2006 ASIALINK PERFORMING ARTS RESIDENCIES
We congratulate the 2006 residents whose proposals are outlined below:
Northern Territory
v    Actor and musician Andrish Saint-Clare heads to Indonesia where he will explore traditional forms of Balinese performance and shadow puppetry and collaborate with the Balinese dalang I Made Sidia using contemporary concepts and production techniques.
Queensland
v    Musician Erik Griswold will use his residency with the Sichuan Conservatory of Music to expand his knowledge and skills in Sichuan Opera percussion and Jinqian Ban and work with composer Zou Xiangping on a new production for the Queensland Music Festival.
South Australia
v    Travelling to East Timor, Steve Mayhew will help to establish a framework for performance troupd Bibi Bulak to develop hybrid arts skills and production ideas that involve performance, video and sound, working with the local community.
Victoria
v    Theatre practitioner Robert Draffin will undertake a residency with the Shanghai International Performing Research Arts Centre where he will research traditional folk forms, create a performance using classical poetic text and reconnect with directors He Bing Zhu, Ma Hui Tian and Lin Zhaohua in Beijing.
v    Independent choreographer Natalie Cursio divides her residency between Singapore where she will create new work for Odyssey Dance Theatre, and Korea where she will collaborate with Theatre Company Nottle.
v    During her residency in Singapore, Cat Hope will use her experience and talents as a sound artist, performer, composer, songwriter and noise artist to develop a new work with Substation.
v    Tim Dargaville and Rosalie Hastwell travel to India to further develop their skills in inter-cultural artistic practice at Adishakti in Pondicherry. Dargaville hopes to create new work for performance in India and Australia combining his interests in theatre, percussion and new music, while Hastwell will research the potentials of engaging local communities in the company's activities.
v    With an illustrious career as a pianist and keyboardist, Dr Michael Fowler hopes to further his research into the nexus between humans and computer software through his residency in Japan at Future University's Department of Media Architecture.
v    Based at the Darpana Performing Arts Academy, Ahmedabad, Dianne Reid aims to establish a context for collaboration with a range of artists across disciplines and an opportunity to engage with the traditional practices and contemporary applications of Indian culture.
Western Australia
v    Engaging a multiplicity of genres including choreography, performance, video, installation and set design for stage, gallery and site-specific locations, Paul Gazzola will continue his research into the relationships between the built form and the body at the Future Universityin Hakodate, Japan
The Asialink Residency Program is are made possible with the assistance of:
Australia Council, Arts Queensland, Arts Tasmania, Arts SA, Arts Victoria, Arts NSW, Arts WA, Arts NT, Australia-China Council, Australia-Indonesia Institute, Australia-India Council, Australia-Korea Foundation, Australia-Thailand Institute, Australian High Commission Kuala Lumpur.

Enquiries:  Swee Lim, Program Manager, Asialink Arts
s.lim@asialink.unimelb.edu.au
Tel: 03 8344 3581

