Anurekha Ghosh & Company
Anurekha Ghosh & Company has a global focus. The company seeks inspiration from the east and west, and create original expression – an expression that is unique by its own nature. It does this by designing exciting classical and contemporary dance productions, integrating a dialogue, combining movement, poetry, digitally created visuals, and challenging mixture of live music from Indian sub-continent, and contemporary music. The aim of the company is to communicate the beauty and power of the very best of Indian classical dance form Kathak, and contemporary dance to a wide range of audience within India and abroad.
The company performs the productions in various large/middle and small-scale theatres, World dance festivals. The company received grants and funding from Arts council of England, Esmee Fairburn Foundation, Birmingham City Council, UK, and has presented performances in US, Japan, Morocco, France, Estonia, Spain, Germany, Pakistan, India, and UK.
“It’s a very tempting, but a bit too glib to see the latest piece made by and for Anurekha Ghosh and her wonderful dancers as a reflection of the experience of the younger Asians in the West. Forget the Martha Graham style angularity that characterises western contemporary styles, this is rounder, more flowing, somehow less abstract – something not seen before in quite this way.”
Birmingham Post, UK
Founded in January 200I, Anurekha Ghosh & Company is a team of high calibre musicians and dancers brought together under the creative vision and leadership of internationally acclaimed award-winning dancer, choreographer and artistic director Anurekha Ghosh.
Based in Kolkata, India, Anurekha Ghosh & Company has a global focus. The aim of the company is to create dance and music which is bold, powerful, passionate, and intelligent, interpreting the contemporary voice of today. Anurekha Ghosh collaborates with several interesting and world class artists be it choreographers, film makers, composers, musicians in order to create work of highest quality. The company also collaborates with Dance producers from UK, Europe and India who promotes the company’s work in various parts of the globe. The company provides opportunities to artists and support them to develop their own creative skills and perform in important venues and festivals. Finally, the company has been providing training opportunities to young generation artists grooming them into professional dancers. The company runs choreographic residencies., research and development programs and professional dance and music classes in the city of Kolkata, India.
Drawing influences from classical Kathak dance. Sufism. Martial arts (Kalaripayattu / South Indian Martial Arts). Indian classical music, Western contemporary dance and music, the 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-day environment. This results in the creation of a powerful dance and musical language which is spiritual, dynamic, pure, fresh, beautiful, original, innovative and is still a blend of ‘tradition and modernity. The company believes in work that is created from challenging concept, which is often addressed by Anurekha Ghosh who is always seeking to find newer expressions. meaning and new ways to choreograph 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.
- Company Productions: Create innovative dance productions (Classical and Contemporary)
- COLLABORATIONS
Anurekha Ghosh seeks to collaborate with internationally reputed artists from various art forms, be it choreographers, composers. musicians. Film-makers, cinematographers, designers, theatre directors, set-makers, lighting designers and costume designers. Anurekha’s philosophy is to aim high; to work with the best collaborators in the field so that she could stretch her artistic ability and raise her own profile accordingly.
- Classical Kathak solo performances in collaborations with Indian classical musicians.
- Workshops, Chorographic residencies, and Master-classes.
- Anurekha teaches classical Kathak dance and choreography. She teaches classical Kathak by making an individual understand one’s own inner-self, spirit, and help them to mould themselves into sensitive and intelligent dancers and dance-makers. She believes in making her students understand about the inner freedom which every individual must feel, while dancing, which can be further enhance their emotion, devotion, aesthetics, and passion.
The company was funded by Arts Council of England, Birmingham City Council. The company received funding from Esmee Fairburn Foundation and commissions from Royal Opera House, London, The Drum, Sampad Arts, UK, Peaguses Theatre, Oxford, Warwick Arts Centre and several other esteemed organisations based in United Kingdom.
Anurekha’s company toured extensively in the UK and India with a triple bill dance production entitled “The Veil” in autumn 2001 presenting 13 concerts. In spring 2003 the company premiered 2 new works “Moments of Give” & “Rasika at Contact Theatre, Manchester, Midland Arts Centre, Birmingham, and Royal Opera House, London .In autumn 2003 the Company entered into a new partnership with the internationally renowned Flamenco dance Company “ALMA”, to create “BONDED PASSION”, featuring a sublime fusion of Kathak and Flamenco dance against a live musical exchange between Spanish and Indian musicians which was performed in various cities in the UK and Estonia in 2004-05 and won critical acclaim. In March and April 2004, the company in partnership with “The DRUM” created an in-house production “Ganges to Nile: The story of 2 Rivers” celebrating “Black and Ethnic Minority Dance” which featured cross-cultural conversation between the African choreographer Patten and Anurekha Ghosh. The music score was composed and played live by Pandit Ulhas Bapat. In 2005 Anurekha’s Company, in collaboration with award winning choreographers Shobana Jeyasingh and Kumudini Lakhia, produced RUINS, which created a unique identity and brand for the Company’s work in the UK, Europe and India. It has been the largest tour of the Company, presenting 60 performances in 3 separate tours across England, India, Pakistan, and Germany. In 2006 Anurekha Ghosh & Company created a new production titled CONVINCE-Me in which Anurekha blended classical Kathak dance with diverse musical genres including Sufi music. In this exciting collaboration, the dancer and the musicians express the rapture of mystical ecstasy by bridging the gap between tradition and modernity, yet preserving the doctrine of classical temple, darbari forms and the Sufi traditions. In 2007 and 2009, Anurekha was given 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 MUDRA, featured 22 artistes from various disciplines (some from rural India), under the leadership of Anurekha and it was premiered in Purbashree Auditorium, Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre, Kolkata, India to a full house audience. The production received tremendous acclaim from the press and the connoisseurs of Kolkata.
