When the call of the Pied Piper beckons, one can’t help but follow. And this time, all roads lead to the third edition of the International Birmingham Dance Festival (IBDF); a four-week curated dance festival from April 23 to May 19, featuring great performances across Birmingham and the West Midlands. Now, the interesting bit of news for us closer home is that Santosh Nair, Arjun Kohli and Nanda Kumar from the Delhi-based Sadhya Academy have been invited to participate in this prestigious event.
Santosh Nair, co-owner of Sadhya Academy, will be artistic director for the project titled Moving Earth, part of the cultural Olympiad. The theme runs parallel to the idea of “how the Earth is constantly changing, moving and evolving”. “Two hundred and forty dancers will be a part of this project; representing the various elements (Earth, Water, Fire, Wind) in their own way using contemporary or classical forms of expression. Towards the end of the Olympiad, a piece choreographed by me will be performed,” says Santosh.
His students, Arjun Kohli and Nanda Kumar, will also be part of the Dance Exchange Festival and this year the theme is Bollywood. “They will prepare a piece lasting 15-20 minutes. Bollywood music is very popular abroad and my students will train others,” adds Santosh.
Though an important event in the UK cultural calendar, the IBDF is still obscure in India. “If you aspire to participate independently the expenses are enormous. Interested parties should get in touch with the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR); they promote art and culture abroad. Apart from that, Sampad headed by Piali Ray also ties up with ICCR and selects groups from India. In fact, it’s through Piali that we were invited to the IBDF,” he says.