#TakeTheCityKolkata : Pickle Factory Season 3

Spaces for Performance | #TakeTheCityKolkata : Pickle Factory Season 3
4 Feb – 18th Feb 2023

Bringing #TakeTheCityKolkata: Pickle Factory Season 3 to a close is Spaces for Performance in February 2023. Spaces for Performance asks how artists and their practices claim and create spaces to encounter, enjoy and engage with performances in a range of different ways in a range of different city sites. How does performance adapt to spaces, how do spaces adapt to performance? And how can we being together communities and sustainable practices to propel this dialogue between physical spaces and physical movement towards a permanent home for dance in Kolkata.

5 Feb ‘23 | was still here once

Rummaging through the shambles of memories,

Exhaustive conversations with the ghosts of wars and migration.

A history that refuses to be forgotten,

like a home that refuses to be demolished.

Like an excavator, digging out the dead into our lives

Asking them to relive and read our letters

The performance attempts to travel through the landscape of emotions mapped out in Ocean Vuong’s novel On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous. The artist uses her own embodied experience as an intersectional identity as a starting point of the investigation.

Post her short presentation, Aseng Borang will be in conversation with Dr Kaustav Bakshi.

This programme is part of the American A-Liverary project, where we invite performance artists to explore and respond to new voices in American Literature.

Venue

U.S. Consulate Kolkata pavilion,

(Near Gate number 3)

International Kolkata Book Fair

Accessibility:
-Karunamoyee Metro Station
-Special Bookfair buses by the WB Government
-Sealdah to Sector 5 route

Time

6pm

Free Entry

10 Feb ‘23 | Pratyavijñā

Piyal Bhattacharya’s research into the music described by Bharata in the Natyashastra has gone far beyond theorisation; the string instruments he uses in his productions are rediscovered and re-created from different regions of India and Myanmar. The purpose was not just to reconstruct and restore, but to bring them into performances created in contemporary space and time.

A space is never empty. It pulses with all sorts of beings and memories. A story starts to unfold when they begin to interact. We perceive an object in the space, and that sometimes evokes a memory involving the same object. We recognise it in a new light. Similarly, we sometimes rediscover ourselves with a new and fuller consciousness. This self-recognition is Pratyavijñā. This performance experience is created to grasp these reverberations between this special space, these old-new instruments, the performers and the audience.

This programme is supported by Listen Greater. #ListenGreater was created by Greater Than to support Indian artists with a distinctive style, voice & message to share through their unique musical creations.

Venue

Mirage Poolside Bar & Cafe

Time

6pm

Cover charge: Rs 350/-

11 Feb ’23 | Terms and Conditions Apply (Kolkata iteration)

Aseng Borang (Roing, Delhi), has been working with a group of local dancers for a period of one month to create a Kolkata version of her piece, Terms and Conditions Apply.

Terms and Conditions Apply is a formulation of various games. An isolated space is created and given rules, terms and conditions which slowly develops into a ‘culture’. The performing bodies embody as well as resist this codified culture that slowly forms. Viewers are invited into this space too, via a contract. What happens when an opposing and an obeying body meet in the same space? Do the threads come undone?

*This Foundation Project is implemented by India Foundation for the Arts (IFA) under the Arts Practice programme, made possible with support from Sony Pictures Entertainment Fund.

Venue

The Creative Arts Academy

Time

7pm

18 Feb ’23 | Man Rec

‘Man Rec‘ means “only me” in the Wolof language, which is the language most spoken in Senegal where Amala is from. This piece, choreographed and danced by Amala himself, offers a dialogue between his multiple origins, ranging from various forms of urban dance to contemporary dance as well as traditional African dances, which he blends into his own unique movement vocabulary. The starting point for Man Rec is the idea of the individual’s complex nature: his identity, his relationship to others, to society. In an energetic approach to these dances which have been part of his journey, Amala explores multiple selves, parts of himself, which are gradually and ruthlessly revealed. They are then erased, one after the other- leaving the other ‘self’ standing, facing himself- and also facing you.

Venue

Prinsep Ghat (The River Festival)

Additional Interactions:

13 to 17 Feb ’23 | Alliance Française du Bengale, Kolkata

Workshop with local dancers. Their workshop presentation will precede his performance on 18 February.

16 Feb ’23 | Alliance Française du Bengale, Kolkata

Discussion between Amala, Vikram Iyengar (Pickle Factory Dance Foundation) and Jean-Frederic Chevalier (Trimukhi Platform) on 16 February at Alliance Française du Bengale.

Amala Dianor’s visit to Kolkata and Borotolpara is supported by Ambassade de France en Inde, Institut Français India and France and Alliance Française du Bengale, in association with Kult X and Trimukhi Platform. Amala Dianor’s dance company is supported by French Ministry of Culture (DRAC Pays de la Loire), Pays de la Loire District, Municipal Corporation of Angers and BNP Paribas Foundation.

Also, Pickle Factory is pleased to curate performances by Continew Collective and Natyanova at Champatala Ghat on 4 February 2023 as part of the River Festival.

As a movement practitioner, Aseng Borang is attracted towards the vastness of the meanings/interpretations that our physical body/bodies produce in a space. She attempts to challenge those meanings but sometimes adheres to the same. More recently, she has been investigating the body in the realm of resistance, time, archives, proximity and anarchy. Aseng has a Master’s degree in Performance Practice (Dance) from Ambedkar University Delhi. She is from Roing, Arunachal Pradesh where she recently started STUDIO YINGKO and, shuttles between her hometown and New Delhi. Rock climbing, Pole dancing, Aerial hoop, Yoga, Writing and Shaolin Kungfu are some of the others things she likes to dabble on.

