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Scottish Dance
Company Sets the Pace at Edinburgh InvAsian
Festival
"Dance
Ihayami are a source of great joy. … I cannot imagine
the landscape of dance in Scotland without this wonderful
company"
Morag Deyes MBE, Artistic Director, Dance Base
National Centre for Dance, Edinburgh (June
2008)
Asian culture is set for a high profile at this year's Edinburgh Fringe with the debut of a brand new venue and event - the InvAsian Festival at the Royal College of Surgeons, with theatre, music and dance from internationally respected companies and performers. Edinburgh based Dance Ihayami is proud to be a cornerstone of the dance programme - with a total of 5 different dance productions. Not to mention a programme of workshops (for members of the public) in Indian dance, music and martial arts which will be held daily during the three weeks of the Festival.
Dance Ihayami is the first cross-cultural professional company of its kind in Scotland, dedicated to the art of Indian classical dance and its rich complexity of rhythm, posture, gesture and expression. It was founded in 2003 by dancer and choreographer Priya Shrikumar, with a mission to enrich the Scottish national repertoire of dance, and to create opportunities for artists from culturally diverse communities.
The company has a history of developing cross-platform and cross-cultural work and partnerships, with international links, including a recent transcontinental collaboration with New Zealand Maori dancers. The dances have their roots in the ancient classical dance forms which were performed by South Indian temple dancers dating back over 3000 years. Today, Dance Ihayami's talented dancers hail from Scotland, Israel, Ireland, India and England, to bring a truly multicultural dimension to every performance.
The performances at Edinburgh Fringe 2008 include 2 World Premieres (including a spectacularly costumed Kathakali piece), a collaboration by its outreach team and Sense Scotland, a co-production with InvAsian organisers Club West (selected for Manchester Royal Exchange's Blue Season) featuring seven colourful sins and music by Cockney Rebel's original keyboard player; and a co-production with the Paragon Ensemble - which combines infectious rhythms and melodies from Iran, Ghana, China and Scotland.
The dance styles range from Kathakali, one of the oldest theatre forms in the world, highly expressive and stylized, to energetic Indian classical dance forms to modern contemporary innovative work. There are ancient gods and goddesses, love stories, expressive and sensory experiences… and seven deadly sins. The costumes are colourful, sometimes spectacular, sometimes quietly witty, and the dances, as performed by this talented company, extremely accessible.
Dance Ihayami offers a unique cultural experience that transcends national boundaries. Its repertoire of scintillating dances blends traditional South Indian classical dance with contemporary music from around the world to create an enthralling spectacle.
Details of Performances and Workshops (Edinburgh 2008)
Sunday 10th August to Saturday 23rd August,
8.15pm,
Adult £9 (concession £7)
Dance Ihayami presents a rich and subtle experience of Indian dance. The reality of Gods, Goddesses and the contemporary world is brought onto the stage in an evocative, colourful and energetic presentation of Indian dance. Barefooted, the dancers present rhythmic footwork, expressive faces and meaningful hand gestures. The physical body, which goes against the spirit, and is the greatest obstacle to spiritual realisation, has itself been made a vehicle of the divine.
Choreography: Priya Shrikumar and Jayachandra
Kumar
Dancers: Priya Shrikumar, Jayachandra Kumar, Merav
Israel, Shruti Chitnis, Karen Watts, Gargi Kanabar, Yashodha
Govindaraju, Anjali Gangadharan, and Sorna Paramananthan
3rd, 10th & 16th August, 11.30am
Adult £9.50 (concession
£8.50/£6.50)
Kathakali is one of the oldest theatre forms in the world. This highly stylised, expressive and spectacular dance form originated from the state of Kerala, South India. Dance Ihayami presents Kalyanasawgandhikam, a story from the famous Hindu epic the Mahabharatha. Kalyanasaugandhikam is the story of Bhima's adventures as he goes in search of the beautiful and divine flower "Saugandhikam" for his beloved wife.
