Kathak Kala Sangam

Our paper and presentation will comprise of a history of Indian dance in Trinidad and Tobago up to present time. It would deal with the classical, folk and contemporary issues, including Bollywood. It would also list some organizations in Trinidad and Tobago who have instrumental in promoting the art forms and documented work which has already been done in the field. In the Panel Discussion, we would explore the possibilities of advancing the work of the Indian Arts and the various collaborations which have taken place and proposed in Contemporary Trinidad and Tobago and the Caribbean. Recommendations will also be given for advancing the work in this conference in the future.

Pooja Pundit

Pooja Pundit is a fourth-generation descendant of Indian indenture immigrants to Trinidad during the 19th century. She has studied the Indian performing arts entirely in Trinidad and has been dancing for over 2 decades. She has learnt under eminent gurus of the Lucknow Gharana (school). In addition, she has been exposed to Latin and hip-hop dance. In 2009 she was fortunate to be part of a dance workshop conducted by Pt. Birju Maharaj in Trinidad. Pt. Birju Maharaj had been invited by his student Dr. Satnarine Balkaransingh, founder, and artistic director of the Kathak kala Sangam. She is a versatile and experienced performer of Kathak and Bollywood dance, having performed extensively both locally and internationally.
She was a member of the Trinidad and Tobago cultural delegations of two successful Caribbean festival of the arts (CARIFESTA XIII in Barbados 2017 and CARIFESTA XIV in Trinidad and Tobago 2019). She also performed at the Jaganath festival in Miami and took part in the ballet “Ram Katha” produced by Nritanjali Theatre (2002).
In 2017 she did a Rang Pravesh under the guidance of Guru Shrimati Pooja Malhotra of India. She went on to establish Nrityayog Dance Company in 2016, and has been teaching Kathak Classical and Indian folk dances plus Bollywood fitness sessions. In 2020 Nrityayog became a constituent part of Kathak Kala Sangam. Currently she is working with Dr. Satnarine Balkaransingh, and the Kathak Kala Sangam.

Pooja is an educator by profession. She holds a BSc. (Hons.) in Computing and Information Systems from The University of London. She is currently teaching Computer Science and Information Technology at Secondary level. She is also a certified Reiki Master.
It is through the medium of dance that Pooja finds her connection to God. Through dance the infinite creativity of the Supreme finds expression in and through her. Dance is her meditation, and dance is her prayer.

Reshma Seetahal

Reshma Seetahal has been involved in the India performing Arts for over twenty years. Beginning with Bollywood styles she went on to do formal training in Kathak Classical and Indian folk dances. She had studied Percussion music at the Mahatma Gandhi Institute for Cultural Cooperation (MGICC) of the Indian High Commission in Trinidad, studying Tabla with Dr. Vijay Siddha, Assistant Professor at Rajasthan Sangeet Sansthan, India,

She trains with Dr. Sat Balkaransingh, Artistic Director of the Kathak Kala Sangam and disciple of Pt. Birju Maharaj, the renowned Kathak Exponent of the Lucknow Gharana of Kathak, Classical Dance.

She has been a presenter and participated in lectures to conferences: ‘Teaching Hindi through the Indian performing Arts’, and ‘Understanding Mathematics through Kathak’.
She has also been performing with the Sangam. Her performances include: “Salaam” or welcome, (2017). This was part of the opening concert for the Global Convention to mark the centenary legislation to end Indian Indentureship internationally. The convention was held in Trinidad under the aegis of the Indian Diaspora Council, USA and Indian Diaspora Council of Trinidad and Tobago; performing with Dr Balkaransingh at the premiere auditorium ‘Queens Hall’ ( 2017) held under the patronage of the Indian High Commission to Trinidad and Tobago, and at the Divali Nagar in 2018.

