Post Natyam in June
Post Natyam
Post Natyam Collective- June 2007 Newsletter
Dear Friends,
This month we are happy to be bringing our show Meet the Goddess to the Department of World Arts and Cultures at UCLA, where we all met!
We had the pleasure of performing Meet the Goddess last year in Prague, Munich, Chennai, and Bangalore. Here are a few excerpts of the reviews:
"unassuming but fabulously talented dancers" -Lalitha Venkat, Narthaki, December 27, 2006
"the most creative and courageous artistes I have seen in a while." -Devika Natarajan, freelance journalist Chennai, India
Also part of the World Arts and Cultures showing will be Begegnungen: Waiting for Rasika, a work-in-progress excerpt of Sandra's new solo show.
Many thanks to the UCLA Department of World Arts and Cultures for in-kind support generously provided for this showing .
And finally, watch out for upcoming film screening of Sangita's documentary Dancing Kathmandu!
We look forward to seeing those of you who are in Los Angeles !
Best,
Post Natyam
Post Natyam Performances:
24 June 2007, 9 am
Sandra will present a performative paper at the Rethinking Theory and Practice Conference and the Centre National de la Danse (June 21-24), www.cnd.fr
It was screened in Canada at the Winnipeg International Film Festival (Canada) on June 2 ( http://www.winnipegfilmfest.ca/ ), in the US at the New Jersey South Asian Independent Cine Fest (June 2) (http://www.njisacf.org/) and will be in the UK, competing at the RAI International Festival of Ethnographic Film (United Kingdom) on June 30 ( http://www.raifilmfest.org.uk/). For more information refer to www.bollynatyam.com
1. Nairobi, Kenya, 6-9 June 2007: Shailja Patel's Migritude
familiar with!
Opportunities:
2. Los Angeles, USA: LA Queer Studies Conference call for Papers, deadline 29 June 2007
3. Seattle, USA: SUBMISSION CALL- Seattle's 4th Independent South Asian Film Festival, deadline 30 June 2007
6. Tuscan, Arizona, USA: La Pocha's Performance Summer School, August 1-10 2007 (apply soon!)
Migritude, a one woman spoken-word theatre show, accompanied by music, stylized movement, visual projections, and a suitcase full of saris.
Directed by Kim Cook , choreography by Parijat Desai
June 6 - 9 (5 shows)
Presented by Phoenix Players at The Professional Centre
Each show followed by a moderated discussion with the audience
Wednesday June 6 - Friday June 8 at 6.30pm
Saturday (2 shows): 3pm and 6pm
Tickets: Sh 500 (All tickets).
Thursday June 7th is Pay What You Can Night - No One Turned Away
Box Office Opening Hours :
10 am to 5pm weekdays,
10am to 1pm Saturdays
30 minutes before show
Ramble-ations: A One-D'Lo Show draws on parts of many of D'Lo's projects over the past years. Weaving personal stories through poetry, music, dance, comedy and video, D'Lo also presents a parade of characters, real and imaginary. These diverse, flawed characters come to the stage to share their stories – stories filled with contradictions of existing in America where one's traditions and culture are constantly challenged; stories reflecting the experiences of being a person of color and/or from an immigrant community; stories showing the battle against ignorance even in friendships and relationships; and finally, stories of love that reflect D'Lo's belief that "you can't call yourself a revolutionary if you have a problem being nice."
Described as a "jolt of creative and comedic energy", D'Lo is a Tamil Sri Lankan-American, political theatre artist/writer and music producer, currently causing the most trouble in Los Angeles. D'Lo began developing talents as a student of the piano at the age of three and since then, has gone on to develop an impressive arsenal of instruments. Using Hip Hop as a guide, D'Lo has gone on to master the pen, performance and her own remarkable voice, all forming the foundation for her creative activism. D'Lo has also collaborated with various dancers and dance companies, combining and drawing parallels between Bharatha Natyam and Hip Hop. D'Lo holds a BA from UCLA in Ethnomusicology and is a graduate of New York's School of Audio Engineering (SAE). D'Lo's work is a part of the vibrant tapestry that sheds light on many of the issues of our modern day society; brutality, justice, AIDS, sexuality, political and social unrest and division along ethnic and gender lines. D'Lo has worked closely with ArtWallah, Mujeres de Maiz and Great Leap as well as directors Laurie Carlos and Shishir Kurup. D'Lo is a teaching artist and has performed and held workshops extensively throughout the US and Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, Sri Lanka and India. In 2004, D'Lo had a sold-out NYC run of her first play "Ballin With My Bois" a queer hip hop theater piece. Currently, D'Lo is 1 of 3 "Spotlight Stealerz", a theatre/comedy group alongside Alison De La Cruz and Adelina Anthony.
