'Ankur 2009': Call for Applications

Committed to nurturing new talents in and new audiences for Indian performing arts, Ranan initiated 'Ankur', an annual event for emerging talent in the Indian performing arts, in 2004.
'Ankur 2009' is scheduled for August this year and will comprise two recitals of Indian classical dance. We invite applications from prospective participants between the ages of 18 and 30 as on 1 July 2009.

Applications will be screened by an expert committee and selected candidates informed by end-June. Established professional performers will not be considered.

Applications should include:

• A complete CV of the candidate with all contact details
• A VCD or DVD of not less than 20 and not more than 30 minutes duration. We are unable to accept video cassettes
• Two letters of recommendation, including one from the Guru / Institution
• Copy of any age proof document

Please mark applications 'Ankur 2009' and send to:
Debashree Bhattacharya 2C, East Road, Jadavpur Kolkata 700 032

The last date for receiving applications is 30 May 2009.

Please note:
* Ranan is unable to return any application material
* The decisions of the expert panel are final
* Live music accompaniment is mandatory for the performance

For further details, please contact: info@rananindia.com / rananindia@gmail.com

Prithvi Summertime workshops by Ranan

16 to 20 May 2009, British Airways Guest House, Mumbai
Ranan conducts two workshops for two age groups focussing on rhythm and movement. Brief details are given below. For more, browse through all the workshops information on http://www.prithvitheatre.org/
Rhythms and Rhymes
This lively workshop for 6-9 year olds brings together simple rhymes, basic rhythm concepts and movement drawing from the fundamentals of dance. Short 'kavits' (poems) describing well-loved episodes from the life of Krishna will form the springboard for encouraging children to write their own short poems, set them to rhythm and 'choreograph' them.
Taal-alala
Rhythm, movement, voice, sound, numbers . this workshop for 10-12 year olds explores the magic of performance when all these energies come together. Working with rhythm concepts ranging from the simple to the complex, static numbers suddenly become dynamic, jumping, leaping and spinning madly suddenly becomes dance, and creating and responding to beats suddenly becomes the pulse of life.

Labbaik-Music, Movement, Madness @ Prithvi Theatre, Mumbai

On: 15 May 2009 at 4pm and 7pm.

‘Labbaik’ is a Persian word meaning –Bravo! This performance communicates the joy and infectious pulse of Kathak to children and parents featuring a collage of pieces: ‘kavits’ on the life of Krishna performed in Kathak as well as energetic pure dance pieces focussing on strong rhythms and the ‘wow’ aspects of Kathak such as footwork and spins.
Kavits in Kathak are poems recited and performed to simple and catchy rhythms, demanding quick and precise switches of pace, mood and character from the performer. Performative poems relating Krishna’s encounter with the poisonous snake Kaliya, or an exasperated maiden’s vow to dress Krishna as a girl during Holi – these short and rhythmic vignettes form ideal entrance points to the magic of Indian classical dance.
The pure abstraction of rhythm and movement has always been Kathak’s realm. Pieces choreographed in pure Kathak to music with a strong percussive – yet purely classical – base, using complex footwork, sharp lines and dizzying spins – spiced with an injection of film – make this attractive and pulsing world the very heartbeat of life.

Cast & Credits :
Concept, Choreography and Performance – Debashree Bhattacharya, Vikram Iyengar
Light Design and Production: Amlan Chaudhuri
Cinematography: Ranjan Palit
Editing: Nina Normann

Tickets are available at Prithvi Theatre

Performance and Society: Weekly Programmes on Radio JU, 90.8FM

The next two episodes of Ranan's collaboration with the Jadavpur University Community Radio continue to focus on the issue of 'Youth Violence'. The next episode deals with 'Youth Voices on Youth Violence', followed by a discussion centring around the 'violence' inherent in dance reality shows on television. Details of the programmes are given below.

'Youth Voices on Youth Violence'
Friday, 8 May 2009, 5.30pm
repeat broadcast Saturday, 9 May 2009, 2.30pm
Moderated by Soham and Sohini, students of the Department of Comparative Literature, Jadavpur University, the discussion centres around definitions and reasons for youth violence. The programme presents diverse views from students of St. Xavier's College and Jadavpur University.

'The Culture of Dance Reality Shows'
Friday, 15 May 2009, 5.30pm
repeat broadcast Saturday, 16 May 2009, 2.30pm
This programme asks crucial questions about the contemporary and all-pervasive culture of dance reality shows on television. What actually is a reality show? Does it inflict a sort of psychological violence on the young participants through the intense competitive pressure? Does it encourage building bridges between communities or more regionalism? What are the pros and cons and transparency of the voting process?
Moderated by Shubhodeep Chakroborty, guest speakers include producer-director Raj Chakroborty, artist Kohinoor Sen Barat and participants and parents who have been appeared on dance reality shows.

Responses to the above programmes may be emailed either to us or to radioju@gmail.com 

Ranan's Collaboration with Radio JU (90.8 FM)

Ranan is delighted to announce our collaboration with Jadavpur University's Community Radio Channel available on 90.8 FM.
We sincerely believe that as performing artists and responsible members of a civil society, we have a role to play in responding to and even helping shape the society we live in today. Today's world is beset with problems and issues of every kind. How do performing artists / performing arts respond to and represent these - if at all? It is with this basic query that we approached Radio JUs with the idea of a weekly programme around Performance and Society: how do the two relate to each other, if and how issues we confront on a daily basis find any reflection in performance, what are the dangers of such representation, perception and communication, do we run the risk of trivialising or justifying issues that are extremely complex?
The weekly programme on Radio JU will bring together artists, scholars, commentators, audience, programme organisers and others to discuss a variety of contemporary issues through the optic of the performing arts.

The first series of episodes focuses on the very contemporary issue of 'Youth Violence'. The inaugural episode featured a panel discussion moderated by Samantak Das with theatre directors and others addressing two fundamental questions: What is Youth Violence? How can / may one deal with it on stage?

The second episode addressed echoes of youth violence in Peter Shaffer's play Equus and in Ranan's recent dance-theatre production of the same. The programme featured an informal conversation between Vikram Iyengar (director of Ranan's production), Anjum Katyal (arts editor and writer), and S. V. Raman (Programme Officer of Max Mueller Bhavan). Underlying the discussion were excerpts of the original music of our production composed by Neel Adhikari.