Sonia Sabri Company’s innovative and inspiring Kathakbox comes to Guildford
Friday 7 October 2011
Kathakbox is an innovative new stage production from one of the UK’s most exciting and dynamic dance companies. Sonia Sabri Company bring together the Indian classical dance form, Kathak, and the universal culture of Hip Hop to celebrate the unique, diverse energy of modern Britain through Urban Kathak, performing at the University of Surrey’s new Ivy Arts Centre on Wednesday 26 October.
Featuring Sonia Sabri performing alongside three dancers including b-boy Nathan Geering, internationally recognised tabla maestro Sarvar Sabri, acclaimed spoken word artist & vocalist Marcina Arnold and beatboxer Shan Bansil, Kathakbox is one of the must-see new creative highlights of 2011.
Kathakbox creates conversations between the grace and vigour of Kathak and the complex rhythms and rhymes of Hip Hop culture. These apparently different art forms are often thought of within separate ‘boxes’ for different audiences and cultures, but what lies ‘outside the box’? Drawing on urban trends and global roots, a company of technically diverse, brilliant dancers and musicians find out, breaking into a new creative arena never experienced before. They create Urban Kathak through collaboration between Street, Contemporary and Indian dance, beatboxing, spoken word and tabla vox rhythms. Kathakbox encourages us to ‘think outside the box’ and reflects the diverse, intersecting rhythms of the human experience.
Kathakbox’s artistic journey began at Choreodrome, a scheme run by one of the UK’s leading contemporary dance venues, The Place, with mentoring support from esteemed choreographer Richard Alston. Sonia Sabri Company also received a special invitation to perform an early extract of Kathakbox at The Place’s 40th anniversary celebrations and it went on to be selected for the Decibel Performing Arts Showcase 2009, a festival profiling UK’s high quality diverse performance arts.
Kathakbox is being performed on Wednesday 26 October, 7:30pm at The Ivy Arts Centre, on the University of Surrey’s Stag Hill Campus. Tickets are £12 full price, £10 senior citizens and £7 students. To book online and for further event and venue information visit www.surrey.ac.uk/arts/dance. Tickets are also available by telephone between 9am - 7pm Monday to Friday on 01483 686876, or from the box office at Senate House Reception on the University of Surrey’s Stag Hill Campus.
Media Enquiries
Peter La, Press Office at the University of Surrey, Tel: +44 (0)1483 689191, or Email mediarelations@surrey.ac.uk