In 2007 Anurekha launched her new production NOOR – Light featuring martial arts and contemporary Kathak, taking the spins from Kathak to a new inner stillness. In these times of global uncertainty, Noor questions the nature of ‘enlightenment,’ exploring through this extraordinary dance piece, our notion of light from scientific, religious, and mystical perspectives.
The Company performed NOOR in 13 major theatres in the UK in Autumn 2007 and May 2008. The London premier of NOOR was held at South Bank Centre in June 2008. In August 2008 the Company was invited to New York to present NOOR at the Erase Border Festival organised by Indo American Arts Council.
The company opened a sister-concern in Kolkata, India called NATMANDIR in 2009. NATMANDIR has a dynamic performing wing, engaging a team of talented professional dancers, musicians and a production team and a training wing.
memorable performances
- Madison Square Gardens - New York,
- Royal Opera House, Royal Festival Hall
- The Place Theatre - London
- The Lowry - Manchester,
- Musee Guimet – Paris
- Festival de Hellin – Madrid, Spain
- Festival of Lille 3000 – France
- Festival Musicalla – Nice, France
- Festival of Fez of World Sacred Musics – Morocco
- GRACHTENFESTIVAL – Amsterdam
- World Sacred Music and Dance Festival, De Nieuwe Kerk - Amstedam
- Abbey of Sylvanes of World Sacred Musics - France
- The Arsenal – Metz, France
- World dance and yoga festival in Milan, Italy
- Eesti Konzert (Estonia: Presented performances in 3 cities: Tallin, Johnvi, Pamru) in collaboration with Surya TV
- Maison du Livre et de la culture - Bonnieux, France,
- Oriental 2006 at Tanzhaus nrw - Düsseldorf, Germany
- World Performing Arts Festival - Lahore, Pakistan
- Earthquake International Festival, Ireland
- Decibel x.trax Festival held in Manchester
- Hidden Garden’s Festival held in Glasgow, Scotland
- All India Music and Dance Festival - Kolkata
- Kalaghoda Festival – Mumbai
- Bharat Bhavan – Bhopal
- Uday Shankar Dance Festival – Kolkata
- National Centre of Performing Arts (NCPA) – Mumbai
- India Habitat Centre – Delhi
- Lucknow Mahotsava, Lucknow
- Natrani – Darpana Academy, Ahmedabad
- Rabindra Sadan – Kolkata
- Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre - Kolkata
- Almada Dance Festival – Portugal
- Orient Festival – Lisbon, Portual
- European Vedic Congress, Germany
- IndiaFest in Budapest, Hungary
- Swami Haridas Sangeet Sammelan, Mumbai,
- Salt Lake Music Conference, Kolkata,
- Pragjyoti Dance Festival, Guwhati
- East Kolkata Music and Dance Festival, Kolkata
- Kathak Marathon hosted by Padatik Dance Centre, Kolkata
- Bali Arts Festival, Indonesia
- Dance Festival held at Lotus Temple, Ubud, Indonesia supported by Royal Family
- Amravati Festival held in Andhra Pradesh
- All India Music and Dance Association International Dance Festival, Kannur, Kerala
- Sankat Mochan Samaraho, Benaras
- Classical Dance Festival, Shilparamam, Hyderabad
- Times of India Festival, Upavan Lake, Thane
- Jatis Dance Festival, Tenali
- Soorya Festival, St. Louis, USA
- 3 concerts at Aga Khan Museum, Toronto
- Raga Festival, Michigan,USA
- Tansen and Tyagaraja Festival, Houston, USA
- Indian Dance and Music Festival, Saskatoon, Canada
- 41st Music and Dance Conference organized by Vistaar, Kolkata
- Riwayat Festival, Kolkata
- KathaAngika Festival, Kolkata
- Dhwani, organised by Gunjar, Kolkata
- Rang Rasiya Mahotsav, Kamani Auditorium, Delhi
- Indian Embassy, The Gandhi Centre, Den Hague, The Netherlands
- 23 Concerts at the Edinburgh International Festival, Scotland
- The Nehru Centre, Indian Embassy Cultural Wing, London
- Rasa Festival (USA)
- New York Kathak Festival (USA)
- DancElation: Festival of Indian Dance (USA)
- “Vande Mataram Festival” / Amrit Mahotsav at Kathak Kendra, New Delhi organized by Kathak Kendra and Sangeet Natak Academy, New Delhi
And various concerts and festivals in Mumbai, Pune, Delhi, Bhilai, Bangalore, Mysore, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Aligarh, Vishakhapatnam, Cuttack, Bhopal.