Performer / choreographer Sonia Sabri, born and based in Birmingham, formed Sonia Sabri Company ten years ago and is Associate Artist at Birmingham mac (Midlands Arts Centre).
Fresh from her Ekalya solo performance at British Dance Edition in Edinburgh, she is touring new and familiar pieces in March / April 2014.
A contemporary / classical celebration of Persian and Indian artistry expressed through the intricate language of Kathak dance, featuring choreography focusing on precise footwork, lightning turns and complex rhythms and movement patterns with live music from an ensemble of musicians on the sitar, the harmonium and vocals, Ekalya will also tour later this year.
Sonia has recently created Rudra for Manasamitra, the Yorkshire-based arts organisation. In creating Rudra, which is performed by four female dancers, Sonia worked with Indo-bass beats and electronica composer Shri Sriram to resurrect ancient Indian mythology through a collision of music and dance.
Brightly-woven, skeletal structures of varying sizes mark the stage and the performance echoes the cycle of peace, disturbance, love and lament. Sonia says: “Rudra means rage. The work is a reimagining of the ancient story of Shiva’s anger with Cupid. It was good working with Shri as we both wanted to create something unpredictable for the audience”.
Rudra will visit Lincoln Arts Centre March 20, Helmsley Arts Centre April 5, Huddersfield Lawrence Batley Theatre April 10 and Theatre Leeds April 13 (Stanley and Audrey Burton Studio).
Her other works, Jugni can be seen in Swindon March 14, and Labyrinth (with Ash Mukherjee) at Glasshouse Stourbridge June 6 and London Shoreditch Rich Mix in October.
Featuring live music performed by Sarvar Sabri, Shoma Dey & Dan Nicholls, Labyrinth toured as part of SSCo’s 10th anniversary celebrations in 2013. The piece was inspired by Woody Allen’s Death Knocks, a one-act play he wrote in 1968 for two characters. Labyrinth combines dramatic kathak and barathanatyam styles.
Jugni’s choreography was inspired by women’s stories from all over the UK and is performed by an all-female cast. The dance languages is based on opposites: dark and light, negative and positive. The music, inspired by Qawwali, an ancient form of Sufi devotional music, is performed onstage by SSCo’s musical director, Sarvar Sabri on percussion, tabla and vocals, with guest musicians.
Sarvar Sabri, a master tabla player and founder of the Sabri Ensemble, has played and collaborated with, among others, the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, Bournemouth Sinfonietta, East of England Orchestra, Sinfonia Baltica, and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra.
Sarvar Sabri says: “When we work on the music for a new Sonia Sabri Company piece, we love discovering new musical talents, particularly if they live locally. We’ve sometimes found that musicians and singers, who often hail from my home town of Delhi, are literally living around the corner from us in Birmingham!”
Last year, Sonia was movement director with the Leicester-based theatre company Phizzical Productions on its Bollywood-inspired version of Shakespeare’s Cymbeline which toured the UK between September and December 2013.
Sonia directed a weekend workshop for female dancers aged 11-19 at Swindon’s South Asian Performing Arts Centre on February 22 and 23. The dancers worked with Sonia to devise a brand new piece that they will then perform as a curtain raiser to Sabri Company’s performance of Jugni at Swindon Dance on March 14.
On March 9, Sonia Sabri Company is inviting Birmingham-based dance and music groups to take part in a new showcase event, Akaar, at mac. Akaar aims to recognise and develop emerging talent and to support the breadth of South Asian arts being created across Birmingham.
The company will run workshops, provide platforms for local companies to showcase their work and encourage networking.