In 2019, she was part of a workshop, demonstrating the similarities in Kathak and Flamenco in to the Havana Cuban Dance Company, Cuba. She performed “Nrit in Jhap Taal” with the Sangam at the Caribbean Festival of the Arts (Carifesta), at the Southern Academy for the Performing Arts in Trinidad (2019). She was the assistant to Dr. Sat Balkaransingh in a programme, entitled “Mentoring by the Masters 2019;” a Flagship Programme of the Ministry of Community Development, Culture and the Arts

This exposé will look at the evolution of dance from indentured period to date in Mauritius. Folk dance was the major dance form of Tamils during the indentured period.  The presentation will look at how our forefathers preserved their culture through dance. Since the majority of the Tamils were from village background, folk dance namely Terukuttu, Koolatam, kummi attam, were predominant up to the early 20th century. Bharatanatyam as a form of dance gained ground only in the 1970s.  In the 1980s, there was an increasing number of girls of the Tamil community who started to learn Bharatanatyam as the latter was an expression of the cultural identity of the Tamils in Mauritius. During the presentation, I will also provide an insight into my personal experience in the world of dance, the status of dance in Mauritius as well as the challenges faced by dancers in the country

Manimegalai Maunikum

I am Manimegalei Maunikum from Mauritius. I have learnt Bharatanatyam for about 10 years, 7 years at the Mahatma Gandhi Institute and have also performed on various occasions at national level. I am actively involved in kovils, singing Thevaram, Thiruvasagam and Thiruppugazh.
I am very much interested in anything that has to do with Tamil tradition, culture and language although professionally I am from a scientific background. I am, at present, the secretary of All Mauritius Tamil Examination Syndicate, an examination body that conducts Tamil examinations throughout the island right from Grade one to Grade eleven and responsible for promotion of language and culture. I am also a member of Tamil League of Mauritius.

MA Education– United Kingdom
Post Graduate Certificate in Education - United Kingdom
Post Graduate Diploma in Educational Management - South Africa
MSc Environmental Science with specialisation in Environmental Management –Mauritius
BSc (Hons) Chemistry with Environmental Science - Mauritius
1. Research and Development Officer – Mauritius Examinations Syndicate
Main responsibility: Conduct research on validity and reliability of examinations

2. Deputy Head of Faculty of Science – Northfields International High School
Main responsibility: In charge of administrative and pedagogical matters of Department of Chemistry, Biology, Physics and Environmental Studies

3. Head of Faculty of Maths and IT– Northfields International High School
Main responsibilities: Leading and Managing the Department of Maths and IT

4. Environment Officer – Ministry of Environment and National Development Unit
Main responsibilities : Drafting instruction for regulation and coordinating project implementation
5. Education Officer Main responsibilities : Teaching Chemistry at secondary level

The talk considers the journey of Indians in South Africa from the 1860 moment, beyond its roots in abject colonialism, separation and exploitation, as part of a global entanglement. Writer Sarah Nuttall wrote that Entanglement is a condition of being twisted together or entwined, involved with; it speaks of an intimacy gained, even if it was resisted, or ignored or uninvited‘. Pather considers these possibilities of an unstoppable entanglement looking at the limitations and pitfalls of artistic and cultural homogeneity, starting with a work that he created for the Metropolis Biennale in Copenhagen called ‘Blind Spot’.

Prof Jay Pather

Professor, Director of ICA Theatre, Centre for Theatre, Dance & Performance Studies, University of Cape Town

Jay Pather is a choreographer, curator and academic. He is Professor at the University of Cape Town where he directs the Institute for Creative Arts. He curates the Infecting the City Festival and the ICA Live Art Festival in Cape Town, the Afrovibes Festival in Amsterdam and co-curates for Body, Image, Movement in Madrid; Spier Light Art in Cape Town and the Africa 2020/21 Season in France. Recent productions include What Remains for which he won a Fleur du Cap award for Best Direction. Publications include articles in Changing Metropolis ll; Rogue Urbanism; Performing Cities;  Where Strangers Meet; Routledge Companion to Art in the Public Realm; New territories: theatre, drama, and performance in post-apartheid South Africa and a book, Transgressions, Live Art in South Africa. A current publication is Restless Infections, Public Art in South Africa. He initiated the Live Art Network Africa, served as juror for the International Award for Public Art, as Board Member for the National Arts Festival, and was recently made Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres by the French Government.

