Bangalore Art Share 2024 Program
Saturday, September 7th at 5:00 PM
Courtyard Koota
The 2024 Art Share is a works-in-progress showing of three members of our cohort, Pritam Das, Dayita Nereyeth, and Shwetha Gopalakrishnan. The 6 month residency emphasizes process over product, and the artists have been digging deep into each of their works to put together an intimate preview of the projects they continue to work on. Grateful to Courtyard Koota, who is our space partner, and @cartoon_nayam, our dedicated organizational partner, whose support has been instrumental in bringing this vision to life.
***Program***
ANKAHI by Pritam Das
In the whispering shadows of legend, a mysterious woman emerges, her essence woven from the threads of compassion, strength, and devotion. A warrior’s heart beats within her, tempered by the depths of love and the ache of loss. Her spirit, a complex and beautiful presence, slowly reveals itself, like a hidden garden finally uncovered, its beauty and depth waiting to be discovered.
Credits:
Conceptualized and presented by Pritam Das
Script by Shri Divy Anand Jha
Musical Inputs by Dr S Vasudevan and Shri Ronak Ramchandran
Narration by Shri Subhav Nogia
Flute by Shri Raghi Simha AN
Rhythm Pad and Konnakol by Shri Mithun Shakthii S
Logistics coordinator Shri Pinaki Chakraborty
Tick Tock by Dayita Nereyeth
Tick Tock is a time-based exploration involving a contemporary dancer and a ‘twin’ bonsai plant. It acknowledges and inhabits different experiences and layers of time, both linear and cyclical. There is always a continuous return, with no clear beginning or end, and a feeling of moving forward. This work-in-progress is part of an evening-length piece called Rooted, which is being developed in collaboration with Abhaydev Praful, Joshua Sailo, and Bharavi.
Credits:
Choreography: Dayita Nereyeth
Performance: Dayita Nereyeth and Mandrake
Sound: Abhaydev Praful
Shadow: Joshua Sailo
Light: Bharavi
Goodbye to Alarippu by Shwetha Gopalakrishnan
Goodbye to Alarippu is a solo devised theatre piece that tells the story of a dancer’s struggles for freedom and identity amidst continuous ruptures of violence. This piece uses the dancer’s memories, objects, experiences and everything unsaid to raise questions of care and healing. Highlighting the dancer's continual struggle and the repeated attempts to repair injuries, this piece talks about the dilemmas of finding courage to move amidst the overwhelming stuckness and spirals of structures.
Credits:
Sound Design- Abhiroop Paul
Production - Deepika Gulati
Project mentor- Talin Subarraya
Social media design by Sukriti
Creative Direction- Sapna Ahuja
Dramaturgy and vision- Veena Basavarajaiah (cartoon natyam)
Executive Direction and concept- Shwetha Gopalakrishnan
Developed in Black Box Okhla
Project supported by Unrehearsed Artist Residency
Info about US showing
US folks, don't worry! You will see these works on screen during our US sharing in October, along with performances by US-based artists. The event will be streaming online, so feel free to share this opportunity with friends and family who might be interested in experiencing the showcase remotely. More details coming soon!
Funders
Unrehearsed Artist Residency is created by Nava Dance Theatre, and is a part of the Unrehearsed Activism program, supported by the California Arts Council Impact Grant, San Francisco Arts Commission, Zellerbach Family Foundation and individual donors. Consider donating to keep this program going! All donations are tax deductible in the US.
NAVA DANCE THEATRE IS A 501(C)3 REGISTERED NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION.
About Unrehearsed Artist Residency Program
The Unrehearsed Artist Residency Program aims to fund and support the creation of new dance work by artists who are often not represented in conventionally-funded spaces in the South Asian Dance industry. The program keeps care & developmental support front and center while working toward sharing a Final Work in Progress.
Special thanks
Art Share 2024 in Bangalore is made possible through the generous support of our space partner, Courtyard Koota, and our organizational partner, cartoon natyam.
We would also like to thank those who supported this work through community engagement programs, being present for work-in-progress sharings, having 1:1 conversations with many artists, and advising on the direction of this program. We would like to especially thank ALL the artists in this years URP cohort, for being so open to process over product and really digging deep into their work.
URP Leadership
Artistic Director: Nadhi Thekkek
Program Director: Tanu Sreedharan
Programs Manager: Purna Venugopalan
About the Artists
Pritam Das
New Delhi, India
Pritam Das defines passion for dance through his immense dedication and effortless grace as a Bharatanatyam dancer. Having undergone his initial training under Smt. Jayita Ghosh and Sri Samrat Dutta, he is now under the advanced tutelage of Sangeet Natak Akademi awardee Smt. Rama Vaidyanathan. Pritam has performed both solo and group works as part of his teacher’s ensemble in several prestigious festivals including Spirit of Youth, HCL Concert Series and Mid-Year Dance Festival 2022 by Music Academy, Uday Shankar Dance Festival, NCPA Mumbai’s Mudra Festival, Dhauli Kalinga Festival, Gudi Sambaraluu, Ustad Alauddin Khan Samaroh, Shivaargya Dance Festival and many more. He is an ‘A' grade artist of the Doordarshan, an empanelled artist in Spic Macay, and was also awarded the National Scholarship from the Ministry of Culture, Govt. of India for the field of Bharatanatyam in 2015-16. Pritam is the recipient of Gutty Vasu Memorial Prize from The Music Academy, Madras for being the Best Dancer in the 30 th Spirit of Youth Music and Dance Festival. He is also the recipient of M.N Subramanian Memorial Prize from the Music Academy, Madras for being the Best Dancer in the Mid-Year Dance Festival 2022. Undoubtedly recognized as a formidable talent in the field, Pritam is determined to scale greater heights and create meaningful art through his lifelong commitment to dance.
Dayita Nereyeth
Bangalore , India
Dayita Nereyeth is a co-founder of 206 Dance Collective and an Alexander Technique teacher based in Bangalore, India. She creates by pulling from practical realities of the self, exploring the mundane and pedestrian as performative, and contemporising classical forms. Dayita has a BA in Dance and Psychology from Mount Holyoke College (USA). She has performed in India, the USA, and Switzerland, and presented her choreography in India and online.
Shwetha Gopalakrishnan
New Delhi , India
Shwetha is an interdisciplinary artist, educator and researcher whose work blends together practices across fields of dance, theatre and research through a psycho-social lens. In 2019, she co-founded an online platform called "Nritically Yours" which looks at Bharathanatyam from a critical lens of gender and caste. Shwetha has performed solo and group dance productions both across India and abroad, as a part of the Abhinayaa Centre for Dance. She has a diploma in Bharathanatyam from Kalaikaveri College of fine arts. Shwetha has a Bachelors from Lady Shri Ram College for Women and a masters in Sociology from Ambedkar University. She also has worked as a Mitigation associate understanding the and documenting the life histories of death row prisoners at Project 39a, National Law University Delhi. Her recent freelance work includes acting and dramaturgy in plays in Delhi.