PRESS RELEASE
 
 Sub: Curtain Raiser of INTERFACE 2006
 
Sapphire Creations Dance Workshop and CII Young Indians are proud to host the third edition of the,.only international arts festival of Eastern India in Kolkata , INTERFACE 2006 on April 18-22, 2006 at Gyan Manch, Bharatiyam, American Center, Oxford Bookstore, Max Mueller Bhavan, Swabhumi, Science City and other premium venues.
 
  Premier artists from USA , France, Canada, Japan and India are all set to join in this novel effort to initiate a renaissance in the alternative arts in the city.
 
Young Indians (YI) is a group of young and successful Indian professionals and is a part of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). The principal objective of YI is to promote a positive 'We Can, We Will' approach towards developing India, develop young leaders of tomorrow and to become the voice of the young generation of Indians. YI is a forum that encourages and inspires everyone to take pride in being an Indian by helping build a Brand India globally
 
The Yi Kolkata Chapter is working towards health care and education as their focus areas. The proceeds of this event would go towards the supports of setting up of Akshara an educational resource centre for primary learning of the underprivileged children in the Eastern Region.
 
We never thought that an arts festival could bring in so much freshness, initiate so much movement, create such a revolution, win so many friends, surprise so many rivals…. its been an exciting journey with a thousand bridges to cross and we want to share with you some of the little things we have gathered on the way.
 
On April 13, 2006, 5 pm at the Palladian Lounge, Tata Steel Room, 3rd Floor, CII Building, 6 N.S Road, Kolkata , come down for a Curtain Raiser to INTERFACE 2004, and have a glimpse of the bright orange dream, and indulge in a surge of young patriotism throbbing with a life of its own which has given us the courage to bring winds of change to the City of Joy.
 
that brought in so much freshness, initiated so much movement, created such a revolution...

The programme shall consist of an audiovisual presentation, the official declaration of supporters of the festival. This shall be followed by a short performance by Sapphire on the theme of INTERFACE. The event shall be followed by high tea.

We hope that the winds of change ruffle your spirits too, so that you can be at one with Let us once again indulge in the unseen, the unfelt, the alternative, the contemporary, the alive. Participants of the festival who will be there at the press meet are Pierre Renaud , Canada Mezcal Jazz Unit, France Dr. Mamata Niyogi Nakra and Dr. Harbans Nakra from Kalabharati, Montreal Preeti Patel, Alokananda Roy and Bikram Ghosh. the spirit of INTERFACE, and spread the word of this only international art event of Eastern India and the spirit of the Young Indians and the cause of underprivileged children in your respective columns of prepublicity/reviews/reports etc.

Come let us live.

Culturally yours,

SUDARSHAN CHAKRAVORTY PARAMITA SAHA RAJESH PODDAR Festival Director Co-Director Chairman- YI Kolkata

For details/queries please contact 9830265603/98318 90527/2337 0665/9339824346 Details of the festival : INTERFACE 2006: The Festival

INTERFACE is a non-profit venture by Sapphire Creations Dance Workshop, the only experimental dance ensemble of Eastern India striving to develop an organic and radical idiom of movement

INTERFACE, the INTERnational Festival of Alternative and Contemporary Expressions is a biennial event covering the disciplines of music, theatre, visual arts and fashion and all possible interactions between these disciplines. It is the only international alternative arts event of Eastern India and the only the third in the country. It is being planned as a major event in the cultural calendar of Kolkata with a multitude of national and international performances. Workshops, film screenings and other allied events.

INTERFACE 2006 is happening April 18-22, at premium venues of Kolkata supported by a range of sponsors. The Festival is a thorough exchange programme between premier artists from India, Japan, Canada, and USA and art lovers and connoisseurs of Kolkata.

INTERFACE attempts to bring into the City of Joy a taste of the tremendous and turbulent experimentation that recreates every urban experience in myriad artistic forms around the world. It encourages a non-mainstream strain of thought, performance and development in every sensitive modern urban individual. It creates a ready platform for the interaction and reinvention of the contemporary arts.

