LEWISTON — Bringing a 200-year-old performance tradition to Bates College, Aniruddha Knight will perform a concert of bharata natyam, a combined practice of music, dance and drama from South India, on Tuesday, Sept. 21.

The event, free and open to the public, will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Edmund S. Muskie Archives, 70 Campus Ave.

Knight performs bharata natyam in the family style of his grandmother, famous dancer T. Balasaraswati. His concerts follow a format established early in the 19th century in the Royal Court of Thanjavur, where his ancestors were distinguished performers.

The narrative and abstract dance of this tradition is presented within an intricate framework of rhythmic and melodic composition and improvisation.

Knight will be accompanied by a live musical ensemble composed of his father, Douglas Knight, on mridangam (drum), flutist T.R. Moorthy and vocalists Usha Sivakumar and Vidya Sankaranarayanan.

For more information, call 786-6135 or e-mail [email protected].