Allied Events
Interface | ED x 2024
Kolkata Chapter 10 December 2024 - 12 December 2024
Day 1 10th December 2024
Open Workshop
Ballet National de Marseille- (La) Horde, France
10th December, 2024
Time – 01:00 PM to 02:00 PM
Venue – Alliance Francaise Du Bengale, Park Mansion Terrace
Capacity – Limited to 20 participants to ensure an interactive experience.
About Ballet National de Marseille- (La) Horde
Join La Horde for an electrifying dance workshop that introduces participants to the vibrant world of “To Da Bone”, a performance defined by the dynamic energy of jumpstyle—a form of electronic dance emerging from the hardstyle movement. This workshop is designed for amateurs, semi-professionals, and professionals aged 16 and up, offering an experience that’s both accessible and immersive.
Led by La Horde’s talented dancers, the workshop is divided into two parts:
– Warm-Up: The session begins with a customized warm-up led by the dancer, adjusted to the skill level of the group. This phase is dedicated to discovering the unique style and universe of the dancer through a series of specialized exercises.
– Choreographic Exploration: Participants will then delve into the expressive, high-energy sequences of To Da Bone, where the movement of jumpstyle meets the contemporary stage. Together, you’ll explore the concept of action space and the ways it can transform representation on stage.
Expect a deep, movement-based immersion into jumpstyle’s bold aesthetics—where sharp, rhythmic sequences pave the way for both individual and collective expression. Designed to be both challenging and inspiring, this workshop is an invitation to feel, move, and connect with the physicality and intensity of jumpstyle.
Don’t miss this chance to step into La Horde’s world and experience contemporary dance from a whole new perspective!
Day 2 12th December, 2024
Round Table Discussion
Topic: 'Dancing in the Diaspora & Changing context of Indian dance abroad'
Opening Address:
Elizabeth Lee
Director & Public Affairs Officer, U.S. Consulate
12th December, 2024
Time – 2 PM to 4 PM
Venue – Lincoln Room, American Centre Library
Speakers
Jonathan Hollander
USA
Jonathan Hollander is one of the outstanding choreographers of his generation and has taken a leadership role in international cultural exchange and social activism. He founded Battery Dance in 1976 and has choreographed over 75 works that have been presented in major theaters and festivals in more than 70 countries on 5 continents, including 10 national tours of India.
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He has established arts education residencies in New York City public schools, created Dancing to Connect, Battery Dance’s signature arts education program, and has served on the Fulbright program in India and Malaysia. His work has been supported by U.S. and international government agencies as well as the Ford Foundation and many others.
Hollander received Germany’s highest civilian award in 2018 and is a 2025 Finalist for the Schwab Foundation’s Social Entrepreneurship Award. He is co-founder of the Indo-American Arts Council and has presented Indian dance at the annual Battery Dance Festival and on national U.S. tours for three decades.
Raka Maitra
Singapore
Raka Maitra is a dancer who defies the conventional dichotomy of ‘classical’ and ‘contemporary’. She is a dancer simpliciter, exploring the notion of ‘Asian culture’ through her own language of contemporary dance. The basis of her movement is classical Indian dance and martial arts. Raka is a recipient of the Shringarmani, a national award for Odissi.
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Raka is the Artistic Director of Chowk Productions, which she founded in 2014 with the support of the National Arts Council’s Seed Grant. Her works have been regularly commissioned by the Esplanade and have travelled extensively internationally.
Raka’s notable works include The Hungry Stones, The Blind Age, The Second Sunrise, from: The Platform, the Pallavi Series, Variations on a Theme, These Brief Encounters, and Yāhi.
In the words of Dance Europe, “Maitra is without doubt a dancer of the 21st century.”
Sreyashi Dey
USA
Sreyashi is one of the foremost exponents of Odissi in the US, and the Founder and Artistic Director of Akshara, an Ann Arbor based multi-arts organization. As a thoughtful artist, Sreyashi constantly expands her creative horizons with new choreographies and collaborations across artistic genres. She regularly tours the US and has performed all over the world – in Europe, Asia and India.
