Kanopy Dance Lights Up the Stage with Holiday Joy and Dazzle
Winter Fantasia: Reimagined
A Multi-Cultural Celebration Told Through the Magic of Dance
Travel the Globe with 41 Kanopy Company and Kanopy Academy Dancers and Delight in Enchanting Nordic Legends and a Festive South Asian Ritual Dance… Performed in Stunning Jewelry and Lavish Costumes… Then Return Stateside for Amazing Footwork in the Joyful and Sassy “Winter in the City”, based on Leonard Bernstein’s beloved “On the Town”.
December 4-7, 2025, at the Overture Center for the Arts
Madison, WI- November 3, 2025... Join Kanopy’s guest artist Udbhav Desai (Desai) for Winter Fantasia: Reimagined, a multicultural holiday celebration of light told through the magic of dance at the Overture Center for the Arts, December 4-7,2025.
At the heart of Winter Fantasia: Reimagined is “Chalo Ramiye”, (or “let’s play in Gujarati”), an epic 25-minute-long community circle dance, known as “Garba”, choreographed by Desai who also performs a principal role in this festive ritual. This season, Desai has extended the story with a segment danced to a piece of music called “Chandaliyo Ugyo Re”, which translates to the “moon has risen in Gujarat”.
The “Garba” dance originated in the Indian state of Gujarat and is performed during Navratri, the longest and largest dance festival in the world, honoring the Hindu goddess Durga during the festival of Sharad Navratri, or nine nights. Each night of Navratri represents one of the nine forms of Durga, with the tenth day celebrated as the day the goddess slew the demon king, Mahishasura.
Passed down through generations, “Garba” shares many parallels with modern dance and ballet techniques. “Chalo Ramiye” will be a visual feast with highly expressive dance and dazzling traditional costumes and jewelry crafted in a genuine Gujarati style. Dancing the “Chalo Ramiye” choreography demands a spirited bounce in the movement, nuanced head and hand gestures, grounded weighted movement, and a special bond among the performers. Garba is rarely, if ever, performed on a big stage in the United States- outside of cultural celebrations.
In Garba music, you can hear instruments such as dakla, a drum bound with leather on two ends and a thin waist; sundari, a double-reed instrument; manjira, small brass cymbals; and surando, a stringed instrument. The music is paired with poems often about the Goddess and festivities. In essence, the song, music and dance of Garba give it its unique devotional, playful and celebratory character.
Costumes and jewelry worn by dancers in “Chalo Ramiye”, originate from a collection curated by the late Bijalben Patel (Patel), a lifelong “Garba” choreographer and dancer. They were donated to Kanopy Dance in Patel’s memory by the guest artist’s mother, Raxitaben Desai.
In addition to “Chalo Ramiye”, two cherished and enchanting winter stories rooted in Scandinavian folklore : “Once Upon a Winter’s Eve” and “The Norse Tree of Life” -- that are magical journeys into the lives of the mythological creatures including fairies and elves---continue to be a treasured part of the concert program.
Choreographed by Kanopy’s artistic director, Lisa Thurrell, the dances are performed in elaborately detailed costuming designed by noted New York artist David Quinn (Quinn).  Quinn created many of the fabrics for the costumes himself and was inspired by images of folk wear and medieval clothing as well as by the designers Alexander McQueen and Rei Kawakubo, in ornately weaving and detailing his creative collection of gender-fluid costumes for Kanopy’s dancers. A native of Northern Wisconsin whose work has been featured in The New York Times and Art Forum, Quinn has designed dance costumes for countless companies including The Martha Graham Dance Company and Merce Cunningham Dance. 
Completing the program---back stateside, is the delightful and sassy, “Winter in the City,” set to the iconic Leonard Bernstein score for “On the Town”, and charged with fancy footwork “On the Town” follows the fun and romantic adventures of three exuberant sailors on 24-hour leave in New York-a wonderful town. Kanopy’s “Winter in the City” is a twist on that iconic tale, with starry eyed dancers taking a city wrapped in the frosty magic of winter by storm.
Winter Fantasia: Reimagined
December 4-7 ,2025,
Overture Center for the Arts Overture.org (608) 258-4141