Dancers: Jayachandra Kumar and Priya Shrikumar
24th & 25th August, 8.15pm,
Adult £8.50 (concession £6.50)
Dance Ihayami presents dancers from Edinburgh, Glasgow and Dundee in a colourful array of Indian classical and folk dances. Dance Ihayami also introduces its outreach participants from Sense Scotland in a collaborative piece of theatre and movement exploring shared memories, loaded with sensory experiences.
Sunday 3rd to Monday 25th August, 5.45pm
Adult £9 (concession £7)
Seven colours, seven sins, the rainbow ride begins. Seven veiled dancers escort the Journeyman toward his golden destiny. Selected for Manchester Royal Exchange's Blue Season, with magisterial music from Cockney Rebel's original keyboardist, and choreography by Dance Ihayami, this is seventh heaven.
24th & 25th August, 6.45pm,
Adult £9 (concession £7)
The vitality of infectious rhythms and melodies from Iran, Ghana, China and Scotland combine with amazing Bharatanatyam dances performed by Dance Ihayami. Paragon's Kaleidophone Ensemble performs their unique blend of music from around the world.
Dance Ihayami Festival Workshops
Dance Ihayami is running a
series of workshops throughout the festival. Workshops are
facilitated by Dance Ihayami
dancers. Workshops can be pre-booked or simply drop in.
Adult £6.50 (concession £4.50)
- Bollywood dance: Thursdays, Sundays, 10.15am,
Aug 3,7,10,14,17,21,24
- Kalari martial arts:
Mon, Wed, Sat, 10.15am, Aug
4,6,9,11,13,16,18,20,23
- Women's folk dance: Tuesdays only, 10.15am,
Aug 5,12,19
- Kathakali drama: Fridays only, 10.15am, Aug
8,15,22
- Indian classical dance: Thursdays, Sundays,
11.15am, Aug 3,7,10,14,17,21,24
- Kids' storytelling: Mon, Wed, Sat, 11.15am,
Aug 4,6,9,11,13,16,18,20,23
- Men's folk dance: Tuesdays only, 11.15am,
Aug 5,12,19
- Bamboo flute: Fridays 11.15am, Aug
8,15,22
Tickets from 0131 226 0000 or online at www.edfringe.com or on the door
Artistic Director/chief choreographer/dancer:
Priya Shrikumar
Visiting artist/guest choreographer/dancer: Jayachandra Kumar
Company dancers:
Merav Israel,
Karen Watts
Shruti Chitnis
Gargi Kanabar
Guest dancers:
Yashodha Govindaraju,
Anjali Gangadharan,
Sorna Paramananthan,
Monica Deioanni
Quotes and
Reviews
June 2008
"Dance Ihayami are a source of great joy. Their programme skillfully opens their audiences' eyes and minds to the timeless stories and devotional beauty of the dances. I can not imagine the landscape of dance in Scotland without this wonderful company."
"The uncomfortable heat of the venue is forgotten when Priya Shrikumar takes to the floor, draped in gold and red. Bells jangle entrancingly on her every limb as she entices the audience in the suggestive first piece Devi."
September 2005
'Priya Sreekumar discovered that Bharatanatyam worked with Scottish traditional music almost by accident and has been fascinated with the rhythm and energy that this music offers to her traditional dance ever since.
Off Kilter provided her with an opportunity to explore this unexpected combination in more detail, working with a live band to accompany the movement. The result was a triumph of the imagination - proving that dance can be a partner to the most unlikely musical bedfellows.'
