Monday 3 April 2023

Job Vacancies

Job Vacancies at Sonia Sabri Company

 

Sonia Sabri Company is entering an exciting phase and looking for exceptional talents to join the team. See job opportunities below:

  • Indian music teacher and performing artist
  • Early carrier Indian classical dance artist
  • Digital communication personnel

For details & application pack please contact info@ssco.org.uk

Friday 18 November 2022

‘Sharing The Light’ - Making my professional debut by Ella Stanton-Warren


‘Sharing The Light’ was my first professional dance job and one that would bring me back to Birmingham, a city which holds many established dance memories. Originally from Ludlow in Shropshire, Birmingham was the place that ignited my passion for dance and the possibility to pursue it as a career. When training on the CAT scheme I was introduced to many different dance forms and ways of creating dance, including collaborating with dancers training in Kathak and Bharatnatyam, which at the time built my initial awareness of the breadth of dance. It would be five years on from that initial training, now as a graduate dancer, that I would step back into the studio with Sonia as choreographer and director.


I walked into the Hippodrome building for our first company rehearsal and if I was being completely honest, I was nervous and apprehensive but equally excited and ready to jump into the creative space. We spent the first day establishing what we needed to know about the project and planning initial ideas for the schools and communities' choreography. By the end of the day, I knew that I would be collaborating with some very experienced people and therefore wanted to be as much of a ‘sponge’ as possible throughout the process.


Photo by Ciara Clayton


This project saw myself and the other dancers: Helen, Selene and Aakanksha also delivering workshops in schools and with community groups. I worked with Helen in the first week at Harborne Academy to create a section of choreography related to the themes of ‘offering’ and ‘receiving’. Additionally, myself, Helen and Selene all went to Montgomery Primary School to deliver a workshop with their Year 4 class, inspired by Kathak gestures for animals where the students discovered new ways of moving and telling a story through their bodies. The beauty of working across different schools and year groups is that no one experience is the same and although we had clear themes and ideas, it would always be the students that brought the dance alive through their interpretation of the movement.


The second half of the week was spent rehearsing and creating the choreography for the final performance days. I absolutely embraced learning new ways of moving and collaborating with everyone and Sonia always maintained the highest creative vision throughout. The process also came with the test of being adaptable, as we knew that we would only have the opportunity to rehearse with the Dundu Puppet’s on the day of the performance. When it came down to the many logistical changes and practicalities of performing in public spaces, I felt very grateful for the intensive rehearsal period. Without having the movement fully embodied, the challenges would have forced me to make errors. However, we had Sonia talking us through our performance via an ‘in-ear’, which was the calm guidance I needed amongst the potential chaos of crowds and transitioning through The Bullring Shopping Centre both indoors on the Friday and outside on the Saturday.


Photo by Ciara Clayton


I can't thank everyone enough who was involved in this project, from our Stage Manager Rosie, to the Security Team as part of The Hippodrome, I felt the passion for delivering exceptional experiences to the people of Birmingham.


What an exceptional experience it was, one that undoubtedly will stay with me forever.

Thursday 10 November 2022

'Sharing The Light' - Experience by Selene Travaglia


It was around mid-September when I was flying back from my holidays and as soon as I landed, I received an email from the company. I was invited to be part of the cast for a ‘last minute’ project titled Sharing The Light. The project was due to start in a week and the only things I had clear in my mind was that it would have been a large-scale outdoor production in collaboration with another company from Germany with a huge puppet. That meant new project, new performing scenario, new collaborations and colleagues: it sounded very exciting.

When the rehearsals process started, I felt very refreshed: I knew just one of the other dancers from a previous production, Aakanksha. The other two colleagues were new to me, and we suddenly established a very nice working collaboration where we were helping and inspiring each other day by day. There were a lot of laughing moments which helped to ease the physical fatigue and that made the process even more exciting.

Photo by Ciara Clayton

Physically, it was very tiring. We were dancing a traditional folk south Asian dance style combined with elements of contemporary dance and everything was very fast and jumped. Moreover, due to the nature of the show, a large-scale outdoor performance, our dance needed to be very powerful and most of the time we were dancing in unison. This required a lot of concentration and maintaining a high level of energy throughout the piece. We also had to keep reminding ourselves that in the actual performance we would have dance with shoes, outside on a normal floor, without any help from the usual dance floor that we all love when we jump and hop.

It was challenging to figure out in my mind the structure of the whole show because we didn’t have a clear idea of what would have happened on the day, due to the wheatear forecast, the multiple collaborations with the Dundu company, the musicians, the community cast and the crowd. We almost met all of these people just on the day of the performance and it was hard to imagine the final result during the rehearsals process.