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Her work has been critically acclaimed in leading media, such as the New York Times, as well as in India. She has been the recipient of several awards and grants, including from the National Endowment for the Arts in the US.
Sreyashi is also a clinical psychotherapist, in private practice in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She is the founder of SPARSH, an Ann Arbor non-profit that established and supported a pediatric heart surgery program in India for disadvantaged children. Sreyashi’s educational background includes an MS in Economics, MBA and MSW (Clinical), with previous careers in marketing, University of Michigan administration and non-profit.
Kavitha Krishnan
Singapore
Kavitha Krishnan artistic director, founded Maya Dance Theatre (MDT) together with Imran Manaff, creative producer and managing director of the company, and is a driving force behind impactful arts initiatives addressing social causes. Since MDT’s inception in 2007, she has led the company to perform internationally and collaborated with acclaimed artists like Janis Brenner (USA), Olivier Tarpaga (Burkina Faso), Liz Lea (Australia) and Danang Pamungkas, Rianto, Voice artist, PeniCendraini and renowned composer, Late RahayuSuppanggah (Indonesia). Kavitha’s innovative blend of Bharatanatyam and contemporary dance has earned MDT a distinctive presence in Singapore’s arts scene.
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Kavitha’s accolades include the Natya Kala Nipuna (2022), Silent Hero of Singapore Finalist (2022), and inclusion in the Singapore Indian Hall of Fame (2023). Under her leadership, MDT explores arts and technology in partnership with Avventura Moving Images through works like Moving Stillness, addressing plastic pollution, featured at the Climate Change Conference at Kolkata Creativity Centre 2023 and Over the Rainbow, a VR experience on happiness. Recently in September, Kavitha performed in a collaboration of six women voices (Singapore, Indonesia, Mexico, Germany and Budapest) featured in Germany. In October Kavitha represented Singapore at The Women in Dance Leadership Conference 2024 held at Los Angeles, California and MDT’s film, “ A Dying Flower” working with a senior and a younger dancer was featured at the Conference. Kavitha also presented on Arts and disability and inclusion collaborations with Australia at the conference.
Passionate about inclusivity, Kavitha established MDT’s Diverse Abilities Dance Collective (DADC) in 2018, empowering artists with disabilities. DADC’s three editions of the SEEDS dance Film has enabled her to work with 12 artists from the dance fraternity in Singapore to co-create works with the diversely abled dancers from DADC since 2021. The collection of films have been featured in Australia and New Zealand Fringe Festivals (2022-2024) and at the recent Purple Festival 2024 in Goa, India.
Her advocacy continues to inspire positive societal change through the arts.
Priyadarshi Ghosh
India
Priyadarshini Ghosh is an accomplished Indian classical and contemporary dancer, choreographer, and a dance scholar. She learnt both Bharatha Natyam and Mohini Attam, with specialization in Mohini Attam with Kalamandalam Kalyani Kutty Amma and Abhinaya with Guru Kalanidhi Narayanan. Her training also includes Seraikella Chhau and is proficient in Yoga.
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She is training in Kudiyattam for research: the mindful and contemplative aspects of performance, as system of Yoga, which she has been presenting in many prestigious platforms.
Priyadarshini holds an M.A. in Dance, and is a PhD research scholar. She received the Nehru Fulbright Fellowship 2015-16, teaching at Brown University, Theatre Arts and Performance Studies as a visiting faculty. She has completed a Senior Fellowship on Dance as Yoga under the Ministry of Culture and is NET qualified. She is also a published author. She has performed in many prestigious venues and festivals, nationally and internationally and continues to perform and lecture actively both as a soloist and also with her repertory, Natyanova as a co-director.
Moderators' Bench
Satabdi Bhattacharya
Educationist, India
Smt. Satabdi Bhattacharjee, the Principal of South City International School, Kolkata, began her vocation as a teacher as a cognizant choice, driven by her regard and her excitement for the profession. Amongst many other awards, she has been the addressee of the TTIS Touchstone Award for the Best Teacher and in 2010–11, as the Fulbright Scholarship in Science under the USIEF India-US Teacher Exchange Program.
