A six-member Bharatnatyam and Kuchipudi dance troupe led by Ms. Ragini Chandrashekhar and Ms. Rashmi Vaidialingam  sent by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations as part 61st Republic Day celebration, gave performances respectively in Jiaxing (Zhejiang Province) and Shanghai  on January 27 and 29, 2010. A workshop was also organised for the Indian Community in Shanghai on 28 January.

The performance in Jiaxing was jointly organised by the Consulate and Jiaxing Municipal Govt. Vice-Mayor of Jiaxing Mr Jiang Ren Huan was the Chief Guest from the local side. About 150 young Chinese from the field of art and culture besides 15 Indians representing Indian Companies in Jiaxing attended the event. The local authorities had put up banners at the venue saying ‘The First China India Cultural Exchange Programme in Jiaxing’.  In his speech the Vice-Mayor welcomed the Indian Dance troupe and thanked the Consulate for organising the performance in Jiaxing.
He expressed hope that a second such cultural exchange programme could be organised soon and said that the local authorities would be happy to extend all necessary assistance and support. The Vice-Mayor hosted a dinner in honour of the Indian Dance troupe.

On January 28, a workshop was organised with the Bharatnatyam and Kuchipudi dancers in the Consulate premises for the members of the Indian Community in Shanghai. Members of the Community took great interest in learning from the visiting dancers and also exchanged views with them on the two dance forms, the history of the two dances and their links with India’s cultural heritage. 

 The main performance in Shanghai was organised on January 29. The performance in Shanghai was very successful with about 400 people attending, majority of whom were local Chinese.  Students from Jinyuan Sr. High School with which Consulate maintains good relations were also present. A number of Diplomats and prominent members of the Indian community attended the performance.