(Sand sculpture by Sudarsan
Pattnaik)
Leading Indian performance arts company Teamwork Arts, in
collaboration with the High Commission of India in South Africa, will present
the ninth edition of the annual festival Shared
History, The Indian Experience in South Africa, from September 7 to 25.
Shared History,
begun in 2007, is now a regular feature on the South African cultural scene.
This festival of music, dance, theatre, comedy and exhibitions showcases the
best of contemporary arts and culture from India and South Africa, and explores
the shared artistic bond and cultural history of the two countries and their
recent pasts.
The hallmark of the festival is its focus on events that
offer South Africans the magic and allure of India.
Durban events will feature one of the foremost dance
companies of India, The Nrityagram Dance Ensemble, which performs at The
Playhouse on September 13 and 14. This highly sought-after ensemble has
performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, from New York to Hawaii in the US
and in Denmark, Holland, Portugal, the Middle-East, Singapore and Japan.
Nrityagram blends Odissi, a classical Indian dance, with contemporary concepts
to transport viewers to enchanted worlds. Odissi is characterised by
sensuousness and lyricism and with movements that reflect the motifs of Orissa
temple sculpture, it captures drum rhythms, melodies, as well as the poetic
meaning of songs taken from the vast canon of Oriya music.
At The Playhouse on September 10 and 11 is the latest
offering by Germany’s Flinntheater C
Sharp C Blunt, the Indo-German collaboration that explores the realms of
digital dramaturgy, repetition and user choices to create a new, hybrid form of
theatre-meets-performance art. This one-woman show is a witty, humorous and
satirical interrogation of what it is like being a woman in the entertainment
industry today.
Shared History’s comedy offering, featuring the established
international comedian Papa CJ and local comedian Simmi Areff, who will have
performances at the Suncoast Supernova Cinema, Durban, on September 12.
On September 12, Sudarsan Pattnaik, a world renowned Indian
Sand Artist from Orissa will be down at the beach in Durban starting at 10h30 sand
sculpting throughout the day. Pattnaik started sculpting images on sand at the
age of seven and has since designed hundreds of sand sculptures and won many
national and international awards for his creative designs. His sand sculpture
on Black Taj Mahal earned him accolades
worldwide. He has represented India at 50 international Sand Sculpture
championships, of which he won 27. Most recently he was awarded the Padma Shri.
For more information visit www.sharedhistory.co.in
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