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Ms. Bhattacharjee is a firm believer of the child’s ability to learn and lead. A former Founder Principal of a renowned C.B.S.E school in Kolkata, she takes pride in being in the Founding team of few of the well-known schools of the city. Her moto is to, “Embrace Challenges, Cultivate Growth: Through resilience, resourcefulness, and positivity, coupled with effective communication, critical thinking, and hard work, we conquer obstacles. Fostering confidence and loyalty within teams, we pave the path to success and nurture a thriving organizational culture.”
Tamal Mukherjee
Multidisciplinary Artist, India
Tamal Mukherjee is a multi-disciplinary artist with over three decades of experience in theatre, music and the arts. As a theatre critic, researcher, writer, director, documentary maker, and designer, he has authored, edited, translated, and composed numerous books and magazines. He is the founder, designer, and editor of Theatari Mashkabari and Kolkata Theatre Guide.
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Tamal has composed music for several productions by prominent Bengali theatre groups and directed two plays in the past five years.
Tamal has composed music for several productions by prominent Bengali theatre groups and directed two plays in the past five years.
Debanuj Dasgupta
Feminist Studies, USA
Dr Debanuj DasGupta is Associate Professor of Feminist Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Debanuj’s research focuses on the aesthetics of trans/queer lives and the politics of queer migrant world making. Debanuj has been recipient of several prestigious international awards including the Social Science Research Council (SSRC) Inter Asian Award; the Global Challenges Research Fund-International Networking Award and the University of California Humanities Research Institute.
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They are presently completing a monograph titled Queer Migrations in Three Meditations that blends memoir, continental philosophy and visual arts in order to document Queer migrant activism across the Americas.
Ratnottama Sengupta
India
Ratnottama Sengupta turned director with And They Made Classics…, a documentary on the unique bonding between screenwriter Nabendu Ghosh and legendary director Bimal Roy.
A journalist for 44 years, she writes for newspapers and journals, participates in discussions on the electronic media; teaches film appreciation and mass communication students, writes for books on cinema and art, programs film festivals and curates art exhibitions.
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She has written on Hindi films for the Encyclopaedia Britannica; been a member of CBFC; of the NFDC Script Committee; served on the National Film Awards jury, and has herself won a National Award.
She has been the Editor of an entertainment website, CineBengal.com and the former Arts Editor of The Times of India. Currently she has columns in Borderless Journal, Silhouette and Kanjik.
She has contributed chapters/ essays in: The Swinging Seventies (Om Books); Our Stories, Our Struggle; Films Through Women’s Eyes: 17 Indian Directors published by Suchitra Film Society (on Aruna Raje); Ashok Kumar: From Bombay Talkies to Bollywood (for volume on Phalke Winners) being published by DAVP; Master of the Middle Path: Centenary Homage to Hrishikesh Mukherjee published by Information & Culture department, WB.
She also features in Monalisa Does Not Smile, published by Om Books.
Author of Krishna’s Cosmos and several other volumes, she has edited Damoni: Life and Times of Ashok Kumar/2022, Mistress of Melodies/2020, That Bird Called Happiness/2018; Me And I/2017, Kadam Kadam/2016, Chuninda Kahaniyaan/2009.
Enakshi Sinha
Dancer, Canada
Enakshi is a leading Odissi dancer and founder of Mrudanga by Enakshi in Toronto, where she has taught and inspired hundreds of students while performing in major festivals across India, Europe, and North America over 19 years. She has earned numerous awards for her artistic excellence and serves as a cultural ambassador for India Tourism in Canada. Enakshi is also a choreographer, director, and avid learner, currently pursuing a master’s in Natyashastra while continuing to explore experimental dance forms.
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Her collaborations include working with Indigenous artists in Nunavut and creating unique productions like Colours of Winter, which blends Odissi, Western symphony, and Hindustani music. Enakshi has been the lead female performer in Theatre Prospero’s puppetry dance production Anthem of Life, based on a Zulu myth, from 2017 to 2024. She also organizes the annual “UMANG – Light of Hope” festival, showcasing artists from both India and North America.
Enakshi’s accolades include the Citizen Award for Art, Women Hero Award, and the Shingar Mani title. Regular recipients of grants from the Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council, and a Department of Canadian Heritage apart of being their jury for different projects.