PRO GATI Dance: Digital Lab

Working with digital technologies in dance practices

South Asian dancers, as many others, rose to the challenges created through the pandemic through continued creative practice, performances and teaching online to sustain themselves. There remains however, a pressing need for continuing professional development across the sector to ensure that dancers from different styles and experience of South Asian dance can respond to and use creative technologies as part of their choreographic practice.

We are seeking up to 8 dancers to take part in this 3 day intensive. To support dancers to take part in this intensive there are a limited number of funded places for those based in Birmingham and the region – of £100 for each dancer per day they attend to cover all costs. There are a limited number of spaces for those who do not meet the regional criteria but these are *unfunded*.

When and where
PRO GATI Dance & Digital LAB – Saturdays 10th June, 17th June & 24th June 2023
Timings: Arrival 12.30pm PROMPT Start 1pm – 7pm
Venue: Birmingham Ormiston Academy, Birmingham (tbc)

Dance: Digital is a unique workshop delivered over 3 x Saturdays for South Asian dance artists interested in incorporating digital technologies into their work. This workshop is for those with a range of experiences in working with digital. From complete beginners who are curious to understand the possibilities of digital to those with more experience ready to expand their practice. Developed by digital dance maker Rebecca Evans (Pell Ensemble) for Sampad the programme aims to inspire whilst also introducing key conceptual and practical elements of working with developing technologies.

Aims
INSPIRATION: Explore the possibilities of using digital in your dance-making process and for performances
PRACTICAL: Learn practical skills for creating a dance work with digital through hands-on creation
NETWORK: Create new networks with fellow dance artists and Creative Technologist
FUTURE: Come away with a clear idea for a digital dance work and the steps to make it happen.

Dance Lab Leaders
Rebecca Evans – Pell Ensemble
Rebecca Evans: Choreographer and Artistic Director of Pell Ensemble www.pellensemble.com
As Choreographer and Creative Director of Pell Ensemble since 2012 Rebecca has developed and delivered digital dance performance, installations and engagement work in the UK & abroad. Her work uses interactive and immersive technologies combined with dance to engage audiences and communities in both the making and performance process. While Rebecca is not a coder she looks at creative ways to expand codes applications in collaboration with other artists.
Rebecca has been commissioned by many organisations including 2Faced Dance, Wilton’s Strike, Spontaneous Combustion Festival, The Vaults, Athens Digital Arts Festival, DanceEast and London Borough of Culture. Rebecca is currently completing her MA in Virtual and Extended Realities from UWE Bristol.

Divya Kasturi (Co-leading Day 1)
Choreographer and Dancer www.divyakasturi.com
Divya Kasturi is a multifaceted dance practitioner with more than three decades of performing experience. She is trained in two South Asian dance styles of Bharatanatyam and Kathak. She is also trained in Western contemporary dance and has studied choreography modules at masters level.
Divya Kasturi is also a classical vocalist. She has worked with Sir Paul McCartney and Nitin Sawhney in the UK. Divya Kasturi’s work has been seen all over the world including in New York, Sydney, Paris, and Mumbai. She has performed in Theatre de Complicite’s acclaimed production ‘A Disappearing Number’ which was broadcast through NT live series worldwide in cinemas. She is currently a QuestLab artist with Studio Wayne McGregor. Her journey with digital started with Sampad in 2011 when she visited Madrid as part of Sampad’s project with PRADO MediaLab and she has a particular passion to develop more digital work.

For full details and application process, download the PDF
PRO GATI Dance Digital Sampad Dancers Call Out FNL.pdf

Deadline is Wednesday 24th May 2023
Please send submissions or any queries to Sabra Khan, Executive Director, sabra@sampad.org.uk
Applicants will be informed if they have been successful by June 2nd 2023 at the latest

*By South Asian Dance Practitioners we mean those that are practicing South Asian dance to a professional level in performance and/or learning settings.

For more information about PRO GATI: Dance & Health and workshops, visit www.sampad.org.uk/projects/pro-gati/