Promoting contemporary dance

After nine weeks of sweating it out at the rehearsal studio and an intensive process of working the mind and body, the six residents at Gati Summer Dance Residency (GSDR) 2013 finally presented their choreographic creations in their production ‘All Warmed Up 2013’.

The GSDR in an independent art organisation that works in the field of contemporary dance in India. Founded in the year 2007 in response to the needs of the professional dance community, GSDR has actively searched for avenues to develop greater opportunities and infrastructure for contemporary dance.

The dance programme which took place on two different days at the British Council theatre had six choreographic creations all together. One of them was ‘Something must be the matter with the I’ which was inspired by Khalil Gibran’s ‘The Eye’. This solo piece revolved around the perception of the bigger picture at play against that of a part of it and various manifestations of the eye with respect to the other senses. The dance explored introspection, doubt, self-regard, accuracy and precision.

Another creation was ‘What are you looking at?’. The piece was dedicated to the female body and the various experiences they go through. ‘No strings attached’ was based on Christian Norberg-Schulz’s book Genius Loci. The choreography explored the present state of our cities where true dwelling has been substituted by alienation. In the dance act the protagonist seeks to attain an existential foothold in the meaningless dimension of everyday reality.

The last act of the two-day festival was 8/8, inspired by the Game of Chess. 8/8 investigates the terrain of a warzone – its tensions and hidden intensions, the strategies to combat and kill and ultimately the loss of breath.

Over the past years, GSDR has worked consistently to redefine the parameters of contemporary dance in India. Its unique range of projects and initiative invite dance practitioners from a range of backgrounds to engage in exchange, innovation and process driven creation.