Contemporary Conversations in Traditional Forms
Event Type:
Panel discussionSaturday, September 13, 2008 10:00am - 5:00pm
Panel Discussion, 10-11am Free Dance artists Celia Weiss Bambara, Christian Bambara, and Archana Kumar lead a lively discussion on concepts in fusing traditional dance forms and contemporary movement practices.
Celia Weiss Bambara Haitian, Caribbean, and Modern Dance Intersections, 11am-1:30pm $25 or Pay What You Can This workshop begins with a contemporary warm-up and then engages movements from traditional dances. Participants will learn Haitian choreographic structures drawing from Caribbean dance and explore new considerations of the dynamics between traditional and contemporary.
Celia Weiss Bambara is a dancer, choreographer, and very recent Ph.D in dance history and theory from University of California Riverside, and has performed and taught throughout the USA and internationally. In 2006, she joined forces with her partner Christian Bambara to form CCBdance project. In 2008/09, she will be a postdoctoral fellow in African American Studies at UIC.
Archana Kumar Contemporary/Classical Kathak and Modern Dance, 2:30-5pm $25 or Pay What You Can Participants will have a glimpse into Indian classical dance using Kathak (a north Indian form), and develop choreographic structures that interweave contemporary Kathak and modern dance, using the narrative quality of Indian classical dance as a tool for improvisation and abstraction.
Archana Kumar has trained extensively in two Indian classical dance forms: Baratanatyam (8 years) and Kathak (since 1996). Since moving to Seattle from India in 2000, she has trained in modern dance. Her love for improvisation started in 2003, and she has since been incorporating tools of improvisation in her choreography, intertwined with the narrative, rhythmic, and linear quality of Kathak. Most recently she was adjunct faculty at Seattle’s Cornish College of Arts. She is recipient of a WA State Arts Commission grant 2008/09 as an apprentice with vocalist Srivani Jade (Seattle). www.archanakathak.com