"Art is the most effective means to get a political or social message across to masses of people." This is my credo for my personal creation of art, as well as my hope for society's mindful creation of art for social change. In addition, in recent years of constant performance, I have come to value the way comedy resonates in everyone – the second universal language, side by side with music. This global has predicted. On the other hand, the optimist artist will regard the evident state of affairs and still will know that we have hope to hold onto, faith to test stronger and, (hopefully not sounding too much like a sappy hippy) love to cherish and engage with. It is the role of the artist, in my mind, that sets us apart in society. Throughout history, artists have been relied upon for the sincere and heart felt truth . Falling in line with the optimistic approach, I believe, we artists have a chance to create beauty amongst the chaos. Instead of adopting a doomsday approach to life, and, in order to maintain sanity in artistic production, we as artists must allow ourselves to make fun of the life we live during these "sci-fi-ish" apocalyptic times and deliver to our people, our truth. – D'Lo
"Ramble-Ations: A One D'Lo Show" is a National Performance Network Creation Fund Project co commissioned by New World Theatre in partnership with Pangea World Theatre and the National Performance Network. NPN and the NPN Creation Fund is sponsored by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, Ford Foundation, Nathan Cummings Foundation, Altria, and the National Endowment for the Arts (a federal agency). For more information: www.npnweb.org
Exploring the complex history and rich artistry of South India's hereditary dance
1:00pm
Robert Gill Theatre, University of Toronto
3rd Floor, 214 College street
(College and St. George; use the St. George Street entrance)
Free Admission
Call (416) 268-4746 or email ind...@sympatico.ca
Dr. B.M. Sundaram, Music and Dance Scholar, Thanjavur, India
Dr. Anne-Marie Gaston , Cultural Horizons, Ottawa
Dr. Avanthi Meduri, Roehampton University, London, U.K.
Vidya Narayan , Brihadisha, Chicago, USA
Dr. Srividya Natarajan, University of Western Ontario, London
Dr. Leslie Orr, Concordia University, Montreal
Dr. Janet O'Shea , Middlesex University, London, U.K.
Dr. Indira Viswanathan Peterson, Mount Holyoke College, Massachusetts, USA
Dr. Davesh Soneji , McGill University, Montreal
Uttara Asha Coorlawala , Long Island University, New York, USA
Curated by Hari Krishnan (Artistic Director, inDANCE)
Participating Artists: Nicole Awai, Shelly Bahl, Tom Bogaert, YaQin Betty Chou, Nicolás Dumit Estévez, Ingo Günther, Jenny Polak and Juana Valdes
TRANS_ considers the transnational movement of people, images and ideas, and provides a space in which to reflect upon the multiple relationships world cultures have to one another. As a result of ever-increasing global
exchange, one may begin to view culture as a continually changing and elastic phenomenon – as a process and not a stasis. Following this logic, we see that it is not only the patterns of human migration that inform our
dynamic global reality, but also the mass mediation of images and ideas that, in the words of social anthropologist, Arjun Appadurai, allow us the "capacity to aspire" to "possible worlds and imagined selves."
By taking a holistic approach to this issue, the exhibition seeks to address the many broad and complex concerns of transcultural movement including: both the immediate/extended and the public/private effects of the immigrant
experience; the popularization and oversimplification of culturally-specific images and practices; and the greater, macrocosmic forces which drive this cross-cultural movement.
Curated by Juliana Driever
Queens Library Gallery
89-11 Merrick Boulevard Jamaica, NY, 11432
(718) 990-0700
www.queenslibrary.org/gallery
Continuing it's Bollywood 101 series of film discussions and clips, and celebrating Pride month, 3rd i Presents -- Queer Bollywood: Alternative Sexualities in Popular Indian Cinema. Mark your calendars ... and don't miss this unique and presentation!