Piyal Bhattacharya has been engrossed in the research and practical reconstruction of the complete performance system and perspective of Natyashastra for the past 20 years of his life. He completed 6 years diploma course Kathakali Vesham (Kathakali acting) from Kerala Kalamandalam under the supervision of Kalamandalam Balasubramanyan, 2004. He got awarded MA Vellodi Silver Medal from Kerala Kalamandalam, 1989-99 and also got Kavalappara Narayanan Nair award from Kerala Kalamandalam, 2002-03. It is his sole endeavour to uphold this ancient tradition of performance, as a whole, as have been envisioned by him under the name of “MARGA NATYA”. Through this work he sincerely wishes to create a dialogue with the contemporary societal concerns, and create a bridge in between. His research has been constant research to discover the theatrical language of Indian tradition. This research is a sincere effort to bring about the practice of Nritta, Geet and Abhinaya based on Bharata’s system of performance as stated in Natyashastra.” MARGA NATYA” is a researched and reconstructed way of presenting the ‘Natya’ or theatrical system of performance, mentioned in Natyashastra.

After starting out as a hip hop dancer, Amala Dianor entered the prestigious CNDC school in Angers. From 2002 and for 10 years, he performed as a dancer with a number of choreographers in very different worlds, including hip hop, neo-classical, contemporary and afro contemporary. His dance style and vocabulary were immediately identifiable sliding from one technique to another with ease and virtuosity, he strips away the showy, spectacular stuff from his choreographic techniques, keeping instead only the raw, essential movement. With his deconstructive process he allows his dancers to experiment with new approaches and ideas. He received the Medaille de Chevalier Arts er des Lettres in 2019.

Paramita Saha is a performer, curator, and arts manager, based in Kolkata. She co-founded ArtsForward, an organisation that has engaged in creative advocacy for environmental sustainability, audience development for the arts, supporting emerging artists and fostering artistic ability. She runs At the Still Point, India’s only crowd-funded dance platform. Paramita is an ArtThinkSouthAsia 2016 Fellow and an ISPA Fellow in 2018 and 2021. She has founded ArtAloneTogether, India’s first and only am-pm, mixed arts online festival featuring artists across disciplines and borders; a Continued Learning Program in Dance called Continew operating in both online and offline formats; she co-founded www.unmute.help, an online resource centre to safeguard the rights of performing artists!

Priyadarshini Ghosh is an Indian classical and contemporary dancer, choreographer and a dance scholar. Initiated into dance at the Children’s Little Theatre, her early training was in Bharatnatyam and Mohiniyattam. Trained in Seraikella Chhau, she is proficient in Yoga. She holds an M.A. in Dance from Kalidas Sanskrit University and has done a Senior Fellowship on Dance as Yoga under Ministry of Culture. She has received the Nehru Fulbright Fellowship 2015-16, teaching at Brown University, Theatre Arts and Performance Studies, and was cross listed with Contemplative Studies as a visiting faculty. An ‘A’ Grade television artist she has also been awarded the Sringar Mani. Priyadarshini was International Choreographer-in-Residence at the American Dance Festival. She performs solo and with her repertory Natyanova as a joint Director.

Mohana Iyer, Repertory director of Natyanova, is an accomplished artiste, choreographer and trainer in Indian Classical dance forms of Bharatanatyam, Kathakali and Mohiniyattam, performing and teaching for several years. She has an MFA in dance. Her performances and choreography in Bharatnatyam, Mohiniyattam and Kathakali have received critical acclaim. She is a trained Carnatic vocalist and a Nattuvannar.

Dr Kaustav Bakshi is Associate Professor at the Department of English, Jadavpur University. “Rituparno Ghosh: Cinema, Gender and Art”, “Popular Cinema in Bengal: Genre, Stars, Public Culture” and “Queer Studies: Texts, Contexts, Praxis” are some titles to his credit.

Sunil Bhandari is a poet disguised as a corporate executive. His book of poetry ‘Of Love and Other Abandonments’ was an Amazon bestseller. His poetry podcast ‘Uncut Poetry’ is heard in over 70 countries. His cultural newsletter ‘The Uncuts’ is a weekly sundrop of grace and mull with 3K dedicated subscribers.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Aishwarya Mondal
Bobby Hore
Chandan A.N.
Dhruv Bhalla
Jean-Frederic Chevalier
John Xaviers
Laily Thompson
Lucie Jeannenot
Meet Modi
Melanie Roger
Mohana Sengupta
Moitrayee Dhar
Nicolas Facino
Nishit Arora
Noel George
Priyanshi Mehta
Prutha Narke
Ramanjit Kaur
Shalini Mukherjee
Sohini Das
Sukanya Bhattacharjee
Sukla Bar Chevalier
Vaishnavi Mannava

CREDITS

Spaces for Practice Team
Curator: Vikram Iyengar
Month Coordinator: Vikram Iyengar, Kunal Chakraborty

Workshop Coordinators
Srijaa Kundu
Sangram Mukhopadhyay

Programme Partners
The American Centre, Kolkata
Embassy of France in India
Institut Francaise, India
Alliance Française du Bengale

Associate Partners
India Foundation for the Arts, Bangalore
Greater Than
French Ministry of Culture (DRAC Pays de la Loire)
Pays de la Loire District
Municipal Corporation of Angers
BNP Paribas Foundation

Venue and Festival Partners
Kult X

River Festival

Mirage Poolside Bar & Cafe
The Creative Arts Academy
International Kolkata Book Fair

Pickle Factory Dance Foundation, Calcutta is a not-for-profit
company registered under Section 8 of The Companies Act, 2013.
The company was incorporated on 12 July 2017.

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