Anurekha Ghosh & Company

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ASIAN WOMAN ACHIEVEMENT AWARD 2007 - ARTS & CULTURAL SECTOR SPONSORED BY LLOYDS TSB & BBCBorn to a new generation of dancers and choreographers, Anurekha Ghosh is one of the most promising dancers and choreographers based in the United Kingdom. Her technique and style is a combination of “tradition and modernity”.Anurekha has been trained in Indian classical Kathak since the age of 4 and ½ years age under Meera Majumdar and Mousumi Sen in Calcutta, India. Anurekha moved to united Kingdom in 1992. She took further training with Pratap Pawar. And finally she has received training under the tutelage of the renowned Kathak exponent, choreographer and teacher Nahid Siddiqui.She has learnt the art of Kalaripayattu, a South Indian Martial Arts at CVN Kalari, Kerala under Guruakkal C V Satyanarayanan. She has also taken training in Contemporary Dance.Anurekha is presently receiving training in vocal singing, specializing in the forms of Thumri, Dadra, Kajri, tappa from the renowned exponent of Benaras gharana (tradition) Vidushi Purnima Chaudhuri. She is training in the art of Khayal singing from Malyaban Chatterjee.She also holds a first class Masters degree in Mathematics and Computer Science (Joint Hons.) from Imperial College of Science – University of London. Anurekha secured a place to study Engineering in Oxford University, but finally she refused to study in Oxford University, due to the fact that she wanted to dedicate herself to dancing while doing her degree at the same time.Anurekha has been performing solo classical Kathak recitals, as well as presenting and devising new contemporary and classical productions for her company. Her choreographic work includes FLAMES (1999), THE WHEEL (2001) & THE VEIL (2001), HU (2002), 2 – MELTING MOMENTS (2002- 03) and RASIKA (2003), ABHISARIKA (2003) BONDED PASSION (2003), GANGES TO NILE (2004), ILLUSION (2005), RUINS (2005), HUMSAFAR (2006), ANANTH / Infinity (2006) and MUDRA (2007).Anurekha had the opportunity to collaborate and work with numerous internationally renowned choreographers like Padmashree Kumudini Lakhia, Nahid Siddiqui, Shobana Jeyasingh, Mark Baldwin, Andre Gingras to name a few.She received The Lisa Ullman Scholarship for Dance and Movement and was selected as a choreographer for The Place Choreodrome from The Place Dance Theatre UK.Anurekha has performed in the major venues and Festivals in United States of America, Canada, Europe, India, Estonia, Pakistan and the UK, which includes the Royal Opera House, and Royal Festival Hall, The Place Theatre, London, Festival of Lille 3000 – France, Festival Musicalla (Nice-France), Festival of Fes of World Sacred Musics (Morocco), Abbey of Sylvanes of World Sacred Musics (France), The Arsenal (Metz), Eesti Konzert (Estonia: Presented work in 3 cities: Tallin, Johnvi, Pamru) in collaboration with Surya tv, Maison du Livre et de la culture, Bonnieux, France, Oriental 2006 (Tanzhaus nrw, Düsseldorf, Germany), World Performing Arts Festival (Lahore, Pakistan), Earthquake International Festival, Decibel x.trax Festival held in Manchester in 2003 & 2005.Anurekha has been experimenting with the Indian classical dance form Kathak through extensive research and development. Drawing influences from classical Kathak, Sufism, Martial arts, Indian classical music, Western contemporary dance and music, her aim is to shift and change, going through a process of chaos and confusion and then clarifying a concept which holds relevance to the present environment. This results in creation of a dance and musical language which is spiritual, dynamic, pure, fresh, beautiful, personal, innovative and is still a blend of ‘tradition and modernity’.Anurekha believes in work that is created from challenging concept, which is often addressed by her who is always seeking to find new expression, meaning and new ways to make her productions. Although Anurekha has a strong commitment to ‘Tradition’ yet she believes in stretching the ‘Tradition’ and finding an intelligent interpretation which is very personal.Anurekha Ghosh seeks to collaborate with internationally reputed artists from various arts forms - be it choreographers, composers, musicians, film makers, designers, theatre directors. Anurekha’s philosophy is to aim high; to work with the best in the field so that she