Marg – Contemporary Dance in India
Marg is a premier arts journal, a quarterly publication produced in Mumbai, aimed at the serious art lover.
22 December 2017
Reviews
Book Reviews
Languid Bodies, Grounded Stances: The Curving Pathway of Neoclassical Odissi Dance
Odissi has blossomed in recent decades with an increasing number of performing artists, festivals and choreographic works being produced in this dance form, both nationally and internationally.
23 June 2017
Butoh Dance Training
Last night I saw Juju Alishina perform Red Night in Stroud, a mesmerising and compelling evening, with three contrasting pieces… Read More
4 July 2016
Indian Classical Dance: The Renaissance and Beyond
As one would expect from such a renowned critic and dance writer, Leela Venkataraman’s latest book is painstakingly researched and benefits from both the author’s balanced, analytic approach and the constellation of beautiful dance photographs scattered throughout.
14 September 2015
My Journey: A Tale of Two Births
Well-known odissi dancer Ileana Citaristi’s third book, My Journey: A Tale of Two Births, is an autobiography and memoir.
14 September 2015
Contemporary Indian Dance: New Creative Choreography in India and the Diaspora
Palgrave Macmillan’s ‘Studies in International Performance’ series has published one of the most significant books to come out on Indian dance studies scholarship in recent years: Ketu H. Katrak’s Contemporary Indian Dance: New Creative Choreography in India and the Diaspora.
13 March 2012
Vilasini Natyam – Bharatam of Telugu Temple and Court Dancers
After authoring The World of Kuchipoodi Dance, a seminal text on this dance form, Padma Bhushan recipient Swapnasundari recently launched Vilasini Natyam-Bharatam of Telugu Temple and Court Dancers.
11 March 2011
Collaborations
Collaborations is a numbered, limited edition boxed set containing three CDs and one DVD. It gathers together three out-of-print Harrison and Shankar projects.
15 December 2010
CD Reviews
Land of Gold
“The seeds of Land of Gold originated, in the context of the humanitarian plight of refugees. It coincided with the time when I had recently given birth to my second child.
15 December 2016
Ani Ukali, Sangai Orali (Ascents and Descents)
Nepal is close to the hearts of walkers and climbers who seek to scale the glittering peaks of the Himalayan range. Equally the magnificence of its architecture, like the medieval township of Bhaktapur sadly severely damaged in the recent earthquake, is well-known to travellers.
14 September 2015
Like a River to the Sea
The debut album from kirtan artist Jahnavi Harrison – composer, arranger and principal voice of the collection ‒ takes kirtan to a place ripe for genre-crossing.
14 September 2015
At Home
With over 10 per cent of India’s land mass, the western state of Rajasthan is the nation’s largest. City regions such as Jaipur, Jodhpur, Ajmer, Udaipur and Bikaner are on the tourist trail and should kind kismet or grand design ever take you to Rajasthan, you will require reliable musical travelling companions.
23 June 2014
Call of Bangalore
Call of Bangalore begins with an agile-minded, musically unafraid opening gambit. With its title slyly alluding to her birthplace, this studio album not only shows off violinist Jyotsna Srikanth’s roots but also her command of melodicism, rhythmicality and pace.
13 September 2013
Abdulkarim Raas & Kuljit Bhamra present Somali Party Southall
From its opening flourish, Hobey Hobey Heleyoy (‘Come Sing and Dance’) with its blend of Punjabi and Somali ingredients, the pretty much unerring plus ça change philosophical logic of Somali Party Southall is bracing.
18 December 2012
Englobed
Around the time that I was delivering the final drop-ins for my India chapters in the Europe, Asia & Pacific volume for what would be the third and final edition of the Rough Guide to World Music, there was a bloom of new talent working in East-West fusion forms emerging.
18 December 2012
Kindred Spirits
Arranger-composer-pianist Zoe Rahman’s last few musical forays into her roots have proved wholly fascinating.
13 March 2012
Dance Conference Reviews
Land of Gold
“The seeds of Land of Gold originated, in the context of the humanitarian plight of refugees. It coincided with the time when I had recently given birth to my second child.
15 December 2016
Ani Ukali, Sangai Orali (Ascents and Descents)
Nepal is close to the hearts of walkers and climbers who seek to scale the glittering peaks of the Himalayan range. Equally the magnificence of its architecture, like the medieval township of Bhaktapur sadly severely damaged in the recent earthquake, is well-known to travellers.