Dance forms the fulcrum around which my life revolves. Even my fondest childhood memories are of me dancing in community spaces in Rylands, Cape Town. I used to look forward to going to Rylands for dance class to learn something new from my teachers at Vadhini Indian Arts Academy - a significant Indian dance organisation spearheaded by Savitri Naidoo. “Savitri Akka,” as we called her, sowed the seeds for my learning. She was incredibly adept in revealing to us the connections between cultures and people. She encouraged us to critically assess anything we created, practiced or performed, and to find ways to make whatever we were doing accessible to any audience member - regardless of colour, cast or creed. She had us trained in Yoga, African Dance, Tai-Chi, Kathak and Indian folk styles to supplement our main Bharatanatyam Training.

Even though I had this experience, there was always something I felt that was lacking in my training of Bharatanatyam - a misunderstanding of language or context - and I felt the need to move to Chennai to learn from the source. I went through a rigorous rediscovery of Bharatanatyam in and through my body with The Dhananjayans and, years later, with Leela Samson as part of Spanda Dance Company. Even though my search has always been to find the most “authentic” or “traditional” expression, I was always struck by the contemporaneity of the work produced by these stalwarts and others like them. What on the surface seemed traditional, on further probing, revealed itself to be otherwise. That quality was something that I desired and I realised that to find that quality my search has to start from within.

Now that I am back in Cape Town, I have had time to contemplate my practice and intentionality in dance and I have come to the understanding that a focussed study of movement practices is essential for me to explore and ask different questions about the dance body, mind and ethos of the form.

My presentation seeks to renegotiate my space as a South African Indian man practicing a traditional Indian dance form in South Africa today. I critically analyse the aesthetic shifts that have taken place in my performance and practice through some of my experiences in South Africa and India. I explore what it means for a descendant of the Indian Indentured Labourers to reconnect with India and return back home.

K Sarveshan

Bharatanatyam Practitioner

A classically trained Bharatanatyam artist of South African Indian origin, Sarveshan’s artistic path is one that traverses between tradition and diversity in the context of NOW, creating a niche for himself as a dancer.

His art is a reflection of personal experiences and thoughts formed through intense study and rigorous practice, allowing a fresh perspective to emerge in each of his works. Sarveshan strives to understand the world and create a positive impact on society through his artistry.

He has had the good fortune of training with some of the best in the field of Bharatanatyam, starting off with Savitri Naidoo and Darshana Rama in Cape Town, South Africa and later, with The Dhananjayans in Chennai.

Sarveshan takes pride in having been part of The Spanda Dance Company, which celebrates its 25 year anniversary this year (2020) and is cast in Anikaya Dance Theatre's "Conference of The Birds" - a global production directed by Wendy Jehlen.

The Indian diaspora in South Africa is often homogenised into stereotypical assumptions of “Indianness”, from samoosas and sarees to Biryani and bindis; references that often constitute “culture”. Dance, Bharatanatyam in particular, is often one of those reference points, especially within the “Indian” community. This art form, despite the presence of the South Asian diaspora in South Africa for 160 years, is still a form of dance that remains on the margins of contemporary dance practice in the country. What does it mean to perform a classical South Indian artform in the context of a contemporary post-colonial and post-apartheid society? 

This paper/presentation asks two questions

1. What is this culture in relation to dance?

2. How can we begin to rethink and reimagine the use of Bharatanatyam in contemporary South Africa? 

With reference to some aspects of performances by Dr Anita Ratnam, Dr Janaki Rangarajan, collaborative work between Manesh Maharaj and the Flatfoot Dance Company, and lastly my own engagement with dance (both as a dance practitioner at Sarvavidya Natyaalaya and as an independent visual artist) I hope to demystify, debunk and re-evaluate how we think about this term “culture”, through a brief unpacking of these re-imaginings of classical movement and myth in the contemporary.

While attempting to present the use of classical dance as activism through a feminist lens, the aim is to simultaneously address the function of mythological narrativization in the contemporary. Narratives that themselves often carry and uphold patriarchal views and systems guised as “culture”.

