2009 PROMOTERS’ BROCHURE
Bryony Kimmings
General Manager
+ 44 20 8868 7746
dancecreations@srishti.co.uk
www.srishti.co.uk
 About us
SRISHTI - Nina Rajarani Dance Creations
SRISHTI – Nina Rajarani Dance Creations is in an exciting era of international
profile, following Nina’s hugely successful win of the Place Prize 2006,
Europe’s largest choreographic competition sponsored by Bloomberg. The
London-based company tours both nationally in the UK and internationally.
SRISHTI strives to maintain the authenticity of Indian classical dance and
music whilst presenting these forms in fresh and innovative ways.
Led by energetic and critically acclaimed choreographer, Nina Rajarani, the
company has gone steadily from strength to strength and climbed
commendable new heights. Nina Rajarani is renowned for challenging
boundaries with her company and for her unique style of choreography.
Srishti has toured several productions nationally in the UK and internationally
in India and Europe – Bend it….Aerial (2008), Play Ball (2008), Quiet, Please!
(2007), QUICK! (2006/7), Mirage (2006), Women Are From Venus… (2005),
Equilibrium (2004), She (2003), Vaachikam (2002), Santripti (1998),
Independence (1997/8), Hidden Forces (1996/7), Utsav (1995), Golden
Chains (1994), Meetings (1992/3).
The company also has a strong commitment to both school and community
based education work, linked to tours and performances, and makes the
provision of training opportunities a priority.
SRISHTI’s production PLAY BALL that toured in 2008 is a dynamic triple bill
with live music that includes The Place Prize piece, QUICK! Due to popular
demand, this piece, in its original winning format, continues to tour worldwide.
In Summer 2008, Srishti created an aerial version of Bend It… one of the
triple bill pieces from Play Ball. This was commissioned by Greenwich and
Docklands International Festivals and Stockton International Riverside
Festival.
 The show
My Stamping Ground is a fresh take on a classic story. Be it Shakespeare's
Romeo and Juliet, Broadway’s West Side Story or Bollywood's Josh, the
tension of forbidden love has always caused thrill and heartbreak throughout
the ages. My Stamping Ground is the story of a torrid love affair amidst
feuding gangs. This South Asian dance show explores fighting forces that
seem impossible to conquer. Get ready for an innovative dance battle
between the classical and the contemporary!
This show features choreography by Nina Rajarani whilst live music is created
by composer and vocalist Y Yadavan who provides a magnetic score in
collaboration with a rap artist SujeetG. Using a male-dominated cast, this
show tackles the issue of gangs in the UK whilst celebrating the friendship
and solidarity shared by groups of lads, often misconstrued as gangs
 Technical Requirements
My Stamping Ground is a dance piece for 5 dancers and 4 musicians, with
live music throughout. The show is 50 minutes long and doesn’t have an
interval. The Srishti technical manager will operate the show, but will need
assistance during the get-in, performance and get-out.
STAGING


10m x 10m playing area
Grey dance floor
Please discuss with us if your space is smaller or if you have a black dance
floor instead as we can often accommodate this.
LIGHTING
A lighting plan will be provided in advance.
Lighting is to be pre-rigged by the venue.
The technician will run the lighting from a laptop via the Horizon System, and
will need a DMX connection.
SOUND
There are 4 musicians, and they are mobile during the show. All will require
clip on radio mics which Srishti will provide.
The sound requirements are:
 A good quality reverb unit
 Mini Disc player
 CD player
 4 x stage monitors, 2 SR, and 2 SL
OTHER INFORMATION
The backstage requirements are:
 2 clean, well-ventilated/heated large dressing rooms or 3 smaller ones
for exclusive use by the company with lights, mirrors, wash basins and
access to toilets/showers to accommodate 8 male and 1 female artists
 2 irons and ironing boards
 Tea/coffee making facilities and still drinking water throughout the
Company’s visit
TECHNICAL MANAGER: Stuart Walton / Tel: 00 44 7768 224616
stuartwalton@yahoo.com
 Education work
WORKSHOP DETAILS:
Introductory Dance Workshops
This is ideal for groups with no prior experience of dance. It introduces
participants to the dance form, providing a taster session in Bharatanatyam.
