As we head into another programme year, there'll be plenty of opportunities to come along in person to see our work locally in Leeds, Bradford and Huddersfield. You can also see us on the BBC i-player.
We were thrilled to contribute to the Leeds Hub Dance Passion film, in a great line up of excellent artists from Northern School of Contemporary Dance, Phoenix Dance Theatre, RJC, Dazl, Vale, Simple Cypher and Northern Ballet. For those of you who missed 'The Wise Ones' at Kala Sangam in December, It's a chance to get a taster of that show. If you did see it, it's a chance to revisit. One Dance UK has put an amazing series of dance films into Dance Passion 2022, so congratulations to them.
We'll be planning our longer term programme over the upcoming weeks and months. We'd love to know what you think of our work so please email us with any feedback on alphie.bsdc@gmail.com
I usually enjoy this time of year when the seasons begin to overlap and there's a promise of spring. However, the devastating news from Ukraine impacts us all. We have to remain hopeful for peace and if you can reach out to help, there are links to organisations that would love to hear from you at the bottom.
We look forward to seeing you all soon
Stay well, Balbir
|
|
|
|
© The Wise Ones, photo by Malcolm Johnson
|
|
We’re so proud to be part of the 2022 Dance Passion programme from Leeds, which is now on BBC i-player.
Karim Zeroual presents a celebration of dance in all its forms from the Northern School of Contemporary Dance. Dance Passion features performances from established dance companies and grass roots and youth dance groups. Our diverse and multi-generational artists blend classical Indian and contemporary Western dance in an extract from ‘The Wise Ones’. The film features dancers Abirami Eswar, Bisakha Sarker, Guru Pratap Pawar, Kali Chandrasegaram, Villmore James and Vince Virr. The music is by Jesse Bannister and Ford Collier, lighting by Dave Searle, dramaturgy by Dan Mallaghan and it was directed in December 2021 by our Artistic Director Balbir. Dance Passion is a collaboration between BBC Arts and One Dance UK and is supported by Arts Council England.
|
|
|
Dewey at Huddersfield Literature Festival
|
|
|
|
© Illustration by David Andrassy
|
|
A new dance work is underway. Balbir Singh Dance Company will be in residence at the HLF Hub, researching their new work Dewey, which explores the world of libraries through dance. The Dewey Decimal System is a way of organising the books in a library based on the division of all knowledge into 10 groups. But this is just the beginning, as the show will delve into the whole world of knowledge and what it means to hold everything we know in books.
Libraries are a treasure trove of stories. BSDC wants to hear your stories about libraries so drop into the Hub to say hello and join in the conversation.
Now that communities are slowly opening up again, it has never felt more important to be working with new collaborators. We are so pleased to be partnering with Kirklees Library Service and Huddersfield Literature Festival on the early stages of Dewey. Join us for an exploration of the delightful world of library books and writers, dance and music in the Hub of this award-winning annual festival that has community, accessibility and inclusivity at its heart. Dewey R n D is a free event and your chance to go behind the scenes to witness how a work like Dewey begins its creative journey.
Further details are on the HLF website.
|
|
|
John Curry - Floating on Ice
|
|
|
|
© Photo by Drew Forsyth, featuring Yebin Mok and Oscar Peters
|
|
More Balbir on BBC i-Player
'Floating on Ice' documentary featuring Balbir Singh, Oscar Peters, Yebin Mok and many brilliant people from the world of ice dancing is also available now on BBC i-player for the next 11 months. If you remember, we collaborated with the Billingham International Festival of Folklore Dance on a production to celebrate John Curry’s life ‘The Creative Spirit of John Curry.
|
|
Save the Date
Wednesday, 1 June at 7.30 pm at Kala Sangam, Bradford for ‘Reflections of An Indian Dancer’ with the amazing Sooraj Subramaniam. Tickets on sale soon.
|
|
Helping Ukraine
The Ukrainian Institute in London assembled a series of resources and ways to help people in Ukraine. You can support a charity on their website.
|
|
|
|
|