2006 ASIALINK ARTS MANAGEMENT RESIDENCIES
We congratulate the 2006 residents whose proposals are outlined below:
ACT
v    Gallery director and curator Lisa Byrne travels to Japan where she will work alongside the Art Front Gallery Artistic Director toward the successful realisation of the 3rd Echigo-Tsunmari Trienniale and actively seek residency exchange and curatorial project opportunities for Australian and Japanese artists in the future.
    & nbsp;  New South Wales
v    Joining Shanghai VI Hoare Inc, an independent publishing house associated with China Normal University Press will be literary arts manager Benython Oldfield. He aims to identify emerging and established Chinese writers who are not published in the west with the aim of bringing them to Australian publishers and writers festivals..
v    Curator David Teh will be based at the Office of Contemporary Art and Culture, a new division of the Thai Ministry of Culture, where he will be developing a major exhibition of Thai contemporary art, to tour to Australia in 2007.
v    Cuong Phu Le, Community Cultural Development Officer at the Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre, will divide his time between Vietnam and Cambodia, researching a possible contemporary arts project in Ho Chi Minh City and creating networks in Phnom Penh with a view to bringing Cambodian instructors to Australia for workshops.
Northern Territory
v    Following a previous association with the Ubud Writers' and Readers Festival, Finley Smith returns to Indonesia to strengthen networks between Indonesian and Australian writers, publishers and arts organisations, help establish new administrative systems and mentor Balinese Festival staff in festival management.
    & nbsp;  Queensland
v    Arts manager Susan Kukucka will work with the Shanghai Cultural Development Foundation in order to develop cultural programs and establish exchanges between Chinese and Australian arts festivals, cultural organisations and tertiary institutions.
    & nbsp;  South Australia
v    Having lived in Singapore before, Alan Cruickshank, Director of the Contemporary Art Centre of South Australia and Editor of Contemporary Visual Art+ Broadsheet magazine, has a significant history there, and he returns to undertake a residency with Kanaga Sabapathy at Asia Contemporary.
    & nbsp;  Victoria 
v    Lecturer and sound artist Philip Samartzis will use his time in Japan to work with academics, curators, artists and researchers at Musashino Art University to develop curatorial programs that promote Australian and Japanese sound culture.
The Asialink Residency Program is are made possible with the assistance of:
Australia Council, Arts Queensland, Arts Tasmania, Arts SA, Arts Victoria, Arts NSW, Arts WA, Arts NT, Australia-China Council, Australia-Indonesia Institute, Australia-India Council, Australia-Korea Foundation, Australia-Thailand Institute, Australian High Commission Kuala Lumpur.

Enquiries:  Swee Lim, Program Manager, Asialink Arts
s.lim@asialink.unimelb.edu.au
Tel: 03 8344 3581

Dear Friends,
 International Dance Day has been celebrated on the April 29^th since 1982, through promotion of International Dance Council (CID) , an umbrella organization within the UNESCO. It was introduced by the International Dance Committee of the UNECSO International Theatre Institute, commemorating the birthday of Jean-Georges Noverre, the creator of modern ballet.

The main goals of the International Dance Day has been to increase awareness of the importance of dance among the general public, persuade governments all over the world to provide a proper place for dance in all systems of education, from primary to the highest, and to provide an occasion to celebrate dance and dancing.

This is the first time that this day is being celebrated in West Bengal.

Organized by:

The World Dance Alliance – Asia Pacific (West Bengal Chapter),

West Bengal State Music Academy (Government of West Bengal),

Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre

The event is important in highlighting the dance activities in West Bengal , especially keeping the young and enthusiastic new generation of dancers in mind.

It also hopes to create an environment of sharing and participation in larger multi-cultural context of the whole of Asia and the Pacific, by becoming active participants in various dance related activities, of performances, dance workshops, seminars, young choreographers exchange programmes, organized or supported by World Dance Alliance- Asia Pacific

the programme:

• The events start with two workshops , being held at West Bengal State Music Academy premises, by two choreographers selected by the World Dance Alliance - Asia Pacific, and the selected choreographers, are, Mr. Leng Po Gee from Malaysia and Ms. Mei-Kuang Li from Taiwan.
  
• The workshops will be held from the 20th till the 28th of April, 2006.
  
• The Dance Day itself will have whole day events, starting with a symposium on Contemporary Issues in the world of Dance with Sadanand Menon and Samik Bandopadhyay as  the speakers.
• The talks will be followed by contemporary films on dance.
• The Evening Performance- The two showcase performances of the choreographies done in the workshops, will be staged on the evening of International Dance Day itself, at Rabindra Sadan, along with other presentations by selected troupes from West Bengal. Twelve such performances have been chosen from numerous applications and a detailed open selection process.

Entry free for the International dance Day Celebrations at Rabindra Sadan.

All are welcome. Please join us in making this event a success.

 Sub: Curtain Raiser of INTERFACE 2006
  
  Sapphire Creations Dance Workshop and CII Young Indians are proud to host the third edition of the,.only international arts festival of Eastern India in Kolkata , INTERFACE 2006 on April 18-22, 2006 at Gyan Manch, Bharatiyam, American Center, Oxford Bookstore, Max Mueller Bhavan, Swabhumi, Science City and other premium venues.
  