Ms Reshma Chhiba

Creative Director, Sarvavidya Natyaalaya, Johannesburg, South Africa

BAFA (2005) (University of the Witwatersrand) MAFA (2013) (University of the Witwatersrand) Diploma Bharatanatyam (2002) (Institute of Indian Art and Culture, SA)
Creative director, Sarvavidya Natyaalaya

Reshma Chhiba is a visual artist and dancer based in Johannesburg, who is interested in the intersection between contemporary visual art and classical Indian dance practices in South Africa. Through obsessive encounters with the goddess Kali, she aims to blur the lines between the mythological/real, feminine/masculine, Indian/Black, performed/painted, and transcendent/physical.

Chhiba is the co-founder and Creative Director of Sarvavidya Natyaalaya and also serves as Exhibitions Curator at the Wits School of Arts.

In 2001, I landed in Durban for the first time as a Sociology PhD. student and an experienced Bharatanatyam dancer. Within weeks, I had connected with Suria Govender, auditioned for the Surialanga company, and started attending rehearsals regularly, learning and dancing alongside the South African Indian women and Zulu men who were part of the company. Within a month, we had performed at the Playhouse. Over the next year, I went on to share the stage with the remarkable dancers of Surialanga dozens of times, and later went on to teach with S’bu and Sandile, the two principal Zulu dancers, at Hillview Primary. I have continued to be in touch with Suria Govender and the dancers since then, and have published two journal articles based on my participation in the company, and more recently, on interviews with company members. In this presentation, I will share some photos of my experience with Surialanga, and reflect on what I, as an Indian-American dancer and scholar, found so inspirational about Surialanga’s work: the crafting and constant remaking of a distinctly South African Indian dance that centered Bharatanatyam but never allowed it to be static or taken-for-granted. The choreography and productions always forged new connections between the dancers—who kept changing—and the audiences, who were also changing over time. And yet, Surialanga’s connection to the democratic, intercultural promise of the new South Africa has been sustained, even as the country, and that promise, faces grave challenges.

Dr Smitha Radhakrishnan

Professor of Sociology, Luella LaMer Slaner Professor of Women's Studies, Wellesley College, Masachusettes, U.S.A

A lifelong Bharatanatyam dancer, Smitha founded NATyA Dance in Natick, Massachusetts in 2015 after three decades of training and performance. NATyA currently offers Bharatanatyam classes for all ages and supports NATyA Dance Collective, a collaborative Bharatanatyam ensemble group. Born and raised in the U.S., she has trained continuously with prominent Bharatanatyam teachers in the U.S. and India since age 5. She has performed in professional solo and group productions all over the United States. In South Africa, she has performed and taught with the Surialanga Dance Company of Durban. In 2003, she co-founded NATyA Dance Company with fellow dancer Vallari Shah. Over the next four years, they performed over 80 shows all over the California Bay Area, including four original productions. Since 2008, Smitha has been training in Bharatanatyam, contemporary dance forms, and Indian martial arts while performing with Navarasa Dance Theater. She currently serves on the Navarasa board and continues to train in Mysore style Bharatanatyam with Dr. Sindhoor.

For an overview of her current dance work, see natyadance.org.

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the_steve_cox - Indian Classical Dance - https://www.flickr.com/photos/photowannabe/1838827739/

moreuman SUNANDA, photograph https://www.flickr.com/photos/monica59/6532880707/

Arian Zwegers - Udaipur, Dharohar, ghoomar dance - https://www.flickr.com/photos/azwegers/6269673499/in/photolist-ay2HuX-bkv8eF-fkHZj4-hZmD8R-nx6CR4-9ZUVs1-nv4axG-nthcau-hZkNcW-nv31Pv-4ncw7U-ndQs19-hZkJPL-hZn92d-9MkUDe-5vSNEG-iQ8AJC-hZkn7L-7ES2qL-ndQk7G-gzz9rP-6eDNuY-9MoJ4m-9MkURF-cUWBYj-ndPCHV-8opWkV-ndPMRp-4ncv7m-6JCqSC-nm89V2-hZnnLC-jaqTWT-9ZS55t-9MoHFL-9MkUBk-8zmtDW-hZkEKF-4n8sZX-9MkUEv-qciKWW-avBLeK-9hNJBo-fJYudW-4TW63v-9ZUV4j-9ZUVfo-gAQjW-eg6Gr4-9ZUVyA

