SADA Programme

New, Exceptional and Distinctive

The South Asian Dance Academy is working with seven dance trainees, professional and students, across Northern Ireland, offering training and facilitation skills for further delivery of Kathak workshops and classes across Northern

Ireland. These dancers are from different backgrounds, hailing from India, Sri-Lanka, America, Iran and Northern Ireland.

Aims of the Programme

• To teach a number of professionals about the history, heritage and form of classical Kathak dancing.
• To engage with children and young people and educate them as to the meaning and practices of Kathak and Indian myths and legend.
• To utilize dance as a tool for highlighting issues around race, ethnicity and acceptance within the community.
• To host a number of live performances, where project participants can showcase their newly acquired skills. 

 

Artistic Development

The South Asian Dance Academy programme has brought trainers and professionals from the Foundation of Indian Performing Arts, London to Northern Ireland to train and work with our dancers.

An artist in residency programme was also piloted during the summer of 2010, saw a professional Indian dancer from Mumbai come to Belfast to train South Asian Dance Academy over a three week period.

We strive to engage our artists in continual professional development, offering training opportunities in dance, facilitation, strategy and sustainability training across the board.

Benefits for Participants

The program benefits schools, groups or organisations by bringing highly experienced artists to teach this historic dance form to members of the public. Through the medium of dance and ‘storytelling’ participants will learn and experience an understanding of the culture of South Asia. The program is flexible and can be tailored to cater for individual’s needs.

The trainers of the South Asian Dance Academy also benefit with opportunities for training and development.