As part of its 10th anniversary celebrations Sapphire initiated the LINK THE ARTS movement in 2002, a drive to bring together the arts in interesting commissioned and impromptu collaborations by bringing together artists of various disciplines through regular meets and discussions. The aim is to bring issues that bother all or more artistes out in the open and in brainstorming sessions exchange ideas, develop solutions, form a large and more meaningful art fraternity, which can provide encouragement and support to budding artistes and which can reach out to educate and create new audiences.

INTERFACE is part of this movement and endeavors to break barriers through the power of contemporary art, art that is relevant, real, sensible and meaningful Art that speaks to all because it is close to their lives, appealing to their senses and a lesson to learn from.

INTERFACE is here not to create conflicts, not to move away from tradition, not to create divides but bridge the gaps between people, genres, cultures and countries. Sapphire beckons all to come forward and join hands.

INTERFACE 2006: Participating artistes

Main performances

18th April: Opening Performance: Anita Rtnam(India) Anita Ratnam, founder of Arangham Trust, and co-director of The Other Festival, is recognized and honored for her talent and for furthering the international profile of Indian dance, she has been honored with many awards in India, most notably the Nritya Choodamani (1996), Kalaimamani (1998) and the Sankaracharya Award (2001). In the United States she has been given the Mahatma Gandhi Award for Cultural Harmony (1986).

Anita opens INTERFACE 2006 with Tara: Seven Graces - a solo dance-theater performance created in collaboration with Hari Krishnan (Canada)

19th April: Main performance: Ananya Dance Theatre (USA) Ananya Dance Theatre, founded by Artistic Director Ananya Chatterjea in 1996 in New York is a dance theater company formed of women artists of color endeavoring to create artistic works inspired by feminine history, politics, and experiences all around the world. Diverse South Asian performance traditions are explored in contemporary perspectives in the continuous search for images of strength and beauty in art. Based specifically on the Odissi dance form, aesthetic traditions of Bengal, and practices of street theater created by women's groups in India, the company seeks to reach and engage diverse peoples. Ananya: based on the Bengali na-anya, "like whom there is no other"

Ananya Chatterjea is an artist and an activist, and Associate professor of Dance at University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. Trained in India classical and folk dance traditions along with modern dance techniques and African dance styles, she has performed at important events at Germany, India, Malaysia, Canada, London, Java, Philippines and Singapore

Ananya presents at INTERFACE 2006

Bandh: a meditation on dreams

A reaction to the growing disappointment and despair among communities of women of color in response to the escalating violence, militarism, and religious fundamentalisms, Bandh seeks to use performance to generate a sense of healing and to highlight women 's desires and dreams for social justice and peace.

19th April: Main performance: Chup- Katha (India)

Chup-Katha Founded in 1995 the theatre group headed by veteran actress Dolly Basu has always endeavoured to shine with a difference.Since its inception, the group has carved a niche for itself in the theatrical arena through its outstanding productions that have received widespread popular and critical acclaim.Chup-Katha have received numerous awards including the Natya Academy Award of the Govt of West Bengal.

Chup- Katha presents at INTERFACE 2006 Dui Taranga

DUI TARANGA , two ONE Act plays,based on stories by Nirmal Verma and Nabanita Debsen like two different tides that ebb and flow into our lives.

The First act is a woman's jouney sharing her grief with a stranger.The Second act is the frantic hunt of a writer for the elusive shadow of love.

20th April: Main performance: Mezcal Jazz Unit with Bikram Ghosh(France/India)

New bodies, new minds, new ideas, new spaces, breathing, pulsating throbbing with life...

MEZCAL JAZZ UNIT plays its own creative music, with mixed influences, in phase with the main actual french jazz streams. Here, the word "jazz" has to be understood with the largest signification, meaning: no musical conformism, open mind, integration of other musical streams, adventures...

There is a strong Mediterranean feeling of the musicians, along with explorations of traditional melodies, connotations of oriental music, a rocky energy, a sense of humor, and a mix between emotional introspection and a very specific Latin attitude of expression.

