Donate to Parijata Performance Projects!

Choreographer Parijat Desai is building a rich and moving participatory performance / community ritual called O Ghostly Ancestor with cast members from Parijata Performance Projects. O Ghostly Ancestor is to be performed December 2025–September 2026 at multiple sites in Uptown Manhattan, NYC and Aurora / Denver, CO.

Help us create and present this innovative work!

O Ghostly Ancestor draws on contemporary and Gujarati circle dance (western India), experimental theater, and martial arts—and diverse musical influences. The performance structure is modeled both on the Navratri festival, as celebrated in Gujarat, India and across the diaspora, and on Planetary Dance, a community ritual created by the iconic postmodern choreographer Anna Halprin.

Our intentions:

-to honor the gifts of our ancestors, and release what we no longer need

-to support connection with the land and community.

In addition to our professional cast, we are building casts of invited members from the local community. We will offer free circle-dance experiences to meet local folks and facilitate participation in our events. We will also forage for tree branches near the performance sites, for our set design.

Your donation will bolster our hard-earned grant funding, and go toward:

Fees for dancers, actors, and musicians: $4,500

Set design and composer fees: $2,000

Technical support: $1,000

Documentation: $1,000

Insurance: $1,000

Admin: $500

Thank you for helping us achieve our vision for O Ghostly Ancestor!