.
"Often hailed as India's biggest cultural and musical export, Raghu Dixit's unique blend of infectious, happy music transcends age, genre and even language," say Confluence organisers.
"His music is strongly rooted in Indian traditions and culture, and is presented with a very contemporary, global sound."
He's done all the big music festivals in India, and Glastonbury, as well as a private concert for the Queen Elizabeth II and her family, so quite a bit of street-cred right there. Raghu Dixit will be playing from 8.30pm.
Confluence is the biggest festival of Indian arts and culture staged in Australia, and Canberra's program runs through to November.
Next week, for a very Canberra-inflected dialogue, one of India's best-known political cartoonists, Ajit Ninan, will be in conversation with our own David Pope at the Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House, on September 22.
And on October 12, the Ishara Puppet Theatre Trust, one of India's leading contemporary puppet theatres, will present a "non-verbal, no-text performance" with some poems and sayings in between.
For a full Confluence Festival of India in Australia program, visit confluenceofi.com.