  Premier artists from USA , France, Canada, Japan  and India are all set to join in this novel effort to initiate a renaissance in the alternative arts in the city.
    

  Young Indians (YI) is a group of young and successful Indian professionals and is a part of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). The principal objective of YI is to promote a positive 糎e Can, We Will・approach towards developing India, develop young leaders of tomorrow and to become the voice of the young generation of Indians. YI is a forum that encourages and inspires everyone to take pride in being an Indian by helping build a Brand India globally
  
  The Yi Kolkata Chapter is working towards health care and education as their focus areas. The proceeds of this event would go towards the supports of setting up of Akshara an educational resource centre for primary learning of the underprivileged children in the Eastern Region.    
  
  We never thought that an arts festival could bring in so much freshness, initiate so much movement, create such a revolution, win so many friends, surprise so many rivals・ its been an exciting journey with a thousand bridges to cross and we want to share with you some of the little things we have gathered on the way.
  
  On April 13, 2006, 5 pm at the CII Lounge, come down for a Curtain Raiser to INTERFACE 2004, and have a glimpse of the bright orange dream, and indulge in a surge of young patriotism throbbing with a life of its own which has given us the courage to bring winds of change to the City of Joy.
  
  The programme shall consist of an audiovisual presentation, the official declaration of supporters of the festival. This shall be followed by a short performance by Sapphire on the theme of INTERFACE. The event shall be followed by high tea.
  
  We hope that the winds of change ruffle your spirits too, so that you can be at one with the spirit of INTERFACE, and spread the word of this only international art event of Eastern India and the spirit of the Young Indians and the cause of underprivileged children in your respective columns of prepublicity/reviews/repo rts etc.
  
  Let us once again indulge in the unseen, the unfelt, the alternative, the contemporary, the alive.
  
  Come let us live.
  
  Culturally yours,
  
  
  SUDARSHAN CHAKRAVORTY   PARAMITA SAHA   &nb sp;   RAJESH PODDAR
  Festival Director    ;         & nbsp; Co-Director  &n bsp;   &nb sp;   &nbs p;     ;         & nbsp;   Chairman-YI Kolkata
  
  
  For details/queries please contact
  9830265603/98318 90527/2337 0665/9339824346
  
  INTERFACE 2006: The Festival
 
  INTERFACE is a non-profit venture by Sapphire Creations Dance Workshop, the only experimental dance ensemble of Eastern India striving to develop an organic and radical idiom of movement
  INTERFACE, the INTERnational Festival of Alternative and Contemporary Expressions is a biennial event covering the disciplines of music, theatre, visual arts and fashion and all possible interactions between these disciplines. It is the only international alternative arts event of Eastern India and the only the third in the country. It is being planned as a major event in the cultural calendar of Kolkata with a multitude of national and international performances. Workshops, film screenings and other allied events.
  INTERFACE 2006 is happening April 18-22, at premium venues of Kolkata supported by a range of sponsors. The Festival is a thorough exchange programme between premier artists from India, Japan, Canada, and USA and art lovers and connoisseurs of Kolkata.
  INTERFACE attempts to bring into the City of Joy a taste of the tremendous and turbulent experimentation that recreates every urban experience in myriad artistic forms around the world. It encourages a non-mainstream strain of thought, performance and development in every sensitive modern urban individual. It creates a ready platform for the interaction and reinvention of the contemporary arts.
  As part of its 10th anniversary celebrations Sapphire initiated the LINK THE ARTS movement in 2002, a drive to bring together the arts in interesting commissioned and impromptu collaborations by bringing together artists of various disciplines through regular meets and discussions. The aim is to bring issues that bother all or more artistes out in the open and in brainstorming sessions exchange ideas, develop solutions, form a large and more meaningful art fraternity, which can provide encouragement and support to budding artistes and which can reach out to educate and create new audiences.
  INTERFACE is part of this movement and endeavors to break barriers through the power of contemporary art, art that is relevant, real, sensible and meaningful Art that speaks to all because it is close to their lives, appealing to their senses and a lesson to learn from.
  INTERFACE is here not to create conflicts, not to move away from tradition, not to create divides but bridge the gaps between people, genres, cultures and countries.
  Sapphire beckons all to come forward and join hands.
   INTERFACE 2006: Participating artistes
 
