News

Seeta is very excited to be collaborating with the amazing Gandini Juggling, creating a spectacular new cross art-form production.

Entitled Sigma this beautiful new show celebrates the dialogue between the worlds of juggling, percussion and dance. Performed by a virtuosic cast including the award winning Choreographer Seeta Patel, the piece showcases exuberant rhythms, patterns and colours, at the heart of which is a unique interpretation of the classical South Indian dance form, Bharatanatyam.

"Inspired collaboration, clever choreography and captivating performance" - Dance Pad, #imaginewatford

Seeta Patel collaborates with Gandini Juggling

Seeta was invited to speak at three exciting events this Spring: The BENCH Event, Navadisha 2016 and [Frame] The London Dance Film Festival

The BENCH Event

2Faced Dance Company presented the first ever BENCH Event, in partnership with IDFB 2016. The event reflected on the achievements of 2Faced Dance’s BENCH programme over the last 9 months and included debate and conversation surrounding the issue of gender disparity for female choreographers working in the UK’s contemporary dance sector. The event featured inspirational speakers, presentations from the current five BENCH Fellows and a debating panel of industry experts.

The BENCH Event

Navadisha 2016

Produced by New Dimensions Arts Management in partnership with Sampad Arts, the three day conference posed questions that were crucial for South Asian dance today, as it celebrates breakthrough achievements and exciting developments in and around the sector during the fifteen years since Navadisha 2000. Navadisha 2016 fired up debate about the state and status of South Asian dance in Britain’s cultural cosmos, and the changing nature of its dance audiences; it also uncovered new talent, new models of excellence and new ways of working with dance in all its many avatars.

Navadisha 2016

[Frame]

FRAME: The London Dance Film Festival took place from 09 to 12 June 2016 offering an opportunity for creative talent in the arts, dance and film worlds to share experience, show work, learn from other artists and enjoy the best that dance and dance film offers.

[Frame]

Seeta is really looking forward to working as the choreographer for a new theatre play at Theatre Royal Stratford East next month.

Uma is the leader of the Hijra clan and is desperate to protect her house and preserve their ancient traditions. When Dev arrives, Uma sees a chance to erase the sins of the past and ensure the clan's survival. But will Uma's act of charity destroy the clan as Dev tries to fulfill a destiny no one expected? With traditional Indian music and dance, the modern world meets mystical India in this intriguing story exploring the sacrifices people are willing to make to forgive themselves and be seen.

Written by Sevan Greene and directed by TRSE associate director Pooja Ghai, Seeta will form part of an exciting creative team.

See more at:
The House of In Between

This year sees Seeta in the privileged position of being able to work more and more with young dancers, nurturing, mentoring and supporting them with the benefit of her experience and the generosity that she has experienced through her teachers over many years.

Here is Lakshmi Ranjan, one of the talented South Asian Category finalists for the BBC Young Dancer Competition talking about her work with Seeta:

"Having had some technical intensives with Seeta, it can be clear to say that I am now a changed dancer. I was able to view and practice Bharatanatyam from a completely different angle in every step that was explored. I gained the most from the short technical patterns that were choreographed to different rhythmical gaits. Here, Seeta really went through the dynamics and characterisation of each step from head to toe, as well as the various ways of keeping the audience on edge with expecting the unexpected. It was definitely challenging to learn the technical patterns because they were very different to the conventional patterns that I was used to. So, in that aspect Seeta really helped me develop the ability to not stick to boundaries and be free yet controlled with the movement. All in all, I can be sure to say that every class pushed me to my limits and most of all made realise how the dimensions to Bharatanatyam are quite simply limitless."