Sangam 2021 Program

Sangam 2021 PERFORMING ARTS FESTIVAL OF SOUTH ASIA & DIASPORA ARTS | MUSIC | DANCE | WORKSHOPS | SCREENINGS | DEVELOPMENT | CONVERSATIONS Featuring 100+ artists, 4 venues, 4 weekends, Sangam brings an eclectic range of music, dance, spoken word, comedy, classical and experimental performances February 20, 27, March 6, March 11-13, 2021.

ABOUT SANGAM 2021 INSPIRED, CURATED & DIRECTED BY Dr Priya Srinivasan, Hari Sivanesan and Uthra Vijay In Partnership With: Multicultural Arts Victoria (MAV) | Supported by: Blakdance, Ausdance Victoria, Peril Magazine, South Asian Today.

Venue Partners: Abbotsford Convent, Dancehouse, Bunjil Place, Drum Theatre | Funded by: Creative Victoria, MAV, Australia Council for the Arts, City of Melbourne, Dandenong Arts Grants, Yarra City Council, City of Greater Dandenong, City of Casey.

Sangam is a platform for established and emerging South Asian-Australian artists to learn, create and showcase their art alongside globally renowned artists from the South Asian Diaspora. Based in Naarm/ Melbourne on unceded land, Sangam acknowledges the traditional custodians of the Wurundjeri and Bunnuwurung people.

Our goals are to increase South Asian REPRESENTATION | PROGRAMMING | CREATION | CURATION | NETWORKING | UPSKILLING | PROFESSIONAL PLATFORMS

SANGAM PROGRAM Sangam at the Convent - Afternoon - Saturday, February 20, 2021, 3PM - 6PM An exciting day to remember in the City of Yarra at Abbotsford Convent featuring a range of interdisciplinary artists across 3 events.

Sangam at the Convent will entertain the whole family with free activities including energetic Punjabi Folk dance and music storytelling workshops; Bollywood dance workshops led by Jhoom Bollywood Dance Company; Mehendi for kids; South Indian filter coffee by OzKaapi; chaat and beverages

by Sri Ananda Bhavan; and a whole lot of fun! You’ll also be able to participate in the creation of a beautiful, large-scale Rangoli using an assortment of bright rice, lentils, and more.

Artists: Marshie Perera Rajakumar, Joshinder Chaggar, Parvyn Kaur Bennett

Sangam at the Convent - Panel - Saturday, February 20, 2021 6PM - 7:15PM, North Magdalen Laundry. Welcome to Country and Smoking Ceremony by Wurundjeri Elders 7:30pm Self-determination, cultural agency and power: the changing dynamics of art made with community. These are not new concepts, but across the arts, are these ideas being enacted in ways that deliver tangible outcomes for diverse creatives? Join our panel of experts to explore how we move from rhetoric to practice, what needs to change in order to demonstrate impact, and where we find ourselves on this journey. The panel will explore these issues from a number of perspectives; from cultural leadership, the international evidence for change, the role of allies and organisations, and importantly, how we evolve models of resourcing that underpin our collective ambition for change.

Facilitated by: Veronica Pardo, with Chris Sohn, Geskeva Kumba, Sonya Suares, Jamie Lewis, Liss Gabb, Priya Srinivasan Sangam at the Convent - Evening - Saturday, February 20, 2021, 8PM - 10PM Dada Desi: combining the spirit of Dada and the connection to ‘desi’ (land in Hindi), SANGAM’s opening night event combines comedy, stand-up, spoken word, film, classical and experimental music and dance in one line up Emceed by award-winning writer, comedian and performance-maker Vidya Rajan, and co-curated by Sunanda Sachatrakul, a Delhi-born, Bangkok-raised producer, comedian and writer who has produced festivals, concerts and films in New York and Los Angeles and more, before moving to Melbourne.

DADA DESI: Vidya Rajan, Shamita Sivabalan, Amna Bakhtiar, Pedro Cooray, Janaki Gerard, Patrick Gunasekera, Daveena Munee, Naavikaran, Vidya Rajan, Bindu Rajendran, Bhairavi Raman, Nisha Leena Sinha Roy, Sunanda satchakrul, Ananya Sundar.

