'A Minds Journey in Search of Destiny'
Choreography and Artistic Direction: Anwesha Ahmed
Music Composer: Nic Saunders
Dancers: Carrie Syckelmoore, Yentl De Wardt, Anwesha Ahmed.
Lighting: Jason Kirk
Film and Projection: Rahul Sinha
Her new work 'A Minds Journey in Search of Destiny' (55 minutes) contains three dancers, recorded music, dialogue and film (which has been recorded in the London Underground), two projectors and two screens. It involves new physical languages and new movements, which originate from Manipuri classical dance and her own imagination.
She has used two contemporary dancers and herself. All the movements have been extracted from the above concept and some are extracted from the dancers bodies. This production describes Anwesha's journey as an artist. Both her tradition and past history as well as her new found freedom are personified on the stage. The story builds with conflict between the tradition and freedom, and deepen finally to find a resolution. This piece is supported by music from Nic Saunders. |
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This work has received wonderful responses from audiences of all backgrounds and age groups. It has been described by the audiences as: -
"Riveting, can't keep my eye of it",
"Thought provoking", "Really explosive, full of energy",
"Very beautiful dancing and very expressive - I loved it",
"Very clear and very assessable", "Movement was really strong and really fluid",
"I really enjoyed the ideas of visual art with a live stage and the strong interaction between them".
Plasmas
Plasmas: Blue Elephant Theatre and Resolution at The Place, 2006-2007.
Her first experimental production Plasmas performed at and in collaboration with the Blue Elephant Theatre to a very good response. A review in London Fringe claimed, "Anwesha Ahmed Choreography tosses the performers through aggression, playfulness and contemplation. Anwesha Ahmed steals the show with her seemingly effortless, delicately controlled movement - demonstrating how expressive and graceful her dance form can be. Perhaps the most appealing aspect of Plasmas is the lack of separation between dance and music."
Plasmas tells a story which is inspired by the social position of human, interwoven in a system of rules, boundaries and principles. It projects different characters existing in the Bangladeshi society and highlight their feelings and struggle through two female characters. They found themselves in a social environment, which is unsupportive because of its traditional values, and their fate finally ends in death. |
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Plasmas highlight the reaction of the society and their desire to break the tradition. Music is 'Live Music', played in western style, but inspired by Indian influences. We have used violin, Conga, Sarangi, Tabla and Kartal. Music has its own place in Anwesha's choreography and it dissociates and synchronises from dance at different places and times, creating a relation. The rhythm of percussion and metallic instrument are used and shown with voice (Rhythm Chants) and Manipuri footsteps together and separately. Dancers are shown playing instruments and rhythm chanting, which is very peculiar of Manipuri Dance. The free and unbound form created when Manipuri dance is experimented in contemporary framework gives birth to Plasmas. All the dancers and musicians represent Plasmas as they are free and unbound to traditional and social values.
Nari (16 mins)
Performed at Lake View Theatre, Middlesex University, April 2006 as a part of MA choreography course. The production had one other Contemporary dancer and live music. |
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