[Reader-list] Fwd: May 2015 | Upcoming Workshops and Performances in Bangalore and Kolkata

Thu May 7 00:32:35 CDT 2015

                    Dear Friends,
       Greetings from The Arshinagar Project! This month, we bring you a
host of workshops, performances and master-classes from us as well as
visiting international artists, happening across Kolkata and Bangalore. We
are also happy to share information about two upcoming workshop residencies
in rural West Bengal - our first annual residential worksession, which will
happen in August; and an international workshop residency with acclaimed
performer and teacher Anna - Helena McLean which we are organizing in
November. Read on:

*Workshop on Kalaripayattu (southern style) with Voice-Movement
Improvization:*

We are happy to announce two workshops in Bangalore on *Kalaripayattu* with
Voice-Movement Improvisation, which will be led by Arka Mukhopadhyay; at
Atta Galatta, Koramangala from May 11th to 15th, 7 PM to 9 PM and at Studio
5678, Next to the ITC Flyover from May 18th to 22nd, 8 AM to 10 AM
respectively.

The sessions will be based on the basic forms of the southern style of
*Kalaripayattu*. Among the oldest forms of martial arts in the world,
the entirely
Indian martial art form of Kalaripayattu is based on ancient knowledge of
the physical and spiritual aspects of the human body. Through organic
movements comprising stretches, lunges and twists, it enhances breath
focus, and thus gives stillness, grounding and centring; leading to greater
self-awareness and an awakening of the inner, creative potential.
In this session, open to all, we will work with the basic movement
sequences of the southern style of *Kalaripayattu*, which focus on the four
cardinal directions. Along with *Kalari*, we will work on structured and
free-form guided improvisation with movement and the voice, to create a
sense of holistic, joyful, self-awareness.
The workshop is open to actors, dancers, teachers, sportspeople and anyone
above the age of 15, wanting to explore in depth the connection between
body, mind and spirit
Fees:
Individual sessions: 600
All five sessions: 2,500/-
Please contact: +919831731422 or mail to: thearshinagarproject at gmail.com

*The River in the Body - A Workshop on Embodied Writing with Arka
Mukhopadhyay:*

This workshop is aimed at poets, performance poets and writers who wish to
discover an organic connection between the body and their creative process
and performers who wish to discover the 'sensuous logic' of language and
develop their own textual material. It is also open to photographers and
other creative professionals.

The workshop takes its inspiration from the philosophy of the *Bauls *of
Bengal, who consider the body as the beginning and end of all wisdom.
Through images and metaphors of the body, over the centuries they have
developed an immense tradition of mystical poetry, which they bring to life
through their singing and dancing. In deed, in every world culture; song,
dance and poetic utterance spring from the same source.

In our more 'modern' times though, the intellect and the body are
fundamentally divorced. In this workshop, we will try to reconnect the two.
Based on the *"Sahrudaya" *approach to performance developed by The
Arshinagar Project, the workshop will start with a fundamental awareness of
the breath and the rhythmic, awakened body. Through movement we will unlock
memories and images buried in our imagination, and we will respond to these
images through writing. The work will happen both through specific
exercises as well as through improvisation.

*About the Facilitator:* Arka Mukhopadhyay won the TFA Award for Creative
Writing for his poetry in 2008 and was short-listed for the Rayaprol prize
in 2010. His work has appeared in Pyrta, Drunken Boat, The Battered
Suitcase, Jaggery and many other publications. His work in performance has
won fellowships from the Ministry of Culture and the Inlaks Foundation. His
most recent solo piece, "If It Be Now - Fragments and Impressions of
Hamlet", has been performed all over India.

Date and time: May 23rd and 24th, 6 PM to 9 PM
Venue: Paradigm Shift, Sony World Junction, Koramangala
Fees: 2,000/-

*Angela Papale and Fabio Marra in Kolkata:*

We are happy to collaborate with the Italian Embassy Cultural Centre, New
Delhi; the Consulate General of Italy, Kolkata, The Calcutta School of
Music and Academy of Musical Excellence to present a performance and a
master-class by noted Italian soprano Angela Papale and pianist Fabio Marra.