Guest Artists: Ida Ghatge & Shamita Sivabalan, MC: Vidya Rajan, Co-curator: Sunanda Sachatrakul They were mentored by: Veena Basavarajaiah, Shreya Devnath, Kirin Khan, Vidya Makan, Raina Peterson, Vidya Rajan, Sunanda Sachatrakul

Sangam at Dandenong - Earth Matters Walking Experience - Saturday, February 27, 2021, 6:00 PM 8:30 PM A triple bill Earth Matters walking tour is a site specific series of performances that “takeover” and “park” artists at the Dandenong Drum Theatre, Harmony Square and Walker Street Gallery parking lot. Like graffiti on walls what happens when Sourh Asian classical forms make their mark and interact with bare feet on the Earth and built environments. An audience member becomes part of a walking tour, stopping at each of the 3 sites for a unique participatory interactive experience. Earth Matters asks what happens when local communities of artists interact to transform the sonic and Visual landscapes that have excluded them for so long. What does it mean to experience the sights and sounds of classical South Asia in Dandenong which is the home to the highest population of South Asians anywhere in Victoria?

The Drum Stage includes 1. A Raga Immersion - immersive works of Indian classical music, spoken word, dance and movement connecting artists/audiences across multiple demographics. Raga is the melodic scale integral to Indian classical music. It brings diverse multi form Australian emerging and professional artists together to develop and present contemporary sound and movement.

Artists: Deepa Mani, Samrakshana Ram, Sapna Chandu, David Balaban, Rohan Dasika, Subramanya Sastry 2. Hindustani and Carnatic Music Artists: Namarata Trivedi , Ranjitha Suresh, Jay Dabgar , Prasad Karve, Malathi Vasudevan, Venkat Ramakrishnan Harmony Square Stage includes performance and audience participatory works 1. Nithya Gopu Solomon, working through movement, the classical Indian dance Style, Mohiniattam and yoga 2. Bollywood Dancing Performance and participatory session with Marshie Pereira Screen performances at Harmony Square at 8.30am, 12.30pm and 5pm each day between Feb 20-March 13 include performances by Uthra Vijay, Hari Sivanesan, Priya Srinivasan, Siying Zhou, Venkatesh Sankarshan, Lucy Burns, Veena Basavarajaiah

Third Nature, Raina Peterson, 2018 photo by Hayden Golder

Walker street parking lot 8 solo dance performances, which includes the classical styles of Kathak, Bharatanatyam, Odissi, Yakshagana, Mohini Attam from different parts of South Asia Performers: Shravya Shetty, Shreya Rath, Chandana Brijesh, Lekshmi Sarath, Nilakshi Bora, Lalitha Narayanan, Vrinda Joshi, Yen Wen Soo, Veena Kadayaprath Sangam at Bunjil Saturday, March 6, 2021 5PM - 8PM Sangam at Bunjil is a triple bill comprising New Homes 1 and 2 and “The Flowering Tree.”

“New Homes” comprises two new works composed for classical string quartet and female choir respectively.

New Homes String Quartet is a newly-composed, groundbreaking musical work by Hari Sivanesan composed for a string quartet in the style/structure of a Western quartet whilst adhering to the austere classicism of the Carnatic (South Indian) genre. Featuring the Sarod, (17 stringed plucked lute), Taus (28 stringed, fretted, bowed lute), Veena (6 stringed lute) and Double Bass.

Displacement, migration and building new homes are the underlying themes behind the music of the string quartet.

New Homes Choir features a Carnatic choral work written by eminent singer, teacher and composer Uthra Vijay. The work, with lyrics penned in Tamil, speaks to the earth, nature, environment and climate change and our responsibility of creating a New Home.

The vocal work is accompanied by percussion, flute and veena, exploring the four movements in a unique blend.