  Main performances
 
  18th April: Opening Performance: Anita Ratnam(India)
  Anita Ratnam, founder of Arangham Trust, and co-director of The Other Festival, is recognized and honored for her talent and for furthering the international profile of Indian dance, she has been honored with many awards in India, most notably the Nritya Choodamani (1996), Kalaimamani (1998) and the Sankaracharya Award (2001). In the United States she has been given the Mahatma Gandhi Award for Cultural Harmony (1986).
  
    & nbsp;   &n bsp;   &nb sp; 
  Anita opens
  INTERFACE 2006 with Tara: Seven Graces ・
  a solo dance-theater performance created in collaboration
  with Hari Krishnan (Canada)  

The work explores Anita痴 signature perspectives on Goddess worship and Indian feminism, through manifestations of the Tibetan Buddhist goddess Tara. This organic piece resonates with the ideas of comparative mythology and feminine archetypes their reflections in contemporary Indian feminism. Interpreted in an original, textured context in collaboration with choreographer Hari Krishnan, the 60-minute minimalistic work uses an eclectic array of movement including Bharatanatyam, Chinese Wu-Shu martial arts, Modern Dance, Tibetan Buddhist liturgical dance and Zen Buddhism.
   19th April: Main performance: Ananya Dance Theatre (USA)
  Ananya Dance Theatre, founded by Artistic Director Ananya Chatterjea in 1996 in New York is a dance theater company formed of women artists of color endeavoring to create artistic works inspired by feminine history, politics, and experiences all around the world. Diverse South Asian performance traditions are explored in contemporary perspectives in the continuous search for images of strength and beauty in art. Based specifically on the Odissi dance form, aesthetic traditions of Bengal, and practices of street theater created by women痴 groups in India, the company seeks to reach and engage diverse peoples. Ananya: based on the Bengali na-anya, 斗ike whom there is no other・
  Ananya Chatterjea is an artist and an activist, and Associate professor of Dance at University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. Trained in India classical and folk dance traditions along with modern dance techniques and African dance styles, she has performed at important events at Germany, India, Malaysia, Canada, London, Java, Philippines and Singapore.
  
    & nbsp;   &n bsp;   &nb sp; Ananya
  presents
  at
  INTERFACE 2006
  -
  Bandh: a meditation on dreams
   
  A reaction to the growing disappointment and despair among communities of women of color in response to the escalating violence, militarism, and religious fundamentalisms, Bandh seeks to use performance to generate a sense of healing and to highlight women 壮 desires and dreams for social justice and peace.
  
  20th April: Main performance: Mezcal Jazz Unit with BikRam Ghosh(France/India)
 
  MEZCAL JAZZ UNIT plays its own creative music, with mixed influences, in phase with the main actual french jazz streams. Here, the word "jazz" has to be understood with the largest signification, meaning: no musical conformism, open mind, integration of other musical streams, adventures...
  
  There is a strong Mediterranean feeling of the musicians, along with explorations of traditional melodies, connotations of oriental music, a rocky energy, a sense of humor, and a mix between emotional introspection and a very specific Latin attitude of expression.
  
    & nbsp;   &n bsp;   &nb sp; MEZCAL JAZZ UNIT
  with
  Bikram Ghosh
  
  In
  
  INTERFACE 2006

MEZCAL is a live band and its music is based on pleasure and communion between musicians. The ability to communicate with the public is for this band a priority: as important as technical and musical performances.
  The band headed by Emmanuel de Gouvello (bass, composition) lives near Montpellier-South of France, since 1986.
  The band has toured France, Austria, Germany, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovaquia, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Bielorussia, Maroco, Azerbaidjan, Hungary, Roumania, Moldavia, Ukrania, Burkina Faso, Vietnam...
  
