Uptown Rhythm Festival

When: August 16 - 17, 2024
Where: East of Lake Shore Drive between Lawrence and Foster.
Producers: Shiwali Tenner

Set in Uptown neighborhood of Chicago, this festival unites and empower local and global communities to respect and restore the rhythms of nature through the experience and embodiment of dance and music

Our Goal

• Through the mediums of Dance and Music, express the connection between humans and nature
• Through dance and story-telling share stories of climate change and its impact experienced by different communities and social group
• Rooted in interconnectivity with nature, identify simple ways to live sustainably and maintain the rhythm of nature
• Bring awareness towards environmental justice in Uptown, Chicago and globally and find ways to impact economic and political decision making
• Bring communities together to build action and accountability towards preservation of nature and environmental justice by creating local and global activity based groups

Ehsaas: A Realization

When: April 15, 2023 @ 6PM (1.5 Hours)
Where: Athenaeum Center For Thought and Culture
               2936 N. Southport Ave, Chicago, IL 60657
Producers: Shiwali Tenner
A Traditional Kathak Performance comprising of
1. Solo Performance by Shiwali Varshney Tenner
2. Performance by Illinois Center for Kathak Ensemble
3. Performance by ReinventAbility
4. Solo Performance by Guru Sandip Mallick

Earth Day Celebration

When: April 22, 2023
Where: Winthrop Garden (4628 N. Winthrop, Chicago, IL 60640)
Producers: ICA, Uptown Chamber of Commerce, ICkathak

Dance, Food, and Mindfulness about our impact on Earth.
                                                                                                        
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Juneteenth (2021)

Where: Uptown Rainbow Ring
When: June 19, 2021
Artists: Shiwali Tenner, ChiBrown, Gery Joyful Moore
Producer: Shiwali Tenner (Illinois Center for Kathak)

Our annual celebration to celebrate the emancipation of the enslaved African Americans. We celebrated with Abolition Institute the organization dedicated to fighting modern-day slavery.

We recognized Representative LaShawn Ford for his attempts to making Juneteenth a holiday.

Still, We Dance (2020)

Where: Various Locations in Chicago
When: June, 2020
Artists: Shiwali Tenner, ChiBrown, Gery Joyful Moore
Producer: Shiwali Tenner (Illinois Center for Kathak)

As pandemic hit the world and cries for social justice widened. Seven dancers from Chicago came together to reflect on a new view for city -kinder, cleaner, supportive.

The video won an award for the most at Raqs Festival in LA as the best medley video.

Satya (2019)

Where: The Wilson Abbey
When: April, 2019
Artists: Shiwali Tenner, Colin Mascarenhas, Laksha Dantram, Various Artists
Producer: Shiwali Tenner (Illinois Center for Kathak)

Satya celebrated the Asian LGBTQA+ community. Fund raised went to support LGBTQ performers.

Human Migration (2017)

Where: Norris University Center
When: October 2017
Artists: Shiwali Tenner, Rie Katayam, Michael, Ipsita Sathpathy
Producer: Shiwali Tenner (Tribhang)

Exploring the stories migrants, three dance forms and three perspectives. We explored how giving space to other perspectives and cultures could create a beautiful discordant harmony.

The Heroine (2016)

Where: The Vittum Theater
When: August, 2016
Artists: iRadha Group, Sanskriti Foundation, Utkala Center of Odisi
Producer: Shiwali Tenner (Tribhang)

In this program we explored the stories of women from three different eras in three different dance forms.