Both New Homes works feature artists for the South East Melbourne region who have migrated or their families have migrated here. This opens up to the wider questions of what it means for migrants to make new homes in the South east part of Melbourne and what sounds they bring and create in their new built environments. How can music transform the homes we build and live in? What new kinds of homes of music and communities can be created?

The third act is an exciting and unique new multi-artform performance called “The Flowering Tree”, directed by Hari Sivanesan and Priya Srinivasan in collaboration with nine emerging artists. In a screen adaptation of an Indian folktale, the tale offers a myriad of possibilities and metaphors that take on issues like climate change and violence against women through the mediums of spoken word, sound and movement.

The Flowering Tree is the culmination of “South Asian Arts Pathways”, a program for exceptional classically-trained emerging artists from Melbourne’s South East region to professionalise and develop new work.

Over eight months, they have been mentored by renowned local and international artists including Shreya Devnath, Veena Basavarajaiah and Natesha Somasundaram.

New Homes Instrumental Sarod: Rahul Bhattacharya, Taus: Bimal Singh, Veena: Hari Sivanesan, Double Bass: Rohan Dasika New Homes Choir: Uthra Vijay, Subhashini Vaidhyanathan, Swarnalakshmi Sankarmahadevan, Nandini Venkat Subramoney, Manisha Jothin, Akhila Pokkuluri, Swaathi Subramaniam, Janani Ganeshan With instrumentation by Thabo Mohanakumar, Subramanya Sastry, Hari Sivanesan South Asian Arts Pathways: Directed by Hari Sivanesan and Priya Srinivasan Visuals: Siying Zhou Videography: Evolve Media Musical Support: Shreya Devnath, Dramaturg: Veena Basavarajiah, Script: Natesha Somasundram Pathways Artists: Arpitha Shastry, Devinya Kugathas, Eashaa Swaminathan, Ishaana Sood, Keshav Ramachandran, Kirshan Sabeshkumar, Maiyuren Srikumar, Shyam Srinivas, Siddarth Murali Manohar

Sangam in Conversation - Panel - Saturday, March 13, 2021, 1PM - 4PM Marginality, Power and Representation A partnership between Blakdance, Rinda Saranya and Sangam, the panel discussion will focus on the intersections of the rights of representation and power by marginal voices from 3 intersecting perspectives : First Nations artists in Australia, marginal artists in India and South Asian Australian artists who are minorities living on unceded land to explore how power is contested, how voices can be reimagined and bodies re-represented in different sites and lands.

Supported by Ausdance Vic, MAV and Dancehouse Panelists: Facilitated by Merindah Donnelly and Priya Srinivasan with Marilyn Miller, Yashoda Thakore, Brahma Prakash, Urmimala Sarkar.

Sangam at Dancehouse - Commisions - Thursday, March 11 - Saturday March 13,, 2021, 6:30PM - 9:30PM Two triple bill shows, each featuring 3 extraordinary performances including stellar international and local artists on 3 evenings. Both classical and contemporary South Asian dance will be seen on one platform at Dancehouse the premier space for contemporary dance in Australia. Not to be missed.

These 6 commissions serve to highlight the range that is postcolonial South Asian dance practice. It is contemporary and yet also has classical dance elements to varying degrees.

Each work is political in its own right ranging from identity issues, sexuality, power, being rendered homeless due to war and assimilation as migrants.

They provoke a rethinking of what cultural equity might look like if we actually reflected the diverse population and dance practices that are Melbourne.

These artists were mentored by renowned dancers Priyadarsini Govind, Mavin Khoo and Dr. Chandrabhanu to create new works.

Program One Kasi Aysola’s work Eyes explores the fragmented and multiple viewpoints and perspectives of the God who falls from grace.

Music/Composition (Eyes, Kasi Aysola): Ramya S. Kapadia Shyama Sasidharan and Divya Shreejit Kumar’s duet Melbourne Rasa focuses on the migrant emotional and political struggle to ‘belong’ by investigating multiple emotional landscapes using both screen and live performance.