MEZCAL JAZZ UNIT

with Bikram Ghosh In INTERFACE 2006

MEZCAL is a live band and its music is based on pleasure and communion between musicians. The ability to communicate with the public is for this band a priority: as important as technical and musical performances

The band headed by Emmanuel de Gouvello (bass, composition) lives near Montpellier-South of France, since 1986.

The band has toured France, Austria, Germany, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovaquia, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Bielorussia, Maroco, Azerbaidjan, Hungary, Roumania, Moldavia, Ukrania, Burkina Faso, Vietnam...

20th April: Main performance: Shakti and Vasantamala Dance Company (Japan) Born to an eclectic parentage of an Indian father and a Japanese mother, Shakti has grown up with the best of both cultures. While earning an M.A. in Indian Philosophy at Columbia University in New York City, she studied modern dance with Martha Graham, Alvin Ailey and jazz dance with Luigi.

Shakti presents at INTERFACE 2006

The Pillow Book

Shakti's unique hybrid form of dance blend an array of Eastern dance traditions and yoga with Western jazz and contemporary rock resulting in a exotic effect. She is the coordinator of the Japan Experience which assists and manages Japanese artists abroad. SHAKTI is also the artistic director of The Garage International which is now one of the most prominent venues in the Edinburgh Festival Fringe hosting over 40 different companies globally. Shakti's unique and mesmerizing performances have tantalized audiences all over the world.

Based on Sei Shonagon's poetry and spanning the world of courtesans the piece is a glorious celebration of womanhood. The body of the dancer is a canvas for beautifully painted images by famous Japanese visual artiste Mieko Nishimura conjuring up a demoniac finale of fiery explosive passion. Shakti shall be accompanied at INTERFACE by her mother Vasantamala, the first Japanese student of Uday Shankar, bringing Indian dance to Japan.

21th April: Main performance: Ileana Citaristi(India)

Coming to Indian dance after years of experience in the traditional as well as experimental theatre in Europe, Ileana Citaristi has contributed to the growth of the Odissi and Chhau dance forms as well as to contemporary perspectives on traditional dance forms.

She has given performances in all the major dance festivals in India as well as in Italy, Argentina, Poland, France, Germany. Holland, Denmark, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Japan, USA, Australia and Israel.

Ileana has been awarded the prestigious title 'Leonide Massine for the art of dance' in Italy in September 1992 and the 'Raseshwar' award by the Sur Singar Sansad, Bombay,. In May 1996 she won the 'National Award for best choreography' for her dance direction to the Bengali film 'Yugant' directed by Aparna Sen. She has conducted a research on the Martial Art of Orissa under the aegis of the Indira Gandhi National Center for the Arts in 1991 and in 1996 she has been granted a senior Fellowship by the Dept. of Culture, Government of India, for writing a book on Kelucharan Mohapatra's life.

Ileana Citaristi presents at INTERFACE 2006

Images of Change

A piece that explores contemporary perspectives on traditional realms of Indian dance

21th April: Main performance: Rae Bowhay and Martin Trudel(Canada)

Dancer/ Choreographer Rae Bowhay and Guitarist/ Compositor Martin Trudel are the creative force behind SaSASa, a collaboration initiated in Montreal, Canada in 1997. With similar passions towards flamenco and contemporary music and dance, they've been dedicated for almost a decade to the development of very unique, poetic and colorful works. Their wit, emotion, rhythmical drive and flamenco attitude are used within experimental forms to create imaginary folklore.

Rae Bowhay also performs regularly with many different artists throughout Canada and has presented her choreography in Los Angeles and Scotland. She received the Victor Martyn Lynch-Staunton Award, offered by The Canada Arts Council, for artistic achievement in 2005.

SaSASa presents at INTERFACE 2006

an intimate duo performance between dance and guitar. The duo full of subtle reflections and surprises which shed light on, and explore, their humanity.

SaSASa also collaborates with Pierre Renaud, senior puppeteer from Montreal to present Romancing on the Moon as the privileged Opening Night Dinner performance for special celebrities and guests of the festival.