14 September 2015
Like a River to the Sea
The debut album from kirtan artist Jahnavi Harrison – composer, arranger and principal voice of the collection ‒ takes kirtan to a place ripe for genre-crossing.
14 September 2015
At Home
With over 10 per cent of India’s land mass, the western state of Rajasthan is the nation’s largest. City regions such as Jaipur, Jodhpur, Ajmer, Udaipur and Bikaner are on the tourist trail and should kind kismet or grand design ever take you to Rajasthan, you will require reliable musical travelling companions.
23 June 2014
Call of Bangalore
Call of Bangalore begins with an agile-minded, musically unafraid opening gambit. With its title slyly alluding to her birthplace, this studio album not only shows off violinist Jyotsna Srikanth’s roots but also her command of melodicism, rhythmicality and pace.
13 September 2013
Abdulkarim Raas & Kuljit Bhamra present Somali Party Southall
From its opening flourish, Hobey Hobey Heleyoy (‘Come Sing and Dance’) with its blend of Punjabi and Somali ingredients, the pretty much unerring plus ça change philosophical logic of Somali Party Southall is bracing.
18 December 2012
Englobed
Around the time that I was delivering the final drop-ins for my India chapters in the Europe, Asia & Pacific volume for what would be the third and final edition of the Rough Guide to World Music, there was a bloom of new talent working in East-West fusion forms emerging.
18 December 2012
Kindred Spirits
Arranger-composer-pianist Zoe Rahman’s last few musical forays into her roots have proved wholly fascinating.
13 March 2012
Dance Festival Reviews
Korzo Indian Dance Festival
After years of upheaval in the Dutch theatre world due to budget cuts, calm has been restored. The Korzo Theater will go on and is strengthening its roots every year.
19 December 2014
Purush: the global dancing male
Why do we dance? Do we always dance to achieve the same end? Is it and was it the forte of one gender? Such fundamental questions were the focus of keynote speeches at the three-day Purush: the global dancing male conference in Chennai.
20 March 2014
Attakkalari India Biennial 2013
Dubbed ‘South Asia’s largest contemporary dance festival’, the 2013 edition of the Attakkalari India Biennial was the sixth to be held since its modest beginning in 2000.
14 March 2013
Frame by Frame
Like it or loathe it, you could hardly have missed the huge rise in popularity of Indian, or Bollywood, cinema
22 September 2010
Attakalari India Biennial Festival 2009
Attakalari’s India Biennial 2009 opened with a ‘bang’ in the south Indian city of Bangalore on February 6th
12 June 2009
Dance Performance Reviews
Bayadère – The Ninth Life
It’s almost thirty years since Chennai-born Shobana Jeyasingh launched her company with the arresting abstract work Configurations.
22 December 2017
Viplav – Revolution
On a stormy evening in London, Rich Mix was the eye of the storm featuring two serene and strong Indian classical dance forms: mohiniyattam and bharatanatyam.
22 December 2017
YAATRA Research & Development Sharing
In the dark, intimate theatre, I found myself sobbing.
22 December 2017
Akram Khan, Raga & Tala Experience
Spread across four major London venues over four months, the twelfth edition of the Darbar Festival marked the first time that dance was accorded a prominent place in the programming
22 December 2017
Mythili Prakash
I was nervous about watching Mythili from such a perfect seat in the Sadler’s Wells theatre. She had won teenager-me over when she performed at the Bhavan about a decade ago
22 December 2017
Gamechanger
The Gamechanger triple bill opens with Three, choreographed by T.J. Lowe and Subhash Viman Gorania.
22 December 2017
Taj Express
The established Merchant family returns to London’s Peacock Theatre this year with another kaleidoscopic Bollywood-inspired production, Taj Express.
27 September 2017
The Rose and the Bulbul
There are many worse ways to spend a summer’s evening than wandering the lovely gardens of Hoxton’s Geffrye Museum following a band of itinerant dancers, actors and glorious musicians, and this restaging of The Rose and the Bulbul (originally created in 2016) allows us to do just that.
27 September 2017
Dance/Music Conference Reviews
Natya Kala Conference
The Natya Kala Conference was conceived in 1981, by the late Shri R. Yagnaraman, secretary of Krishna Gana Sabha, with a view to providing Indian dance with a platform to discuss and debate issues.
