SLiDE

In Crosswor(l)ds, two performers attempt to discover the rules of the game, moving from meticulous planning to improvised chaos and everything in between. Can they make any sense of it and find their place within it?

Ash Mukherjee

Vishnu’s Got My Back traces the queer experience as seen through the eyes of a first-generation Indian immigrant. Vishnu’s Got My Back is part stand-up, part dance with original poetry, songs and anecdotal stories, reliving the coming of age of a femme non-binary person in post-colonial Kolkata, and then as a queer immigrant person of colour in the UK.

Shyam Dattani

Dvihīna, Sanskrit for ‘devoid of gender’, is an ensemble South Asian dance exploration with diasporically-trained Kathak dance artists of diverse gender expression.

This work seeks to question the innately gendered movement in the form and the cis-heteronormative lens through which Kathak is taught, performed and viewed in the diaspora, by queering the ideas of Tāndav (masculine or vigorous) and Lāsya (feminine or graceful) in the abstract movement practice.

Ash Mukherjee was born in Kolkata, India, Ash trained in the Tanjore vaani/school of Bharatanatyam at Kalamandalam Kolkata. He went on to study classical ballet privately with Lady Doreen Wells and graduated with a BA (hons) in Jazz Theatre Dance from London Studio Centre.

Shyam Dattani is a London-based mover and maker whose practice is grounded by strong technique, training and choreographic thinking, as well as trying to shift thinking regarding the innate gender roles within ‘Kathak’- the form he is trained in.

Dance Festival Croydon 2023 showcases exciting contemporary dance in venues in Croydon. For more information visit Dance Festival Croydon website.

The festival is produced and curated by Beeja. Beeja is a Croydon based dance company which is known nationally and internationally for creating and presenting exciting work.

Croydon is borough of culture for 2023. DFC23 is a part of the ongoing celebration highlighting the best of culture in Croydon. It is supported by the Arts Council of England, National Lottery, The Mayor of London and the Croydon Council.