:::Information in English:::

Damini House of Culture is one of the leading dance institutions in classical and folk Indian dance in Norway. The organization started as  “Indian Dance and Culture centre”, an organization founded by Shika Chandra in 1986. The purpose of “Indian Dance and Culture centre” was to promote and take care of  the Indian cultural heritage for Indians settled in Norway.

In the following, we will give a short description of Damini’s purpose, activities and plans.

From the beginning, Damini’s main focus has been on the dance form Kathak and in 2003 Chauu was introduced for the Indo-Norwegian students and public as well. Damini’s main aim is to give knowledge about Indian culture trough dance and music and to stimulate multicultural cooperation. The organization’s activities follow three main roads: To offer dance and music classes to children and adults, to educate professional artists in Kathak and to set up dance performances with professional artists from India, England and Norway, preferably in cooperation with Damini’s dancers.

Today, around fifty children and adolescents are following classes at Damini. Also, an increasing number of people are supporting Damini’s organization and activities through supportive membership. Damini House of Culture’s main focus, the Indian art and culture, has given us the opportunity to cooperate with a series of large culture institutions in Norway. 

Students who have followed the classes from the beginning are today educated to be dance instructors. We qualify our students through our co-operation with the UK organization Pandit Ram Sahai Sangit Vidyalaya, who have officially validated examinations by the Open Coollege Network (OCN) Credit4Learning, which means that the PRSSV are audited to the same standard, quality and expectations as aGCSE or A level. The dancers  have learned a great deal  about the Indian culture through the dance and have thus gained both knowledge about their parents background and culture, and have strengthened their feeling of identity  in the Norwegian society. Damini House of Culture also wishes to act as a meeting point between Indian and other cultures.

The organization should be regarded as an integration project in which alternative cultural expressions are becoming available to a wide public. The management and board, in which both Indo-Norwegian and Norwegian cultural society is represented, assure the accomplishment of the organization’s objectives. Damini means stroke of lightning and represents also the acronym: D for Dance, A for Art, M for Music, I for Indian, N for Norwegian, and I for Institute.

Our Future plans and projects

The board and management have a strong focus on the continuous development and growth of Damini. We want Damini to be a significant representative on the cultural arena, both on the main stages and – even more important – as valuable offer and alternative to children and adolescents from different background.

• Dance classes: The aim is to extend the dance classes to include contemporary dance forms such as Bollywood. We are also in search of new and more comfortable premises for the classes, which are at present being held in rather modest circumstances on the outskirts of Oslo.

• Performances and projects: The objective is to set up at least one large project a year with professional performers. See information regarding “DRE” at the Norwegian Opera, Oslo in October 2010. We also wish to offer dance performances in cultural venues and festivals. See information about our participation at the annual MELA festival in Oslo, Barnas Verdensdager - Oslo World Music Festival.

• Promoting the organisation: Finally, we need to promote the organization and spread information and knowledge about the wealth of Indian culture to a wider audience.

However, Damini’s financial situation is difficult and represents an obstacle to reaching the above mentioned ambitions. Damini is today surviving on modest funds from the municipality and the government as well as a small amount of money from the members, students and performances. Therefore, we are constantly looking for alternative funding of our activities.

• If your company is interested in contributing to Damini House of Culture, please contact us!