   20th April: Main performance: Shakti and Vasantamala Dance Company (Japan)
  Born to an eclectic parentage of an Indian father and a Japanese mother, Shakti has grown up with the best of both cultures. While earning an M.A. in Indian Philosophy at Columbia University in New York City, she studied modern dance with Martha Graham, Alvin Ailey and jazz dance with Luigi.
    & nbsp;   &n bsp;   &nb sp; 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Shakti
  
  presents at
  
  INTERFACE 2006
  -
  The Pillow Book

Shakti痴 unique hybrid form of dance blend an array of Eastern dance traditions and yoga with Western jazz and contemporary rock resulting in a exotic effect. She is the coordinator of the Japan Experience which assists and manages Japanese artists abroad. SHAKTI is also the artistic director of The Garage International which is now one of the most prominent venues in the Edinburgh Festival Fringe hosting over 40 different companies globally. Shakti痴 unique and mesmerizing performances have tantalized audiences all over the world. 

  Based on Sei Shonagon痴 poetry and spanning the world of courtesans the piece is a glorious celebration of womanhood. The body of the dancer is a canvas for beautifully painted images by famous Japanese visual artiste Mieko Nishimura conjuring up a demoniac finale of fiery explosive passion. Shakti shall be accompanied at INTERFACE by her mother Vasantamala, the first Japanese student of Uday Shankar, bringing Indian dance to Japan.
   21th April: Main performance: Ileana Citaristi(India)
 
  Coming to Indian dance after years of experience in the traditional as well as experimental theatre in Europe, Ileana Citaristi has contributed to the growth of the Odissi and Chhau dance forms as well as to contemporary perspectives on traditional dance forms.
 
  She has given performances in all the major dance festivals in India as well as in Italy, Argentina, Poland, France, Germany. Holland, Denmark, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Japan, USA, Australia and Israel.
  
  Ileana has been awarded the prestigious title 銑eonide Massine for the art of dance・in Italy in September 1992 and the 然aseshwar・award by the Sur Singar Sansad, Bombay,. In May 1996 she won the 鮮ational Award for best choreography・for her dance direction to the Bengali film 塑ugant・directed by Aparna Sen. She has conducted a research on the Martial Art of Orissa under the aegis of the Indira Gandhi National Center for the Arts in 1991 and in 1996 she has been granted a senior Fellowship by the Dept. of Culture, Government of India, for writing a book on Kelucharan Mohapatra痴 life.
  
  Ileana Citaristi
   presents
   at INTERFACE 2006
  IMAGES OF CHANGE
   a piece that explores contemporary perspectives on traditional realms of Indian dance
  

  21th April: Main performance: Rae Bowhay and Martin Trudel(Canada)
  Dancer/ Choreographer Rae Bowhay and Guitarist/ Compositor Martin Trudel
  are the creative force behind SaSASa, a collaboration initiated in Montreal, Canada in 1997.  With similar passions towards flamenco and contemporary music and dance, they致e been dedicated for almost a decade to the development of very unique, poetic and colorful works. Their wit, emotion, rhythmical drive and flamenco attitude are used within experimental forms to create imaginary folklore.
  
  Rae Bowhay also performs regularly with many different artists throughout Canada and has presented her choreography in Los Angeles and Scotland.  She received the Victor Martyn Lynch-Staunton Award, offered by The Canada Arts Council, for artistic achievement in 2005. 
    & nbsp;   &n bsp;   &nb sp; 
  SaSASa
  presents at
   INTERFACE 2006
  an intimate duo performance between dance and guitar.
  The duo full of subtle reflections and surprises which shed light on, and explore, their humanity.

INTERNATIONAL DANCE COMPETITION In NAKANO, TOKYO
September 23, 2006
Nakano ZERO Hall Grand Theater

Grand Prix : JPY300,000. Other prizes will also be awarded.
Participants from abroad must register for Video Preliminary in order to qualify for the final.
You can send a video in June.
For more information, you can download from :

www.nakano-dance-a.com

Nakano Dance Association : e-mail : info@nakano-dance-a.com  Fax : +81 3 3916 9155