could be stretched and raise her own profile accordingly.She has performed to the Ghazals, sung live by the great playback singer Asha Bhonsle in the choreography of Pratap Pawar, when she toured extensively with Asha Bhonsle in USA and Canada in 1994 (performing 22 concerts in 30 days). She has performed toured extensively with the award winning British based Kathak choreographer Nahid Siddiqui and Company since 1999 in several productions. Anurekha has worked with the reputed choreographer Aditi Managldas from India for one of her piece titled “Textures of Silence and Sound” which was performed as a part of the opening ceremony for Commonwealth Games in Manchester in 2002.She has danced in the film “FRANKENSTEIN”, directed by Michael Howell, choreographed by Mark Baldwin, screened on BBC 4 in March 2003.Anurekha teaches both classical Kathak and contemporary Kathak. She teaches classical Kathak by making an individual understand ones own self, spirit and world, where one can become united with ones self being true to his or her own desires. She believes in making her students understand about the freedom which every individual should feel while dancing, which can be enhanced through emotion, devotion, aesthetics and passion. And this is where she introduces technique, vocabulary, rhythmic patterns, themes, choreographic methods which she has developed through careful experimentation. She has taught the BA dance students of University of Derby, University of Wolverhampton and Coventry University. She has been teaching educational workshops in Primary and secondary schools in UK since 1994.She has completed 1 year MA in Choreography from Middlesex University, UK. She has given many performances on BBC, Channel 4, French Television, Indian Television. BBC world has televised her classical Kathak solo performance of Festival of FEZ in a programme called DESTINATION MOROCCO.Anurekha has been working in partnership with Gerard Kurdjian, Artistic Director and Producer of Tradition Afrique Orient, Nice, France who has been promoting her concerts in France and other parts of Europe.Anurekha is very passionate about painting, making portrait, video editing, photography, yoga – these are some of her hobbies. Anurekha Ghosh and Company“Music, Dance, Visual Art, film, poetry, and mime ~ Anurekha Ghosh and Company is a combination of all these art forms. With its root in Indian sub-continent, Anurekha Ghosh and Company based in UK, seeks inspiration from east and west, creating original expression which is very unique by its own nature.” Anurekha GhoshAnurekha wanted to pursue her own choreographic intentions, which led to the formation of Anurekha Ghosh and Company in January 2001. The company has been receiving financial support from Art Council of England, Birmingham City council, and sponsorships/commissions from various other art organizations in UK, India and Europe. The company toured extensively in UK and India with a triple bill dance production entitled “The Veil” in autumn 2001.The company has premiered 2 new work “Moments of Give” & “Rasika” in spring 2003 in Manchester, Birmingham, and Royal Opera House, London. Anurekha has collaborated with international award winning contemporary choreographers: Mark Baldwin (UK), Andre Gingras (Netherlands), composer Pandit Jayanta Bose (India), Digital Designer Simon Hyde, and lighting Designer Karen Norris along with a team of contemporary dancers.The Company has been in residence at the Contact Theatre, Manchester in February 2003, during which Anurekha choreographed a new piece for a youth group, as a part of this residency. The company has been a part of the artist initiative programme at the Royal Opera House, London.The Company started a new partnership and collaboration with the internationally famed Flamenco dance Company “ALMA”, to create a production titled “BONDED PASSIONS”, featuring a sublime fusion of Kathak and Flamenco dance against a live musical exchange between Spanish musicians and Indian musicians. “ BONDED PASSION” has been touring in UK in Autumn 2004 and has received critical acclaim. In November 2005, ‘BONDED PASSION’ was performed in three cities in Estonia, under the auspices of Eesti Kontsert.In March and April 2004, the company has worked in partnership with “The DRUM” to develop an in-house production titled “Ganges to Nile: The story of 2 Rivers” celebrating “Black and Ethnic Minority Dance”. This is a conversation between the traditions of Kathak and African Dance in contemporary context with layers of live music and moving visual images. “Ganges to Nile” featured cross-cultural conversation with choreographic collaboration between the African choreographer H.Patten and Anurekha Ghosh. The music score was composed and played live by Pandit Ulhas Bapat.The next production Ruins was the culmination of particular stage of artistic development for the company which created an identity and brand for Anurekha Ghosh & Company’s work in the UK, Europe and India. For Ruins she invited the award winning choreographer Shobana Jeyasingh and Kumudini Lakhia to make pieces for her company. She also created her own work to make up the three parts to the piece. Anurekha Ghosh likes to develop a whole artistic concept for a work and in this way of working she has begun to identify her strengths as a choreographer and an artistic director of a company. Her artistic development has been a journey of investigation of working with dancers and choreographers from other dance disciplines to understand better her own dance background in Kathak but also to understand her choice of cultural context to live and work in Birmingham, UK. Her work with Shobana Jeyasingh was complemented with her work with Kumudini Lakhia in understanding innovation within traditional forms of Indian dance and the innovations that have moved beyond traditional forms. In this way Anurekha Ghosh is keen to embrace a dialogue with other dance traditions to make a contemporary statement of choreography informed and nourished by traditional forms of dance and aesthetics.Ruins has been the largest tour of Anurekha Ghosh and Company, presenting 60 performances in 3 separate tours across England, India, Pakistan and Germany. Festivals included the Decibel x.trax festival held in Manchester in May 2005; World Performing Arts Festival (Lahore, Pakistan); Oriental Festival 2006 – Tanzhaus Theatre, Düsseldorf) and Festival of Lille 3000; France. The international profile for Ruins was developed through collaboration with European producer, Gerard Kurdjian, Artistic Director of Tradition Afrique Orient (TAO). TAO is based in Nice, France and is a non profit organization, which is dedicated to the spreading of the traditional music and cultures of Eastern and African countries. Arts Council of England supported Ruins generously both to the creation and production and the initial touring of the work in the UK.In Autumn 2006 Anurekha Ghosh & Company created and produced a new production titled CONVINCE-Me. Anurekha seamlessly blended classical Kathak dance with diverse musical genres from Iran to Persia to the Sufi music in ‘CONVINCE-Me’. In this exciting collaboration, the dancer and the musicians express the rapturous heights of spiritual and mystical ecstasy by bridging the gap between tradition and modernity, yet preserving the doctrine of classical temple, darbari forms and the mysticism of Sufi traditions.The multi-layered exuberance of Indian Classical Kathak, a dose of Flamenco, and a touch of Ballet are seamlessly threaded together, revealing highlights of Martial Art form CONVINCE-Me being a spectrum which shows the amazing amalgamation of East and the West. The production has been performed in few theatres in West Midlands, and shall be performed in DARBAR festival of 2007 at Phoenix – Leicester.In February 2007, Anurekha was given a special project grant by the Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre, Ministry of Culture – Government of India, to choreograph an inter-disciplinary production combining the acrobatic dance form of the Gotipuas from Orissa along with the dynamic folk tradition of Chhau from Purulia in combination with classical Kathak. The production MURDA, included 22 artists from various disciplines (some of the artist came from rural villages), who worked under the leadership of Anurekha and it was premiered on 22nd February 2007 in Purbashree Auditorium, Eastern zonal Cultural Centre, Kolkata, India to a full house audience. The production has received tremendous acclaim from the press and connoisseurs of Kolkata.Anurekha is now preparing to create her next major production NOOR which explores the mysticism of ‘Hinduism’, ‘Sufism’, and ‘Christianity’, as experience in today’s context.