Rukshikaa Elankumaran’s work Amma: The Loss of our Motherland uses classical Indian dance and is based on the Tamil Eelam liberation struggles in Sri Lanka exploring the emotions Tamil refugees and migrants experienced when they fled the country fearing persecution and genocide.

Program Two Shriraam Theiventhiran’s work Sacred Sensuality navigates the interplay of love, lust and religious sentiment through the classical dance medium. He asks “Is it improper, sinful even, to gaze at the Lord with thoughts of lust?”

Live musicians (Sacred Sensuality, Shriraam Theivendran): Aneka Srinivasan (Vocalist), Pallavi Susarla (Nattuvangam), Senthuran Jogaratnam (Percussionist), Maiyuren Srikumar (Violinist) Sooraj Subramaniam’s work Nimbus is a contemporary dance solo journeying into the internal conflicts humans undergo when their expectations, their dreams, their aspirations get broken, where the rain of a nimbus (a dark and amorphous cloud) serves as metaphor Raina Peterson’s work Maya (excerpts) is an experimental solo dance work exploring Hindu conceptions of the self and the cosmos through a trans lens, and vice versa – exploring the trans experience using the frameworks of Hindu philosophy.

Sangam Online International Residencies: Renowned Bharathanatyam exponent, Smt Priyadarshini Govind conducted exclusive abhinaya workshops for a limited number of experienced Victorian teachers/dancers which culminated in the learning of both complex bodily vocabulary and 2 compositions: Ahalika Wickneswaran, Bindu Rajendren, Christina Prakanthan, Vishwethaa Kugathas, Lojini Sivaraman, Priya Nandini Prakash, Divya Prakash, Rama Ravinthiran, Divya Shreejit Kumar, Durkka Jena Rukshikaa Elankumaran, Nisha Leena Sinha Roy Renowned musician, Sri R.K. Shriramkumar kindly agreed to conduct online vocal workshops on rare Dikshitar Kritis for Melbourne’s eminent teachers: Gayathri Shastri, Anusha Yellapragada, Manisha Jothin, Harinia Lakshminarayanan, Vishwesh Sridhar, Kanchana Senthuran, Siddarth Murali, Aditi Achutha Prasad, Nandini Nagasundaram, Madhuri Nadimpalli, Harishankar Iyer, Mahita Iyer, Praveenaa Shankar, Lakshmi Kumaraguruparan, Eashaa Swaminathan, Shyam Srinivas, Madhuri Vasa, Kalpana Raja, Malathi Vasudevan, Ramnath Iyer, Gopinath Iyer, Susmitha Ravi, Sundari saripalle, Ahilan Sivanandan, Krithi H R With thanks to Gurus: Ahilan Sivanandan, Bhavani Govindan, Dr. Chandrabhanu OAM, Ambika Docherty, Meena Elankumaran, Murali Kumar, Narmatha Ravichandhira, Late U Srinivas, Uthra Vijay, Yogan Kandasamy, Balasri Rasiah, Tara Rajkumar, Mohini Joshi, Monica Singh, Renuka Arumugasamy, Ushanthini SriPathmanathan, Sridhar Chari, Rahul Bhattacharya, Satnam Singh, Kalpana Raja, Malathi Vasudevan, Ramnath Iyer, Gopinath Iyer, Susmitha Ravi, Sundari Saripalle.

Sangam Team: Shweta Kawatra: Marketing and Media Consultant Priya Pavri: Producer Varsha Ramesh: Producer Sunanda Satchatrakul: Co Curator Ruiqi Fu: Video Editing and Filming Simone Etheve: Social Media Management Publicist: Miranda Brown Publicity Sangam thanks all our partner organizations in particular MAV, BlakDance, Bunjil Place, Drum Theatre, ACF, Dancehouse, Ausdance Vic and all their team members.

Special thanks to Sonya Suares Support by: Arun Muñoz Photography, Sarish Paul Video, Devika Bilimoria Video, Ruiqi Fu Photography Sangam wishes to thank all the many volunteers who have contributed their tiem and efforts into making this possible.

Photo by Ruiqi Fu

sangam.com.au