Annie Dalbéra - https://www.flickr.com/photos/anniedalbera/3958323652/in/photolist-72MrHw-dkQqqd-r3AR5J-8xeLAE-Ptv9t-8xeLAC-PsV2N-PttUa-a2Y7Pz-bjTuzp-bj1ftT-g65hyi-ju2cMN-aChNAp-bkewxk-g66Ch3-g63vob-bkwtc4-g6412G-g63HPy-g66i8R-qtSVXQ-PsUVo-PtuPp-royRJE-PsUF9-rjXoKn-CuMVui-C6UAnt-PsVG1-8xeLAA-artMMC-PsTGY-PsTRU-aCkQio-ju3whJ-jtZ9QF-bktxQc-aCqAC9-g6629E-aCoPtD-aDTho1-aCqpSC-g67duR-aCkPnh-aDPjyZ-PtwDi-r9iqPC-C6MuWU-CW19Zc/

Pabak Sarkar https://www.flickr.com/photos/pabak/13973992868/in/photolist-bo6Bq7-nhQnew-bnqvv7-bAknZv-bAkoaH-bnqvAq-bAkocX-9tCko8-9tFhWG-zBzsH9

Chunchun Priyanshi https://www.flickr.com/photos/95703255@N02/9450502948/in/photolist-fp7ih1-foS18B-fp7hvq-ojnkU5

Arian Zwegers https://www.flickr.com/photos/azwegers/6777311449/in/photolist-bjTuzp-qfVwUg-jH6wwe-7c1occ-hZnWyd-emtnwr-ndPQH6-7Jvprx-nx6As6-dN8rNa-rczpMZ-qfVycr-nv3M4J-7ES2yN-EataRs-E2m65b-Df53cm-DKFroJ-9MoHVJ-9UYdsY-9eTaku-9MkUyH-8dm4fB-egcrGG-E4FoT6-5nipGD-E4JqFD-DKPpD5-NArSn-9eTjY1-DfcVWu-EcVPsz-at8hr4-DDtSFM-DDrHVz-9aufuv-EcVVX8-hZm2Up-auu1r1-DfyMsn-eg69nD-EaD3c9-EcXqxc-8zhWBM-DfdtNA-DDtAcK-DKQHsu-NczbD-ndPxCT-NArzK

https://www.flickr.com/photos/felixfrancier/334118557/
Kathak - expressions
Padma Shri Shovana Narayan performing Kathak, a classical dance form of India. Shovana Narayan is best known as one of the best Kathak danseuses in the world. She performs in India and around the world, and has been awarded the Padma Shri puraskaar.

Shevaal Singh - SAIDA logo

THE ADVENT OF INDIAN DANCE IN SOUTH AFRICA

(AN EXTRACT FROM THE M.A. DISSERTATION:

TRACING THE DEVELOPMENT OF BHARATHA NATYAM AS A RELIGIOUS AND THEATRICAL DANCE FORM IN THE CONTEXT OF SOUTH AFRICA)

BY VASUGI SINGH

In order to understand and appreciate Indian dance as we know it today, it is essential to precede this with a brief discussion on the living conditions of Indians during and after the indentured period. The accommodation Indians were offered was extremely primitive. The “coolie barracks” were overcrowded and soon became slums. Working hours extended from 6am to 5pm. On Saturdays work stopped at 1 pm, after which rations were handed out. Suffering and unhygienic living conditions gave rise to a “high degree of diseases and illnesses”. Because of the drudgery experienced in their daily lives the early immigrant hungered for diversion and recreation. Although the Indentured labourers were considered illiterate by the British colonialists, they certainly did not lack a quest for religion, music, song and dance.

Indian dance, particularly Bharatha Natyam and Kathak, was not introduced in South Africa for many decades following the arrival of the early Indian settlers. The early dance forms that did exist then were known as North Indian Nautch (a light lilting dance style) and the South Indian dance drama, the Therukoothu.
Performances were presented in open grounds, under shaded trees and under crudely constructed shelters with only a demarcated area for a stage.