24 February 2010
Confluence
Confluence was the piece Akram Khan and Nitin Sawhney premiered as the Festival finale.
11 December 2009
Dance/Music Festival Reviews
Svapnagata Festival
It may seem simple to say that the ingredients to create a memorable music concert or dance performance are not… Read More
11 December 2009
Amsterdam India Festival
For the best part of November 2008, an enormous array of India’s varied arts and cultures took over the Dutch capital’s auditoriums and public spaces in the Amsterdam India Festival. It was, I was reliably informed, the largest India festival ever in Europe.
18 March 2009
Exhibition Reviews
Arts and Crafts in the Punjab and London
A pioneer of vast and varied talents, John Lockwood Kipling (1837‒1911) was a zealous and fervent supporter of crafts and art in India.
15 March 2017
Do Not Yet Fold Your Wings
Renaissance iconography and traditional Indian dance converge when a crimson sari of intense contrast folds and contours around the dancing figure of Bengali artist Bisakha Sarker MBE.
24 December 2015
Minds to Lose / The Singh Project
This year’s Alchemy Festival contained some tantalising treasures to be discovered in multiple venues across London’s Southbank Centre. One ventured to… Read More
23 June 2015
Music Peformance Reviews
Rhythm Unleashed
This year the Darbar Festival hosted Supreet Deshpande for his UK debut tabla solo, a rare occurrence. The audience was treated to an exploration of traditional rhythmic patterns.
22 December 2017
Debasmita Bhattacharya & Gurdain Singh Rayatt
This year the Darbar Festival came to the Sadler’s Wells’ stage for the very first time since its inception in 2006. This concert showcased the talents of Debasmita Bhattacharya and Gurdain Rayatt.
22 December 2017
Vignettes EP
It would be difficult to think of a more apt title for this brief but engaging collection of musical sketches…. Read More
27 September 2017
The Bridge
The sitar concerto has had something of an emblematic status in the area of East-West ‘fusion’ music, ever since Ravi Shankar first showcased the form in his Concerto for Sitar and Orchestra of 1971.
15 March 2017
Aruna Sairam & Jayanthi Kumaresh
With Aruna Sairam, what need is there to equivocate or elaborate? She is one of the most defining and moving voices in the world of music, irrespective of musical genre
15 December 2016
Zakir Hussain: Peshkar
There are few brighter stars in the Hindustani music firmament than Zakir Hussain. Whether on or off stage he is… Read More
4 July 2016
Mita Nag – Seduced by the Sitar
The sitarist Mita Nag is, as we say, her father’s daughter. It was Ira Landgarten’s New York-based label Raga Records that first planted her father Manilal Nag’s music in my head in the 1990s.
24 December 2015
Bahauddin Dagar – Morning Bliss
You know what it’s like when you’re reading a really great book… you can peek to see how many pages remain. When you’re in a really great Hindustani recital, there’s no knowing how many ‘pages’ are left.
24 December 2015
Theatre Reviews
Bring on the Bollywood
B ring on the Bollywood is two and a half hours of phenomenal dancing, a witty script, beautiful choreography.
27 September 2017
Untouchable
Untouchable is a work of remarkable power. Written by Peter Oswald and directed by Kathryn Hunter, it debuted in RADA’s [R]Evolution In Theatre season. The play is unflinchingly political.
27 September 2017
Sukanya – The Opera
Myth, music and dance meet in Ravi Shankar’s operatic love story’ ran the Southbank Centre’s May Listings brochure. The London performance of Sukanya – The Opera was the fourth of four stagings.
23 June 2017
Treya’s Last Dance
In the darkness, the tinkling of ankle bells heralds the arrival of Shyam Bhatt on stage. An accomplished Indian dancer,… Read More
14 March 2016
True Brits
Playwright Vinay Patel’s debut full-length play, ably performed by Sid Sagar, is a clever and compelling monologue that paints a… Read More
15 September 2014
The Bridge
This multimedia piece is writer and performer Annie George’s deeply personal journey into her family history.
15 September 2014
Indian Summer
Many of the highly-decorative wall-based paintings, prints and collages in Indian Summer – a collaborative endeavour between Arts for India and the Albemarle Gallery – give rise to these autumnal hues and glows of hazy sunshine.
15 September 2014