Three old stories are about to get up and move.
The Dancing Storytellers bring “Indian Mythology and Me” to the Sierra Madre Playhouse on Saturday, August 29, 2026, for a single 11:00 a.m. performance. According to the presenter’s materials, the interactive dance-theater piece is built for young audiences and blends classical South Asian dance, folk movement, rhythm and conversational storytelling.
The company describes the work as an introduction to Indian mythology performed through gesture, rhythm and facial expression, drawing on the North and South Indian classical dance forms Kathak and Bharatanatyam as well as the Gujarati folk dance Garba Raas. It was created by Sheetal Gandhi, Ulka Simone Mohanty and Shyamala Moorty.
The performance stages three tales. In the first, drawn from the Mahabharata, the strongman Bheema encounters Hanuman and, in the company’s telling, learns not to judge others by appearance. The second, “The Mice That Set Elephants Free,” comes from the Panchatantra folktales, in which a small mouse proves his worth to a doubting elephant. The third, “Durga and Mahishasura,” is tied to the festival of Navaratri and dramatizes the goddess Durga’s defeat of the demon Mahishasura.
Performers move through the house during the piece, the company says, inviting children to try the gestures and step into the story. According to the presenter’s materials, the show is designed for K–5 audiences but built to hold viewers of any age, and turns the three myths into a reflection on identity, courage and empathy. The performers are Danish Bhandara and Tulsi Shah.
The event is part of the Sierra Madre Playhouse’s “Dance @ the Playhouse” programming. The playhouse is at 87 West Sierra Madre Boulevard in Sierra Madre, and this is the only scheduled performance. Ticket prices are available at the box office, with pricing posted at sierramadreplayhouse.org; the box office can be reached at (626) 355-4318.
For one morning, the audience won’t only watch the myths. The children will be asked to become them.
