Festival to celebrate contemporary dance in Delhi

Contemporary dance will soon be explored as a space for dance that is rooted in experimentation, criticality and provocation in an upcoming festival in the national capital.

The festival, titled Ignite and to be organised by Gati Dance Forum at OddBird Theatre, Chhatarpur, from October 9-16, is aimed at showcasing creativity and innovation in Indian dance.

In its fourth edition, the festival is structured around the central themes of form, identity and dissent.

"An essential component that defines the imagination of "Ignite" is the idea to continuously evolve and find oneself rooted in its prevalent context," Managing Director of Gati Dance Forum Mandeep Raikhi said.

"The festival has chosen to focus on the theme of form, identity dissent to enquire how it is possible to use dance as a medium to share, protest, defend, resist or argue," he said, adding: "It will create a strong voice not just within the contemporary dance space, but within the larger socio-cultural landscape in the country."

Choreographer Deepak Kurki Shivaswamy described his piece, saying: "It deals with the issue of rural to urban migration. It questions what we mean by a better life and also reality. It questions as to what kind of socio-political landscapes we are building for ourselves."

"This edition is imagined as a space that explores the unrepresented, places the focus on gender equality and inclusion, debates the role of the artist across regional and global lines, delves into the virtual body, examines sanitisation and control led by not just the state, but the media or the community itself," Festival director Virkein Dhar said.

"In keeping with its objective of taking dance beyond metropolitan cities, for the very first time, Ignite travels to Jaipur with a two-day satellite festival," he added.

--IANS

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