They will present a concert titled, "The Italian Opera : The Great Season
of Melodrama" at the Calcutta School of Music, 6/B, Sunny Park, at 6:30 PM
on May 14th. They will also present a master-class at the Academy of
Musical Excellence on the 13th of May. Both events are non-chargeable.
Contact: +918697919308 for details.

*First Annual Worksession of The Arshinagar Project: The Naked Actor*

We are inviting expressions of interest for our first annual worksession,
"The Naked Actor", which will take place from August 17th to 26th at
Tepantar Theatre Village, West Bengal, India.

Open to performers (actors, classical and contemporary dancers, musicians
interested in exploring the body) and other practitioners of embodied forms
like martial arts, yoga etc.; students of theatre and other allied forms,
as well as photographers, architects and others interested in the body in
performance and its relationship with space; this will be an introduction
to *Sahrudaya*, our philosophy and approach towards performance, which
refers to the performer in a state of grace, 'of one heart' with his/ her
interior self, with the co-creator and the space/ witnesses. While drawing
upon *Kalaripayattu* and other forms, the approach primarily focuses on the
organic human being, through a primary awareness of the breath and inner
rhythm. It aims to awaken the performer to a state of presence and
aliveness.

"The Naked Actor" refers to the performer who's transparent and vulnerable,
who through work on himself transforms theatre from an aesthetic act to a
human act, meeting the witnesses with openness and courage.

We will work with fragments of text from Rabindranath Tagore's "The Post
Office" (in the original Bengali as well as in English translation).

We will also explore musical material in the form of *Baul* songs as well
as songs composed by Tagore, which can be said to constitute a modern
'tradition' in themselves.

The work will be led by Arka Mukhopadhyay, founder, The Arshinagar Project,
while the vocal work will be led by Uttam Das Baul; a young but
widely-acclaimed master performer in the *Baul *tradition. We are also
happy to have as a guest teacher the well-known actor Anish Victor from
Bangalore. One of the founding members of the acclaimed theatre group
Rafiki, Anish brings in over two decades of stage experience and will draw
upon his training in *Tai Chi Qigong  *as well as the martial art form
of *Silambattam
*and the folk-dance form, *Devarattam.*

The cost of the ten day residency, including stay and food, facilitation
and transport from Shantiniketan railway station to the venue and back, is
INR 11,000/-. There will be one full and one half scholarship.

The number of participants is limited to twelve.

If you are interested or want to find out more, please e-mail us on:
thearshinagarproject at gmail.com with the subject line, "August Open Session".

*International Workshop Residency with Anna - Helena Mclean in November:*

We are also happy to announce that we will be hosting acclaimed
international performer and teacher Anna - Helena Mclean for "Actor -
Chorus - Text", a week-long international workshop residency, at Tepantar
Theatre Village, West Bengal, from November 16th to November 22nd, 2015.

Anna - Helena was a leading member of the legendary Polish experimental
theatre company Gardzienice. She subsequently founded and is the Artistic
Director of Moon Fool, an international ensemble of performers.

More information about the workshop will be available on our website and
Facebook page soon. Meanwhile, we are open for enquiries, so to know more
about this chance to work with one of the world's leading experimental
theatre practitioners, mail us on: thearshinagarproject at gmail.com.

And in the end, a small reminder that we are crowd-funding in order to
support "Medea's Song", our next performance project in Bangalore led by
our associate artist Anna Olkinuora and Arka Mukhopadhyay. To know more
about the project and how you can support it, please click here
<http://thearshinagarproject.us3.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=39aafe1e05f1872977a9b7e19&id=122f79ad78&e=96b2d5964e>
.

Love and Light,
Team Arshinagar

http://thearshinagarproject.in

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