Cardiff Dance Festival 2017 has announced details of Interruption which involves Indian and Welsh artists and which will culminate in a free performance day in Cardiff city centre on Friday, November 17.
Part of India Wales, a major season of artistic collaboration between the two countries to mark the UK India Year of Culture, Interruption will see artists from Basement 21 in Chennai working hand in hand with artists from Wales, thanks to support from Wales Arts International and the British Council.
The lead practitioners from Basement 21 who are collaborating with Cardiff Dance Festival are Preethi Athreya (dance), Padmini Chettur (dance), Pravin Kannanur (theatre/visual art) and Maarten Visser (music).
Lead Wales based practitioners for Interruption are Joanna Young (choreographer), Siriol Joyner (choreographer) and Lauren Heckler (visual artist). Dutch percussionist and frequent Basement 21 collaborator Robbert van Hulzen will also be coming to Cardiff to work on the project.
A further 10 practitioners will join the project for its performative conclusion and dance students from the University of South Wales BA Hons Dance Degree course will also be making a major contribution to the project.
Interruption is an exploratory and collaborative project that will respond to a sense of place as well as to specific spaces. It will draw on the mixed disciplines of the lead practitioners and be a catalyst for sharing international contemporary practice, albeit grounded by Cardiff as host city for the project.
Interruption comprises a three-week residency for the practitioners, based at Chapter. There will be open studios and workshop opportunities for a wider number of participants and audience. Research and development over the three weeks will culminate in a public performance day in the city centre. Three venues in particular will host elements of performance, these are Cardiff Market, Central Library and South Wales University’s ATRiuM building.
Interruption encourages artistic interventions to interrupt the daily workings of public institutions. The interventions and performances at the city centre venues on Friday 17th November may distract, annoy, uplift, entertain, question passers-by and users of the public buildings. Interruption aims to develop these interventions and performances through site specific research and inside knowledge of the city and of the people who live and work here.
The practitioners working on Interruption are considering the project as a means for reflecting on context and culture, difference and politics..
The biennial Cardiff Dance Festival, which was launched in 2015, takes place this year between 8 and 19 November. Over the twelve days there will be a variety of works being performed by artists and companies from across Wales, the UK and further afield. Performances will take place at Chapter, the Dance House and Wales Millennium Centre.
CDF17 is supported by the Arts Council of Wales. Lead festival partners are Chapter, National Dance Company Wales and Wales Millennium Centre. This year the festival is also working with the City of Cardiff Council, Groundwork Pro, Migrations and South Wales University on different aspects of the programme.
Cardiff Dance Festival is programmed by Chris Ricketts and project managed by Fieldwork. Chris Ricketts said: “We’re really looking forward to seeing what unfurls through Interruption. Bringing together some fantastic artists from very different places it’s a great project for us. And we are really pleased to be part of the UK India Year of Culture season through which such a rich exchange of ideas is taking place.”
Artist Lauren Heckler said: ‘I’m excited to be working alongside Wales based and international artists to creatively ‘interrupt’ the day-to-day of public spaces that I frequent, such as the indoor market. It’s great to be involved in Cardiff Dance Festival and to have the opportunity to make performative work for the public realm.”
Rebecca Gould, Head of Arts, British Council Wales said: “It’s exciting that through India Wales and the UK India year of Culture, Chennai’s Basement21 are able to come to Wales to collaborate with CDF on this production. Interruption sees international performance art take over public spaces in the city– showcasing the fruits of international collaboration to new audiences.”
For further details, including tickets, go to www.dance.wales.