Events - ICF

The SARUS DANCE FESTIVAL is inspired by the Sarus - the tallest of all the cranes. The Sarus is an apt species for the festival as the largest population survives amid the largest human population in northern India signifying the often tenuous relationship cranes have with humans like no other crane species.

Like in dance and art, conserving the Sarus in real life is filled with exciting challenges that require careful understanding and synchronizing. Throughout its range, the Sarus has won the admiration and respect of people for its pair-bond, its impressive call, and its etherial dance.

ICF, through the work of Gopi Sundar, is beginning its first long-term project on Sarus Crane in India in 2008, and is delighted to begin a relationship with the Sarus Dance Festival in North Carolina. The combination of art and science can only auger well for the Sarus, thanks to the farmers of northern India whose lifestyles allow the cranes to persist and to the many talented dancers who will participate in the Dance Festival.

SARUS FESTIVAL performances take place in non-traditional and unusual performance spaces, turning architecture and nature into playgrounds for artistic expression and community meeting. Site-specific performances enrich, confront and surprise the public by mixing choreographed scenes with the spontaneity and idiosyncrasies of their environment.

To learn more about the 2008 Sarus Festival, visit the festival website: by clicking here.