'...bulldozed any barriers that might exist between the classical Indian Bharatanatyam form of dance and Scottish dance'
Biographies
Priya Shrikumar - founder, artistic director, chief choreographer & dancer
Priya Shrikumar is the artistic director of Dance Ihayami. Priya is a constant source of power and grace both as a performer and teacher. A versatile and award winning dancer and choreographer, Priya leads this multi national company of dancers and has over 24 years experience in dance, training and choreography, both professional and community based, and education (with residencies, performances and courses) at various levels. She has held various residencies at Dance Base, Edinburgh, and worked with dance companies across the UK, Europe and internationally. Known for her highly successful collaborative work with Scottish/Celtic music, (e.g. Offkilter) Priya has developed and delivered her own styles and signature pieces. Priya works alongside choreographers and musicians from a wide range of cultural backgrounds and has been guest choreographer/ teacher to various organisations such as RSAMD Glasgow, Plymouth University, Toro Toro (New Zealand), and CAT A theatre company (UK).
Shri Jayachandra Kumar - visiting artist
Founder of the Bharathakshetra school of Dance and Music in India, Shri Jayan is an accomplished dancer, musician and martial artist. He has been especially praised for his work and research in the field of Folk art forms. Along with his full-time involvement with his school he works with special commissions for the television, both local and national. A skilled composer and musician, Shri Jayan has been resident with danceihayami as guest dancer/ choreographer/ musician since 2005.
Merav Israel - dancer
Merav grew up in Israel and has trained in contemporary dance, improvisation and somatic movement methods since 1991 nationally and internationally. She received her BA (Dance) and Teachers diploma in Movement and Movement Notation from The Jerusalem Academy for Music and Dance in 1997. A teacher and choreographer of movement and improvisation, she has been training in Bharathanatyam under Priya Shrikumar since 2002. She has been working with Dance Ihayami since it was founded and toured with the company both nationally and internationally over the past two years. She is currently teaching Bharatanatyam to different groups in Scotland and is performing regularly with the company.
Shruti Chitnis - dancer
Shruti was born in London and starting learning Bharatnatyam at the age of eight, whilst living in Saudi Arabia. She continued to dance after moving to Glasgow, as she started attending Priya's dance classes. Her dance training culminated in her 'Arangetram' (2004) - a dancer's first solo performance. Simultaneously, she also attained an MA in dance from the Mumbai Arts Society. Now, living in Edinburgh, she still has great involvement in Bharatnatyam, and even more so in the company as she regularly performs and teaches. She has performed extensively all over Scotland, including at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Recently, she has had the opportunity to learn and perform different styles of dance, namely Kuchipudi and Mohiniyattam.
Karen Watts - dancer
Karen was born in Ireland and started ballet at the age of three. During her school years she studied ballet and was part of a number of performances in Limerick and Galway. She lived for two years in France and the Netherlands where she attended classes in the Conservatoire de Poitiers and Ede Dans School. She moved to Edinburgh in 2002 and after 23 years ballet, she started her training in Bharatanatyam under Priya. She is a regular practitioner of yoga and dance, and has been part of a number of performances and workshops. She has been working with Dance Ihayami to develop and coordinate the company's outreach programme. Her main interest in the pure tradition of Indian classical dance and how she can engage in the dance form with her Irish background.
Future Plans
Dance Ihayami is presenting a new production at this year's Edinburgh Mela on Sunday 31st August, 2pm, in the Big Top. Full details on the Edinburgh Mela website: www.edinburgh-mela.co.uk
Dance Ihayami will perform at the Dublin Fringe Festival, 11th to 13thth September. Full details on the Dublin Fringe Festival website: www.fringefest.com
Dance Ihayami continues its Scottish Tour 2008:
- Churchill Theatre, Edinburgh: Sunday
16th November 2008, 7.30pm
- Eastwood Park Theatre, East Renfrewshire, Saturday 22nd November 2008, 7.30pm
Dance Ihayami is available
to be booked for performances in UK, Europe and further a
field. (All enquiries: Karen Watts, 07722 071
256,
karen.dancei@gmail.com)
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54 Manor Place | Edinburgh | EH3 7EH | United Kingdom
tel: +44(0)131 225 9399 | fax: +44(0)131 539 9999
e-mail: info@danceihayami.org
Company registration no. SC 253720 Scottish charity no. SC 034810
Web design: www.razzdesign.com Photos: Paul Watt and Susan Richards