Introductory Music Workshops
This involves working with a vocalist and during our touring periods also a
percussionist and a practitioner of a melodic instrument such as the violin or
flute. Vocal and rhythmic exercises are taught. Where the group had access
to its own instruments, these are also incorporated into the workshops.
Choreography Workshop
This is for the more experienced group that has had some prior or regular
dance activity, although not necessarily in Bharatanatyam. The technique is
taught and the group is guided through choreographic tasks using the material
learnt in the workshop to create their own work.
Combined Music and Dance Workshops
Here, either the one group splits its time between both music and dance, or
two groups work separately on each aspect and come together towards the
end of the session. The aim of this workshop is to create music specifically for
the dance sequences or vice versa.
The Combined workshop is a Full Day and requires at least two tutors.
The workshops are available in either 2, 4 or 6 hour slots, or as a longer
residency and they are suitable for any age group. Our dancers lead our
workshops and are heavily involved in Srishti’s creative processes which
makes them perfect to tailor the workshop to the needs of your group.
Curtain Raisers
Whilst touring, we also offer the opportunity for students to provide a curtain
raiser performance before our shows. For these you will need to book a full
day workshop before the show and be able to arrive at the venue from 5pm on
the evening of the show. To discuss this option in more details please contact
us.
To book a workshop or for fees please call Esther Field on 020 8868 7746 or
email info@srishti.co.uk
 The team
Nina Rajarani – Artistic Director, Choreographer and Dancer
Nina Rajarani carried out her Bharatanatyam training under Prakash
Yadagudde at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan’s London branch, during which time
she also had additional training with Chitra Visweswaran of Chennai, India,
during her visits to London. Nina was awarded Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan’s
Diploma in Bharatanatyam in 1986, and in 1987 she staged her Arangetram
under her guru Prakash Yadagudde. Since 1988 Nina has received training
regularly in Chennai under Shanta and VP Dhananjayan. In 1989, the Arts
Council of England in conjunction with ADiTi (the national organisation for
South Asian Dance in the UK) awarded Nina a scholarship to undergo an
intensive training period with the Dhananjayans in Chennai. Nina’s dance
style today is unique in its assimilation of the best qualities from each of the
different traditions followed by the gurus with whom she has trained. Nina has
also received Karnatic music vocal training under Sivasakti Sivanesan at
Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan’s London branch, and under Karpagam
Balasubramanian in Chennai.
As a performer, Nina has toured extensively within the UK, in several other
European countries, in India, Singapore, Malaysia and Australia.
In September 2006, Nina won the Place Prize, Europe’s largest choreographic
competition sponsored by Bloomberg. Out of 204 entries by choreographers,
Nina was one of the chosen twenty commissioned to create a new dance
piece. Her piece QUICK! won the competition with raving comments from the
judges and the press. The winning piece was incorporated in Nina’s work
Quiet, Please! that toured nationally and internationally from February 2007.
QUICK! toured again in Spring 2008 as part of the triple bill of Play Ball.
Nina has earned herself an admirable reputation as a teacher and has to her
credit, a thriving school of dance based at the Harrow Arts Centre in
Middlesex, since 1991. Her students pride themselves upon the high
standard of dancing they aim to achieve.
In recent years, Nina Rajarani has been closely involved with a committee of
dance teachers that has devised a syllabus for Bharatanatyam with graded
examinations. These examinations are being conducted by the Imperial
Society of Teachers of Dancing (ISTD) that runs examinations worldwide for
various different dance styles including Ballet, Tap and so on. Nina is
currently the secretary of the South Asian Dance Faculty of the ISTD and is
also a Bharatanatyam examiner for the ISTD.
Nina Rajarani is currently an Associate Artist of Akademi.
Y Yadavan – Composer and Vocalist
Y Yadavan trained from a very young age in Sri Lanka and later in India under
the renowned Sangeetha Kalanidhi B Rajam Iyer in Chennai. A holder of a
BA in Indian Music (Madras University) and a diploma holder from the Music
Academy (Chennai), Yadavan also won the GNB Memorial Award for “The
Best Male Vocalist” in the 1999 Music Academy annual competitions, and
broke records by being awarded as many as nine prizes in the same year.
