UCSB Arts & Lectures (A&L) presents The Nrityagram Dance Ensemble on Wednesday, Oct. 19 at Campbell Hall. One of the premier Indian dance ensembles performing today, the Nrityagram Dance Ensemble has the unprecedented distinction of making The New York Times’ Best Dance of the Year list two years in a row. More than a dance company, Nrityagram was founded as a Gurukula (school) devoted to Indian dance. The all-female ensemble’s daily life of intensive training and meditation produces captivating performances that are at once sensual and lyrical. For ?huti, men and women of the Sri Lankan company Chitrasena join the women of Nrityagram’s Odissi troupe, comprising a large ensemble of dancers and musicians.