Indian Dance Society
The Indian Dance Society was founded in 1993 by Shahed Murad, who led the group as the artistic director. Shahed’s creative inspirations in dance are drawn from Fractal Geometry and the works of Ulysses Dove and Trisha Brown. The core team of choreographers and dancers of the Indian Dance Society comprises of Rumana Omar, Rohini Kumar and Sheila Styles. One of the principal aims of the Society is to create a new dance vocabulary which matches the need of a culturally diverse community. It defines dance as a conscious movement of energy in Space. The Indian Dance Society works with Bharatanatyam, Ballet and Contemporary dancers and choreographers and has performed in the UK, USA, India and Bangladesh and in national and international festivals. It has offered classes in Bharatanatyam, Kathak and Ballet, producing dancers who have taken up dance as their profession. The Society received funding from the National Lottery through the Arts Council of England to present an innovative dance platform Rejects It also organised the Crossover Dance Workshop, conducted by Padmashri Chitra Visweswaran and Padmashri Kumudini Lakhia. The Indian Dance Society is closely associated with Vipanchee from Chennai and has performed with Vipanchee at the 2009 Chennai Dance and Music Festival.
Key Performances of the Indian Dance Society
| 2009 | Bharatanatyam |
| 2009 | Wander where you will…. Dance performance at Jacksons Theatre, London |
| 2006 | Bharatanatyam Performance, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Bangalore and Mysore |
| 2005 | Bharatanatyam Performance, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, London |
| 2001 | Vishnu, Recurrence and Untitled, Joyce Soho, New York |
| 2000 | Vishnu, The Call of the Flute, Recurrence and Untitled National Museum, Dhaka, Bangladesh. |
| 1999 | Recurrence, Resolution ‘99. The Place Theatre, London.
Video screening (Extracts) of ‘Recurrence’ at ‘Minds, Machines and Electronic Cultures’as part of 7th Biennale of Arts and Technology at Connecticut College. New London, USA. |
| 1998 | Recurrence, winner of the Sadlers Wells Jake Ulrich Bursary, performed at Mosaics
Recurrence, Laptop Dance Platform. The Y-Theatre, Leicester. Recurrence, Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Continental Shifts at St. Brides Vishnu and Being and Bondage. Mosaics 98. Festival of Contemporary Dance, Sadler’s Wells. A Chaotic Trip, New Hybrids Festival, presented by The British Association of Choreographers. Jacksons Lane Dance Base, London. |
| 1997 | Being and Bondage, Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Continental Shifts at St. Brides Theatre, Edinburgh.
Being and Bondage, Resolution, The Place Theatre |
| 1996 | Being and Bondage, Mosaics 96, Festival of Contemporary Dance, Sadlers Wells, London
Dance Variations, Bloomsbury Theatre, London Dance Performance at Venezuelan Embassy, London |
| 1995 | Three Graces, Lillian Baylis Theatre, Sadkers Wells
The Call of the Flute, Lillian Baylis Theatre, Sadkers Wells |
| 1994 | The Call of the Flute, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, London |
| 1993 | Dance Workshop with Fine Artists, Mall Galleries, London
The Call of the Flute, Room 101, University of London Union |