Since April 2002, Yadavan has been collaborating with UK based dancer Nina
Rajarani, touring internationally with SRISHTI - Nina Rajarani Dance
Creations. In recent years, he has also composed all the music scores for
SRISHTI. In September 2006, Nina Rajarani’s piece QUICK! was the winner
of Europe’s largest choreographic competition, the Place Prize 2006,
sponsored by Bloomberg. Yadavan composed the music for this piece as well
as directed and performed in the musical team of this winning company.
Y Yadavan is a most sought after vocalist and has provided vocal
accompaniment for many dance performances and Arangetrams all over the
world. He performs on a regular basis in the UK, Switzerland, Australia, New
Zealand, Sri Lanka, India and Canada. In addition to this, he teaches
Karnatic vocal music at Srishti’s Dance School as well as independently.
Apart from teaching music students, Yadavan is well acquainted in teaching
the music component of the Bharatanatyam syllabus of the Imperial Society of
Teachers of Dancing (ISTD). He has also sung for the ISTD’s Bharatanatyam
audio resource for teachers.
Stuart Walton - Technical Manager
Since becoming freelance in 1995, Stuart has worked as a Production
Manager, Lighting Designer, and Music Composer for, amongst others,
Brouhaha, Snap Theatre, Angika, The Young Shakespeare Company,
DreamThinkSpeak, and the European Chamber Opera. He has also toured
the US with the London City Opera and has worked as the Technical Manager
of the Paul Robeson Theatre in Hounslow, Middlesex. Stuart has been
touring with SRISHTI since 1997.
 Tour Dates
In 2009 SRISHTI is touring in the UK with My Stamping Ground to:
5th February The Rose, Ormskirk
12th February The Hawth Studio, Crawley
14th February Square Chapel, Halifax
27th February Harrow Arts Centre
28th February Prema, Uley
5th March Arc, Stockton
12th March Rotherham Arts Centre
13th March Swindon Dance
17th March Adam Smith Theatre, Fife
20th March The Barbican, Plymouth
30th March The Carriageworks, Leeds
In June 2008 Bend it…aerial was commissioned by Greenwich and
Docklands International Festivals
Dancing City, Canary Wharf, London, UK
In May / June 2008 QUICK! was performed at:
Streets Ahead Festival in Liverpool
Fuse Medway Festival in Rochester.
In 2008 SRISHTI toured in the UK with Play Ball to:
The Traverse, Edinburgh
The Clocktower, Croydon
The Maltings, St Albans
The Corn Exchange, Dorchester
Middlesbrough Theatre
Harrow Arts Centre, London
Adam Smith Theatre, Kirkcaldy
The Theatre, Chipping Norton
New Theatre Royal, Portsmouth
Swindon Dance
Duckie, London
The Drum, Birmingham
The Ustinov, Theatre Royal, Bath
The Flavel, Dartmouth
The Place, London
Contact Theatre, Manchester
Arts Depot, London
Gulbenkian Theatre, Canterbury
Greenford Assembley Hall, Middlesex
The Riverside Theatre, Hull
In November 2007 The Royal Opera House’s “Firsts at the Linbury”,
presented QUICK!
Linbury Theatre,The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London, UK
In October 2007 Orange County Performing Arts Center, The Center’s
Fall for Dance, Orange County, California, USA, presented Quick!
Orange County Performing Arts Center, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa,
California, USA
In October 2007 New York City Center, Fall for Dance Festival, New York,
USA, presented Quick!
New York City Center, 130 West 56th Street , New York, USA
In Summer 2007 Xtrax, UK, presented an outdoor adaptation of Quick!
Piccadilly Gardens, Manchester
In Summer 2007 Greenwich and Docklands Festivals, UK, presented
outdoor adaptations of Quick! at the following festivals:
‘Dancing City’, Canary Wharf, London
‘Without Walls’, Winchester Hat Fair
‘Without Walls’, Stockton International Riverside Festival
Trafalgar Square Festival, London
In June 2007 SRISHTI performed Quiet, Please! in Portugal for:
‘State of the World’, promoted by Fundacao Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisbon .
In Spring 2007 SRISHTI toured in the UK with Quiet, Please! to:
The Playbox Theatre, Warwick
Trestle Arts Base, St Albans
Alsagar Arts Centre
Ludlow Assembly Rooms
Dance City, Newcastle
South Street Arts Centre, Reading
Square Chapel Centre for Arts, Halifax
Harrow Arts Centre, Middlesex
Bridgwater Arts Centre
Arc Theatre, Stockton
The Electric Theatre, Guildford
The Place, London
Taliesin Arts Centre, Swansea
Hextable Dance
 Press Quotes
“The highlight of Chemistry was the deeply moving vocal accompaniment,
composed and sung faultlessly by Y Yadavan…Quick!, a riot of perfect
synchronisation” (The Independent, April 2008)
“A truly thrilling and emotional edge.” (The Stage, February 2008)
“There’s no doubt in my mind who deserves the big prize. Nina Rajarani, who
runs her own company Srishti, is competing with Quick!, a terrific piece for
four men in shirts and ties who strut about like peacocks in the workplace.
Written in the highly rhythmic style of bharata natyam (and abetted by four
onstage musicians), its stamping percussive energies and mimetic animation
are filled with frantic testosterone vanity and the high-powered stress of the
modern businessman. Rajarani’s take on classical Indian dance is
invigorating.” (Times, September 2006 )
“Quick! by Nina Rajarani, performed at stunning speed by four male
Bharatanatyam dancers in suits and ties, shows the strains and pressures of
the business day. To a deafening torrent of tabla-runs, Rajarani throws in
faster and faster routines. The pace is insane, but the classical precision of
the dancing never falters.” (Observer, September 2006)
“The nicest surprise is Nina Rajarani's Quick!, in which four guys in city
clothes dance the most testosterone-infused bharatanatyam I have seen.
Rajarani's conceit is to link the speed and glitter of the Indian dance to the
frenetic pace of modern life. Yet by splicing the dancing with laddish grooming
rituals and an uneasy joshing, she also evokes something touching and
vulnerable about the men themselves.” (Guardian, September 2006)
“East meets West: The energetic burst of Nina Rajarani’s Quick! makes it a
worthy finalist of the 2006 Place Prize.” (Metro London, September 2006)
“You can’t help but gaze at Nina Rajarani, she has a dedicated look in her eye
and an effervescent nature…this is a very emotive piece as she flirts with the
special lighting and we are arrested by the verve and joy that suffuse every
moment of Rajarani’s choreography… This is an entertainment of artistry
and coordination with excellent body control. (Dance Expression, May 2006)
“It was a very impressive performance. The final memory I’ll take away from
this night of energy, passion and conflict is the telling sound of feet landing on
the floor, cracking like gunshots.” (www.bbc.co.uk, February 2006)
 Audience Feedback
An extremely inspirational show, very accessible, amazing choreography,
wonderful music, brilliant ideas. Simply breathtaking. (Valentina Grechhi April
2008)
My husband and I felt exhausted just watching this performance. It was
brilliant, exciting and had a very clever use of multi-media (Anonymous, March
08)
I found this production accessible, fantastic dancing and choreography. I like
the use of media, the live music and the involvement of the musicians in the
piece. Great! (Pilar Sanchez, April 2007)
The dancers were incredible and the musicians brilliant, especially the
vocalist. I’d go and see it again tonight with as many of my friends that I could
muster if it was possible! (Nigel Haworth, April 2007)
Visually and emotionally exciting – a feast. (Anonymous, November 2006)
Beautiful and mesmerizing. Wanted to see more. (Alice Rowlands,
November 2006)
Completely spellbounding – breathtaking and dynamic – enchanting.
(Christine Nionty, November 2006)
The performance was beyond words of praise for me. Well choreographed,
each dancer was wonderful. The musicians were amazing. The singer
Yadavan deserves special mention as his voice mesmerized the whole stage.
(Mrs Devipriya, October 2006)
I loved the use of hands, eyes and facial expression, the vitality and power in
the dancers’ movements and I found I could not take my attention from them
for a second. (Clare and Paul Sheridan, April 2006)
I’ve never seen Indian Classical Dance before and was overwhelmed by the
performance last night – so much energy and clearly so well practised so as
to master everything to perfection. I will certainly go and see Indian Classical
dancing again, if I get the chance. (James R Wood, April 2006)
What a talented set of dancers! (Parvati Rajamani, March 2006)
The musicians were top class and the high quality and enthusiasm of all
participants captivated the audience. (Anonymous, March 2006)