When: Sunday June 10th 2pm
Where: 992 Valencia Street, (cross steet is 21st) San Francisco, CA 94110
Price: $8 - $10 sliding scale (pay at the door )
Details: www.thirdi.org
Queer Bollywood: Alternative Sexualities in Popular Indian Cinema
A Clip Show and Lecture Presentation by Gayatri Gopinath and Sandip Roy.
What does queerness look like on the Bollywood screen? How has Bollywood – the biggest film industry in the world -- traditionally encoded same-sex desire? How have these codes changed in the last decade, with the emergence of a more visible queer presence in South Asia? Join academic Gayatri Gopinath and journalist Sandip Roy in a discussion of how popular Indian cinema has historically provided queer audiences rich material for imagining queer lives, desires and pleasures, both in South Asia and in the diaspora. We will explore the ways in which recent shifts in sexual and gender norms in South Asia have both opened up and shut down queer possibilities on the Bollywood screen.
More details:
http://www.thirdi.org/~sf/screenings.html
http://www.thirdi.org/
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3rd i Co-presents: Pratibha Parmar's , NINA'S HEAVENLY DELIGHTS in Frameline31 San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival
NINA'S HEAVENLY DELIGHTS
Thursday June 21 | 7:00 pm | Castro
$9 members | $10 general | NINA21C
Calling all foodies! "Iron Chef" meets lesbian love in this romantic comedy from documentary filmmaker and 1993 Frameline Award recipient Pratibha Parmar (director of past Festival favorites Khush and Jodie: An Icon) in her first narrative feature film. Closeted Nina returns home to Glasgow for her father's funeral only to discover that her family's Indian restaurant is in jeopardy. Despite a resentful brother, grieving mother and a younger sister more interested in Scottish dancing than cooking, Nina is determined to save the family business. What better way than by winning the curry cook-off sponsored by the local Indian television station?
Luckily for Nina, she's convinced her old schoolmate Lisa to help her in her scheme. The two eye each other at the local club, but it's in the kitchen, grinding spices and chopping chilis, that things really heat up. As the contest approaches, Nina's entire Scottish-Indian clan rallies behind her, along with her best friend Mohan, who's preparing for a Bollywood dance competition of his own. But will Nina tell her family that Lisa's been helping with more than just the cooking? Or will her reluctance to follow her heart sabotage Nina's quest for curry perfection?
With musical numbers, benign ghosts and two leading ladies who are easy on the eyes, Nina's Heavenly Delights is sure to delight anyone who likes their romance with a side of family reconciliation.
Nina's Heavenly Delights dir Pratibha Parmar 2006 UK 94 min 35mm
June 14-24, 2007 www.frameline.org/festival
More details:
http://www.thirdi.org/~sf/screenings.html
Saturday 16th June 2007 @ City Hall, HULL
Box Office / Info: www.hullcc.gov.uk/hullcityhall / 01482 226655
Wednesday 27th June 2007 @ Lakeside Arts Centre, NOTTINGHAM
Box Office / Info: www.lakesidearts.org.uk / 0115 846 7777
Waqt is the stunning new dance production by Gauri Sharma Tripathi, one of the world's leading exponents of Kathak. She tours the UK for the first time with a full-length show featuring UK and India based dancers and musicians.
Waqt (meaning Time) is partly inspired by Javed Akhtar's poem of the same name, and explores the rich resonance of Kathak, in its' rawest forms. The performance features music by the highly acclaimed Niraj Chag (Bangles,
Along The Dusty Road) and live vocals by Reena Bhardwaj (A R Rahman's The Rising, Meenaxi; Nitin Sawhney's Human, Philtre) and ANKH Dance Company.
Gauri is one of the biggest names in South Asian Dance. Recent achievements include choreographing Akram Khan's acclaimed solo piece in Sacred Monsters, as well as the upcoming dance epic Mahabharata, written by Olivier-Award
winning Stephen Clark and composed by Nitin Sawhney. She has also choreographed for the likes of Elton John, Kylie Minogue and The Queen.
