A Double Bill: Live Dance performance & Film - Imagined India A first of its kind, The Bhavan celebrates choreography in dance and film, bringing trailblazing International artists to the audience. This celebration of cultural exchange positions Sezincote as a compelling backdrop for the filming of a Bharatanatyam performance exploring themes of cultural exchange expression and change through the traditional dance form. In part, encouraging and examining those aspects of culture that the Indian diaspora brings to Britain today. Mohiniattam Thoma VO VAN TAO has chosen two pieces of work - Jathiswaram and Pandattam - choreographed by his Guru, Dr. Neena Prasad. The choreography of the Jathiswaram approaches the combination of the technical adavus in an innovative manner, still keeping the traditional trajectory of the musical composition. The second piece, Pandattam, is an old composition that has been revived and offers a new window to the imagined choreography, which had been forgotten. Bharatanatyam Kalpana Metayer presents a Tillana in raga Kapi to which she is particularly attached, choreographed by her Master, V.S. Muthuswamy Pillai, and an abhinaya piece by her Guru, Kalanidhi Narayanan. These two choreographies have transformed into what she describes as a second skin over the years. She will conclude with La Mort du Cygne (The Death of the Swan) to the music of Camille Saint-Saëns, choreographed by herself. Mohiniattam Brigitte Chataignier will be presenting an invocatory piece and a padam in the pure Mohiniattam style, the classical dance form from Kerala. For the second part of the programme, she will interpret an extract from her current contemporary creation Mâlâ, inspired by Indian and Western culture. Kathak Isabelle Anna will be presenting a composition in a rhythmic cycle of 10 beats (Jhaptal) that highlights the typical aspects of the nritta technique of Kathak (tihai, tukra, parmelu, chakkars, footwork, etc.). The second piece is a contemporary choreography of hers titled My Bolero, based on the famous composition by Maurice Ravel. Here, Isabelle explores the ways in which the rhythm of the composition can be translated into movements. Film: Imagined India ‘Indar Sabha’ Play by Agha Hasan Amanat (aka Amanat Ali 1816-59) This play, widely regarded as the first of its kind to have been written in Urdu, was commissioned just four years before the Indian Rebellion/First War of Independence. Wildly popular upon its release, it soon spread throughout North India and beyond to the courts of the Nawabs in South India and Southeast Asia, eventually forming a life of its own. For a period of about 80 years, the play remained firmly in the Indian cultural imagination, with many iterations taking shape through printed text, stage dramas, and early films. Through these and other adaptations, a syncretic theatre emerged which incorporated genres of Indo-Islamic poetry, music, and dance. The story takes place in the court of Indar, King of the Gods, who is accompanied by beautiful fairies: Pukraj Pari, Neel Pari, Lal Pari, and Sabz Pari. The Sabz Pari falls in love with an earthly Prince Gulfam. Displeased at this, Indar clips the wings of the Sabz Pari and banishes her. The film is supported by Arts Council England, Garden Museum, and Sezincote.