A free event on Sunday, September 3rd, will commemorate the diverse communities of Brent. The celebration will feature performances by the Sujata Banerjee Dance Company, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Mahogany Carnival Arts, St. Michael & All Angels Steel Orchestra, Word Up, reggae artist Trevor Brown, and dancer Keira Martin. Additionally, contemporary composer Dani Howard will present brand-new music. The event will take place at Wembley Park.
Three dynamic performances featuring music, dance, poetry, and carnival arts are set to unfold in distinctive urban settings, including a spacious coach park within the vibrant Wembley Park, one of London's most thrilling new districts.
Established in 1985 by the esteemed Kathak artist Sujata Banerjee, the Sujata Banerjee Dance Company stands as a prominent advocate and cultivator of South Asian dance in the United Kingdom and worldwide. Under the leadership of Sujata Banerjee, a respected figure in the field, the company has played a pivotal role in advancing and nurturing the realm of South Asian dance.
Asian Voice spoke to Sujata Banerjee about the Company’s upcoming performance and the art of Kathak.
What type of performance is your company presenting? How does it commemorate the diverse communities of Brent through its act?
Okay, so basically how it started. In the beginning of 2022, the Royal Philharmonic, they put out notification like open call to propose a piece that could be danced. And the overall theme was Journey on the name of Journey. Just propose whatever you wanted to do. So I made this proposal. I actually
My piece is about migrating birds. I actually did a trip around the World in 2004 and was fascinated by Ganette birds. These birds travel from Australia to New Zealand across the Pacific Ocean and gather on a big rock in Auckland, New Zealand, to lay eggs. Before their journey, they dance with their partners. The birds recognize their mates through the dance. This is fascinating, as Ganette birds have one lifelong partner.
The performance, a collaboration with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, tends to tell a story through Kathak. The story focuses on the question: “why do we migrate?” We call the performance, “Seasonal Flight”, because birds are always migrating in a particular season.
Given your focus on promoting South Asian dance culture in the UK, what progress we've made in this endeavor over the years?
UK has had some very dynamic personalities who have promoted dance from the early eighties or late seventies. Ram Gopal came in the fifties and showcased Indian dance. Udai Shankar first showed his dance in the year ‘52 in this country. So people had exposure and on top of that, very strong dancers moved here and established themselves.
In present times, the UK's dance South Asian dance scene is very strong. And we have second and third generations of people who are now doing Indian classical dances and South Asian dance is very visible, very strong, very respected, and we have a voice and a place. Even in BBC Young Dancer Competition, only four styles were chosen: South Asian Kathak and Bharatnatham being two of them. This shows the place we have.
Of course in anything you do, there is more you should be doing.
Do you think Kathak enjoys much deserved respect in its home country, India?
Yeah, definitely. In India, however, classical dance always has a smaller audience. But I very strongly believe that doesn't matter whether classical or non-classical, it is an education that opens minds and develops a personality. It's not just dancing for the sake of it, you are educating.
Respect-wise, in India, I hope people will support their children to take dance as a profession if that is something they want to do.