The First National Asian American Theater Festival is coming to New York City! From June 11 - 24, 2007, over 25 of the hottest, cutting-edge Asian American theater companies and performing artists will converge upon several venues in the Big Apple.
Spearheaded by Ma-Yi Theater Company, NAATCO (National Asian American Theatre Company), and Pan Asian Repertory Theatre, the festival celebrates the vitally important contributions Asian American artists make to the cultural landscape of the nation.
The festival will foster greater understanding of the growing influence Asian Americans have on the social and cultural identity of America. The works presented will inspire appreciation for the unique, yet universal stories of our communities.
On the program among many other artists:Big Head by Denise Uyehara and Replaced Rituals Pallabi Chakravorty, Courtyard Dancers
June 12, 13 and 14 at 9:30
Venue: Theatre Row, The Kirk Theatre
June 16 at 8:00, June 17 at 3:00 and 7:00 and June 18 at 7:00
Venue: Theatre Row, The Kirk Theatre
Ramble-Ations: A One D'Lo Show by D'Lo
Dates: June 18, 19, 20, 22 at 7:00 and June 23 at 3:00Venue: The Flea Theatre
Refugee Nation by Teada Productions, Leilani Chang and Ova Saopeng
June 22 at 7:00, June 23 at 3:30 and 9:30 and June 24 at 2:00
Venue: The Abingdon Theatre
1. Toronto, Canada : Mothers, Daughters, Body Image Anthology, deadline 15 June 2007
http://www.sumachpress.com/submissprint.htm
Call for Submissions
We're delighted to announce that a new YA story collection about mothers and daughters and body image will be published by Sumach Press
in 2008. We are currently welcoming submissions from new, emerging and established writers.
The working title of this anthology is Cleavage. Co-editors Deb Loughead and Jocelyn Shipley are calling for stories about eating disorders, cosmetic surgery, implants, clothing choices, hair, waxing, makeup, piercing, tattoos and similar topics. Point of view should be thirteen and up, but the issues can be the daughter's, her mother's, or both. We're especially interested in quirky, humorous stories that capture the bizarreness of body image as well as defining mother-daughter moments.
Contributors will receive $75.00 plus one free copy of the book, and 40% discount on additional copies. A brief author bio will appear in
the book. Copyright and third-party reprint rights remain with the contributor; however, the editors retain copyright to the work as a
whole, plus the right to include the story in all editions and versions of Cleavage.
Submissions should be original, unpublished, not in translation and not under consideration elsewhere. Length should be 2000 to 3500
words. Please use standard format: story should be typed in 12 pt or larger font, double-spaced with standard margins on white, letter-sized paper. Please include your name and the title of your story on every page.
Submissions must be post-marked by June 15, 2007. Sorry, we cannot accept submissions by email or fax. Please include a business-sized
SASE for our response.
Manuscripts will not be returned. Contributors will be notified by October, 2007.
Send two copies of your story and author bio of up to 50 words to:
Sumach Story Submission
c/o 17 Thornly Crescent
Toronto, ON
M9B 2M4
For further information e-mail sages...@gmail.com or
deb.lo...@rogers.com
2. Los Angeles, USA: LOS ANGELES QUEER STUDIES CONFERENCE 2007, deadline 29 June 2007
Friday and Saturday, October 19-20, 2007, Royce Hall, UCLA
Plenary speakers and panelists for this year's conference:
Jill Dolan, Kale Fajardo, Judith Halberstam, Kara Keeling, Chandan Reddy, Nayan Shah, Dean Spade
Thomas DeFrantz and the Slippage Ensemble will present "Queer Theory: An Academic Travesty"
CALL FOR PAPERS
The Los Angeles Queer Studies Conference welcomes presentations of research and other work in lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender
studies, on queer topics, sexuality and gender. Since one of the principal goals of the conference is to encourage the exchange of ideas
across academic generations, we invite participation of both graduate students and faculty scholars. Please send your proposal (not more than 850 words) for a 20-minute presentation and a cv (not more than 2 pages) to one of the addresses below. If you would like to organize a panel of three speakers, please feel free to do so.
