No images? Click here Akademi update | September 2020What have we been up toSince the Lockdown, we’ve all been living and working differently. Although our usual programme of Dance Well sessions and Reach Out and Reveal projects were suddenly halted, we tried to see the challenge as an opportunity. Our team has been hard at work (remotely!) with the unwavering support from our wonderful artists to continue taking South Asian dance to older adults and young children with autism. We have also used this time to listen to artists through surgeries, provide professional development opportunities, support creative ideas through seed funding, provide a platform to connect and exchange ideas and offer mentoring support to artists. We feel privileged to be able to collaborate and work with artists in so many different ways during these challenging times. We are also in the process of thinking about the future of live performances and how we can continue to take South Asian dance to communities. Suba, our Artistic Director, has been part of the Culture RESET programme, and Akademi have collaborated with partners like Camden Council, Greater London Authority and The National Dance Network on events and activities focussed on dance development. Warm wishes, Team Akademi Since the lockdown, with the help of artists, we have:
What have our artists been doingOur Learning and Participation artists have shown a huge amount of dedication, flexibilty and kindness in supporting us to continue taking dance to communities, even during these unprecedented times. We can’t thank you enough - Anusha Subramanyam, Archita Kumar, Emiko Ishii, Georgia Cornwell, Hiten Mistry, Jesal Patel, Priyanka Chauhan and Sophie Holland! Some of our Dance Well artists wrote down their experiences of working differently during the Lockdown, which you can read here. Archita Kumar Priyanka Chauhan Hiten Mistry Sophie Holland Jesal Patel Upcoming opportunitiesArtist opportunity to work on Oral History projectAkademi is excited to be partnering with Krishna Avanti Primary School, Harrow, to deliver a multi-layered Creative Dance & Oral History Project for KS2 pupils, as part of our Heritage Project funded by National Lottery Heritage Fund. We are seeking a dance artist with a traditional South Asian dance practice to lead the creative expression part of this project that will consist of a 10-week course co-facilitated by a dance artist and an oral historian. Application deadline is 30 September at 5pm. 3 x Heritage performance commissions for dance artistsWe are seeking three dance artists to bring Akademi's heritage to school communities through performance and participation. The artists will develop a short dance solo and plan a 45-min schools workshop that responds to an Akademi heritage object. They will then share the new solo and deliver the workshop at three schools. Application deadline is 14 October at 5pm. More info and application packs: Vacancies What else is going on at AkademiResuming Learning and Participation projectsDance Well at Holborn Community AssociationOn Wednesday 26 August, dance artists Jesal Patel and Priyanka Chauhan, and our L&P Manager, Peter Laycock, visited HCA to be taken through the centre’s Covid-19 prevention guidance by Andrew, the Older People’s Service Manager. With an updated risk assessment and having trialled the new teaching space, Jesal and Priyanka will restart their socially-distanced sessions at HCA on Tuesday 22 September. Dance Well at Third Age ProjectOn Tuesday 15 September, Peter along with dance artist Georgia Cornwell, visited the Third Age Project at Cumberland Market, Camden. Tony and Jodie from TAP explained new measures put in place to safeguard participants and facilitators and Georgia trialled the equipment for the blended delivery that the new sessions will offer. Participants will now be able to attend the sessions in person, or join in via zoom. Reach Out and Reveal at Papillon HouseBuilding on the pre-recorded dance activities that dance artist Anusha Subramanyam has carefully produced for Papillon House over lockdown, we will be trialling live-online delivery for specific bubbles of students from Wednesday 23 September. Initially, sessions will be shorter than the previous in-person activities but more groups will get to work with Anusha. As student confidence and engagement with the ‘new normal’ increases, session times will be lengthened. CW+ Arts for All - Virtual ConnectionsIn partnership with CW+ and our Dance Well artists, we have been providing digital content for the Arts for All programme to create meaningful cultural opportunities, which offer distraction, entertainment and social interaction to improve patient experience at hospitals. Know more: CW+ Arts for All programme Cultural happenings - performanceAs we gear up for the ‘new’ normal, we are exploring possibilities of taking live performances to audiences. On 20 August, Jesal Patel, Saloni Saraf and Raheem Mir performed outdoors for the older tenants of Greenwood Sheltered Housing in North London, who had been shielding during the pandemic and found joy and entertainment through this event. Akademi Heritage ProjectWhen the project plans came to an abrupt halt during the pandemic, our wonderful project manager, Shivaangee Agrawal, adapted them quickly. We collaborated with consultants and volunteers to continue work on cataloguing and digitising the archives. The volunteers also shared their experience through a series of blogposts. Read: Volunteers’ blogs L&P training bursariesTo continue providing professional development opportunities during the lockdown, we organised an online training in May, led by two of our Dance Well artists, Archita Kumar and Georgia Cornwell, for six artists wishing to work in Learning and Participation settings. Know more: L&P training Akademi Seed CommissionsFollowing several consultative artist surgeries, we announced five seed commissions in April for artists to test new ideas for a dance work in unusual settings or context. The recipients are - Elena Catalano, Meera Patel, Kirsten Newell along with Oxana McMahon, Kesha Raithatha and Krishna Zivraj-Nair. Stay tuned on our social media for the progress of their projects. In addition, we also announced a small seed commission for Disabled, D/ Deaf artists. Find out more: Seed Commissions Freelance Task ForceAs part of our commitment to working with freelancers towards a sustainable future, we appointed Parbati Chaudhury as our representative in the Freelance Task Force. Parbati has been working tirelessly to amplify the voices of freelance professionals in the South Asian dance sector. They are currently compiling a national database of freelancers. To get a weekly update on their activities and available opportunities, do get in touch with her on parbati.chaudhury@hotmail.co.uk Find out more: #Freelancetaskforce The Troth filmOn 7 August, we had re-released the film of our 2018 show The Troth - Usne Kaha Tha for a month. We are thrilled that the film received a 4-star review in The Guardian and was recommended by The Times ‘Arts Out There' and by BBC Arts Culture in Quarantine. Army at the Fringe: Choreography and ProjectionOn 10 August our Artistic Director, Suba Subramaniam, was invited by the British Army to present on the use of projection in dance and theatre work, as part of the Virtual Edinburgh Fringe. Watch: Suba’s presentation Keep a look out forGEN NextBharatanatyam artist, Hiten Mistry, and his team have started a support and discussion forum for Indian Classical Dancers of the current and future generations on Instagram and we are thrilled to be associated with this initiative. Follow them for some really interesting talks every Tuesday, Friday and Sunday. Follow: @gen_ext Manch UKAn intimate, virtual stage promoting cross-arts events, collaborations & experiences from the South Asian subcontinent. Their purpose is to bring together artists & global audiences on this digital venue to share their love for the arts. Follow: Manch UK Images (from top): |