Last month Aakash Odedra Dance Company Producer, Anand Bhatt visited New York to attended the International Society for Performing Arts (ISPA) congress Reframing the Conversation: Arts and orders. The congress focussed on physical and metaphysical borders in society and the role art can and does play in challenging, crossing and tearing them down.
Aakash Odedra Company was privileged to be selected as one of ten Pitch New Works, to talk about our forthcoming project Samsara. Samsara is a cross border collaboration between international dance artists Aakash Odedra (UK/India) and Hu Shenyuan (China), working with Israeli/Dutch lighting designer Yaron Abulafia, Greek set designer Tina Tzoka, British/Swiss composer Nicki Wells, British dramaturg Lou Cope and costume designer KH Lee, from Hong Kong.
Anand was just one of 650 cultural professional colleagues from over 60 countries working with venues, companies and festivals as independent producers, curators, educators, artists and in some cases a combination of roles. Anand, upon describing his experience said:
“The sector is aware of the significant daily global challenges faced by people all around the world in their daily lives, because the performing arts are part of the ecology and communities everywhere. The conversations at ISPA challenged privilege, capitalist structures and indeed the culture of the performing arts sector. The congress organisers did an incredible job of assembling world-class thinkers who choose culture as their profession to stimulate thinking and discourse. ISPA provides reflection, exchange and friendship with colleagues. Aakash Odedra Company is proud to be part of ISPA and looks forward to the next congress in Taipei.”