DEADLINE FOR PROPOSALS: June 29, 2007
Submissions by US Postal Service:
UCLA Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies Program
3300 Rolfe Hall
Box 951531
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1531
Email submissions: lg...@humnet.ucla.edu
For further information, please contact the LGBTS office at 310 206 0516 or lg...@humnet.ucla.edu
Organized by the UCLA Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies Program with generous support from the David Bohnett Foundation and the Gill Foundation
Tasveer is pleased to announce its fourth ISAAF which will take place
from October 3rd - October 7th, 2007.
We are now accepting submissions for film and video works on subjects related to South Asia and/or its Diaspora. The five-day film festival
will foster an atmosphere of creative inquiry, where filmmakers and audiences will engage in lively discussions, forums, and other
collaborative interactive formats.
ELIGIBILITY
- All works must be related to South Asia and/or its Diaspora. "South Asia" includes: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives,
Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Tibet
- All works must have been released in 2005 and after
For an application please write to Rita Meher at in...@tasveer.org or
download it on our website www.tasveer.org.
DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS: June 30th, 2007
You can check our ISAFF 2006 at http://isaff.tasveer.org
Please help us distribute the call widely.
CALL FOR ENTRIES
Bombay Mix: The Bollywood & Beyond Film Club is hosting a major three-day film festival, 17 – 19 August 2007 at Greenwich Picturehouse cinema, London ( www.picturehouses.co.uk). The festival celebrates the 60th anniversary of Indian independence and will feature screenings of epic Bollywood and independent films, a multimedia event showcasing the best in short films, live performances, DJs, art installations and more.
You are invited to submit short films for the multimedia event. This is an exciting opportunity to showcase your work at one of London's best independent cinemas, which attracts diverse audiences. The festival will be housed in their refurbished deluxe screening room which will also be decorated for the event.
Your submissions can be either new films, projects created especially for the festival or older films that would be suitable. Entries are welcome from both South Asian and non-Asian filmmakers.
Entry Criteria
· Address the themes of the festival -- India's independence and partition in particular -- and past, present and future in general.
· South Asian peoples' experiences from around the world.
· Exploring the genre of Bollywood / South Asian cinema.
· For South Asian filmmakers only: we will also consider films that don't directly deal with this content.
· Film length should be up to 20 minutes approx, on DVD format.
· Please provide synopsis of film, biography and contact details.
Deadline for
submissions is Monday 9 July 2007
Post entries to:
Dr Meena Khatwa
Bombay Mix
75 Musgrove Road
New Cross
London SE14 5PP
UK
For more details
see our website, which will be regularly updated. Please feel free to get in
touch should you require further information; and forward this onto anyone else
who you think might be interested.
4. Philadelphia, USA: Summer PSA Video-Making Workshop, July 10- August 14, 2007
ASIAN ARTS INITIATIVE invites you to join our...
Summer PSA Video-Making Workshop
July 10-August 14, 2007
Tuesdays, 6-9pm
Held in Center City
All ages and levels of experience welcome
This exciting collaboration with AIDS Services in Asian Communities (ASIAC) brings together a video-making workshop to examine the effects of AIDS in the Asian American Community.
Led by Big Picture Alliance, this 6-week course will teach you the basic technical skills of digital video making, including how to work a camera and edit video footage.
You'll finish with your own 60 second Public Service Announcement, and be able to share it with you friends and family in a public screening on August 17.
Limited Space! Please contact Rana to Register & / or Request a Scholarship: 215-557-0455, r
...@asianartsinitiative.org
This project was supported in part by the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.
* * * * *
<http://asianartsinitiative.org>
9. Tuscan, Arizona, USA:
La Pocha's Performance Summer School, August 1-10 2007
A 10-day intensive performance workshop in Tucson, Arizona (August 1-10, 2007)
Gómez-Peña, Roberto Sifuentes, Violeta Luna, and Michele Ceballos, members of the legendary Pocha Nostra performance troupe, will conduct their 10-day intensive summer workshop on performance art with a focus on the human body
as a site for creation, reinvention, memory and activism. This cross-cultural, cross-disciplinary and cross-generational workshop is open to both international and local artists. The workshop will host 15 performance artists and students from around the world as well as 10 Tucson-based artists. It is La Pocha's most important pedagogic endeaver of the year.