Participation of the Canadian artists from Montreal, Quebec, has been made possible by financial support from Kala Bharati, given in memory of Robert Duplessis to mark the 25th anniversary of Kala Bharati and Tangente's contribution to the Montreal dance scene.

22nd April: Closing Night performance: A gala performance

Other allied events are:

18th April

Inauguration Anita Ratnam,Dance (India)

19th April

Ananya Chatterjea ,Dance/Theatre (USA) Chup- Katha with Dolly Basu, Theatre (India)

20th April

Shakti, Dance/Body Painting (Japan) Mezcal Jazz Unit with Bikram Ghosh, Music (France/India)

21st April

Ileana Citaresti, Dance (India) Rae Bowhay, Dance/Music/Puppetry (Canada)

22nd April

Finale ALLIED EVENTS Venues/Dates/timings are subject to change

18th April

None

19th April , Max Mueller Bhavan, 2pm-5pm

Seminar on Principles of Choreography: Moderated by Jayabrato Chatterjee (Scholar and writer)

Panel:

20th April, American Centre, 2pm-5pm

HIV/AIDS and Arts: A meet:

Panel:

Open workshop, Max Mueller Bhavan, 11am-1pm

By Rae Bowhay, (Canada)

21st April, Oxford Bookstore, 2pm-5pm

Dance and the Child event:

Moderated by Har Bans Nakra

Panel:

22nd April, Max Mueller Bhavan, 11am-1pm

Open Seminar : Contemporary Art Expressions : Your Outlook

  • Ileana Citaristi - Dancer,India
  • Lata Marur - Arts Activist, India
  • Sharmila Basu Thakur: Media person, India
  • Urmimala Sarkar - Educationist, India
  • Utpal K. Banerjee - Arts Critic, India
  • And Showcase of 'SARADINDU' Project by Pierre Renaud, Shampa Ghosh and Mamata Niyogi Nakra , India/Canada

SPECIAL EVENTS

 Dates/timings are tentative and subject to change

18TH April (Opening Night Dinner) at Swabhumi, 9pm onwards.

Rae Bowhay (Dancer), Pierre Renaud (Puppeter), and Martin Trudel (Guiterist) from Canada hosted by Mr Harsh Neotia of Ambuja Cements

Dancer/ Choreographer Rae Bowhay and Guitarist/ Compositor Martin Trudel are the creative force behind SaSASa, a collaboration initiated in Montreal, Canada in 1997. With similar passions towards flamenco and contemporary music and dance, they've been dedicated for almost a decade to the development of very unique, poetic and colorful works. Their wit, emotion, rhythmical drive and flamenco attitude are used within experimental forms to create imaginary folklore.

Rae Bowhay also performs regularly with many different artists throughout Canada and has presented her choreography in Los Angeles and Scotland. She received the Victor Martyn Lynch-Staunton Award, offered by The Canada Arts Council, for artistic achievement in 2005.

SaSASa presents Romancing on the Moon at INTERFACE 2006

SaSASa collaborates with Pierre Renaud, senior puppeteer from Montreal to present Romancing on the Moon as the privileged Opening Night Dinner performance for special celebrities and guests of the festival at Swabhumi

19TH April (Dinner event), 9pm onwards.

Hosted by Mr Jiban Sen of Senco Jewellery Centre at the Outram Club:

Special contemporary dance improvisations by Sapphire Creations

20TH April (Dinner Event), 9pm onwards

Hosted by Mr Pranay Dutta of Sonata Foundation at Swabhumi Special performance of contemporary folk music by Sonata Foundation

21st April (Dinner Event), 9pm onwards.

Hosted by Srei Finance Infrastructure at Tangerine

Special Poetry/Play Reading Session by Deblina Dutta,

22nd April (Closing Night Dinner), 9pm onwards

Special fusion performance of music, fashion and contemporary dance

Confirmed Sponsors and Collaborators :

CII- Young Indians

  • Sunfeast
  • Moksh Events
  • Hiland
  • Swabhumi
  • City centre
  • Conclave
  • Accord Advertising
  • Senco Jewellery Centre
  • Oxford Bookstore
  • French Association
  • Max Mueller Bhavan
  • American Center
  • Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre

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