Where will it take place?
Due to the political situation in Oaxaca we have relocated the summer school this year to Tucson. Why? The spectacular city of Tucson, located in the Sonora desert, 40 miles from the Mexican border, was chosen because the richcultural diversity (Native American, Mexican, border) directly complements the troupe's aesthetic and poly-cultural perspectives and interests. Besides, Tucson offers us the complete freedom, space, and support the
workshop demands.
The workshop will be located in a spacious warehouse with lots of character that belongs to the Museum of Contemporary Art, adjacent to the downtown area, and a walking distance from diverse restaurants, bars and hotels (More
info. about Tucson below).
The 8-hour a day workshop will offer two parallel processes: Participants are exposed to La Pocha Nostra's most recent performance methodologies, an eclectic combination of exercises borrowed from multiple traditions
including experimental theater and dance, the Suzuki method, ritual performance, and shamanism. Parallel to this hands-on process, the group will analyze the creative process, the issues addressed by the work, its
aesthetic currency, cultural impact and political pertinence. The workshop will culminate with a full performance open to the public fostered by Pocha Nostra.
Application Process and Procedure:
Who should attend?
Performance artists, experimental actors, dancers, theorists, and students interested in the topics addressed by Gomez-Peña and La Pocha Nostra. Applicants must have some performance experience, and must be familiar with
the artists' work. The workshop is fun but rigorous. (If you have cultural phobias, or serious health problems, unfortunately this workshop is not for you).
Enrollment:
International participants will be chosen by a Pocha selection committee.
Local participants will be chosen by the museum staff. Applicants must
submit:
(a) A half-page statement (in English or Spanish) stating why they are
interested in taking the workshop; (b) A brief resume; and (c-optional) A letter of recommendation from a curator, director, producer or senior artist. If you have already been part of our summer school, you don't need
these requirements.
Cost:
For out-of-towners, the cost of the workshop is $650. This does not include room or board; however, the Museum of Contemporary Art has graciously offered to find free housing at artists homes for some of the international
participants. Scholarships are available to Arizona artists. If accepted with the scholarship, the cost will be $200 to cover logistic matters, staffing and some food. La Pocha will also provide full scholarships to a
few Oaxacan artistas who have participated in the Oaxacan summer school.
Contact:
Those living outside of Arizona, please submit your application directly to
La Pocha Nostra:
c/o Eric Avila Thomas, Special Projects Coordinator
pochanostra@
pochanostra.com
Those living in Tucson and Phoenix, please submit your application directly
to MOCA:
c/o Anne-Marie Russell, director
email: i
...@moca-tucson.org
Write "La Pocha Nostra/Performance Art School" in subject line.
Info. about Tucson:
Anne-Marie Rusell, director of the Museum of Contemporary Art writes about Tucson, Az:
"Layered memories have been deposited in the body of this place.
Tucson is the oldest continuously inhabited site in the continental United States, and to many, it is still Mexico. To some, it is Atzlan.
From early Pueblo dwellers to Spanish colonials to Chinese railroad laborers to Easterners fleeing the Establishment to hippies looking for Eden and freedom to an international group of nomads arriving throughout the 20th century, Tucson's cultural identity is complex indeed.
Our landscape--which Frank Lloyd Wright described as the sea floor without the sea--is innately surreal.
The harshness of the desert--especially in the summer months--forces us to rethink our bodies, so accustomed as they are to being "climate controlled".
August in the Sonoran desert brings intense heat that builds with increasing tension throughout the day as the billowy white clouds shape-shift against the sapphire sky...then, BANG, the thunder claps and the monsoon rains fall
hard on the hot and tired bodies, bringing relief and joy.
This desert has inspired many artists, from Max Ernst to Andy Warhol.
To examine the body through performance in Tucson in August is to channel the memories of others and to challenge your own boundaries of inside and outside the body.
All of your assumptions will be turned on their head as you excavate your body amid the larger social body of this place..."
<
http://www.thirdi.org/submission.html>
• Disclaimer: Information is not verified and included in good faith. We are not responsible for any direct of indirect damage incurred because of the information contained in this newsletter. Though we check the
information, we are not responsible for the content of external announcements and links. *
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