Working with Sonia is very inspiring. She is a perfectionist, and she has the power of giving you the security that everything is under control despite all the uncertainties of the case. She’s able to always show you the beauty of our job, no matter all the difficulties and issues she/we encounter during the process.  I love when in the middle of a stressing moment she repeats smiling, ’everything is going to be ok, in the meantime just breathe!’ 😊 

    

             Ritual Lift Selfie


    Costume Fitting                    



Photo by Ciara Clayton

The days of the shows were very full and overwhelming. We met all the people collaborating with us on stage and behind the scenes, we checked the performing space and we had to memorize different performance scenarios depending on how the weather was at the last minute. For security and practical reasons, we decided to use the in-ear connection during the performance. That means we could be in constant connection with Sonia, who could give us instructions as well as guiding us throughout the performance. That was something very new to me which, on one hand, was rescuing me and on the other hand was worrying me because I never used it before and I wasn’t sure whether it would have deconcentrated me from the performance. The first day, we performed indoor, and as soon as Sonia gave me her first instruction through the in-ear, I went totally wrong immediately after applying what she just had asked me to do. I knew it was going to happen!! The adrenaline probably played an important role during that first moments, but after that everything went well and having the voice of Sonia was like having a secure mom’s voice that guides you.

The second day was epic. We performed outdoor, the costumes and the puppet shined as stars, the crowd was so excited and sending us so much energy that I didn’t even feel tired for one second.  It was really emotional to see how dance and music, art in general, have the potential to gather hundreds of people together and bring happiness and hope. It was a real celebration with a lot of joy and light. As a group, despite all the adrenaline, tension and crowed situation, we always found moments of laughing and joking, which made the experience even more enjoyable and relaxing. 

Photo by BBC News

It was very touching to see how each member of the company was giving 120% of themselves to help the group and to make sure that we all could have the best show ever both during the creative process and the performance days. I firmly believe that is what makes the difference between someone that just does their job and someone that really loves what they do. And this is the power of this amazing and inspiring Sonia Sabri Company family.                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

                                                                                                        Photo by Ciara Clayton


Monday 17 October 2022


 Sharing the Light – Welcome Diwali


We are delighted to be a part of Sharing the Light - Welcome Diwali in partnership with Birmingham Hippodrome + Bullring & Grand Central.  This is a large-scale FREE outdoor participatory performance event taking place across Friday 21 and Saturday 22 October at Bullring & Grand Central, co-produced by Sonia Sabri Company and German Puppeteers Dundu – The Giants of Light.


From dusk (6.30pm) Birmingham will burst into life to welcome Diwali with a festival of light. Featuring breathtaking puppets by Dundu, dhol drummers and dance performances by Sonia Sabri Company.


The dance processions will involve a wonderful group of community dancers led by four fantastic dance artists:


The four dancers taking part in Sharing the Light are:


Aakanksha Rawat is originally from India and has a degree in Business Marketing. She pursued her passion for dance and has been working with Sonia Sabri Company for five years. Aakanksha is a part of Sonia Sabri Company's teaching faculty. She also leads dance workshops in community settings, for children and adults and has also lead workshops for National Youth Ballet School. 

She performs regularly with Kathakaaars alongside organising and leading Kathakaars sessions. She started touring for “Same Same But Different” in 2019 and toured the show in 2021 and 2022. 

She has also performed in the opening ceremony of the Birmingham Commonwealth Games and has recently performed in the company’s new production, “Mughal Miniatures Preview” in 2022.


Selene Travaglia is a London-based dance artist born in Trento, Italy. She started her professional studies in Milan and then she continued her journey at Trinity Laban in London. She graduated in 2016 with a first class degree and in 2017 with a MA in Dance Performance. Selene was a company member of Transitions Dance Company in London for the season 2016/17 and she now works  and tours nationally and internationally as a freelance dance artist with Wriggle Dance Theatre, Fuora Dance Project, Jess Murray Dance, Baejjahn Dance Company, Keneish Dance, A Truefitt Collective, Sonia Sabri Company and other choreographers in Europe. Selene was cast as one of the main characters of the experimental film ‘Prisoners of the Body’ in Munich directed by Elisa Nadal which has been selected as one of the four finalist films in the "National / International Experimental Film" category at the Student Oscars ® 2020 in Los Angeles. 

Selene also performed and toured interdisciplinary works by the research oriented artist and writer Monika Jaeckel in 2020 and the poet Adam Kammerling in 2022.



Helen Calcutt is known for her dynamism and versatility as a poet, performer, choreographer, and dance artist. With a strong background in theatre, Helen is trained in Cuban rhythms, Contemporary dance, and commercial (hip-hop), and works with specialisms in the intersections between text, voice and movement.  Her artistic work is wide ranging, from live television, to professional dance work, choreographic commissions, and community teaching. She has shared her practice, collaborated, and toured with the Birmingham Royal Ballet, The REP, Midland’s Actors Theatre, Fabric (DanceXchange) Autin Dance Theatre, Birmingham 2022, and Sonia Sabri Company. She was awarded a DYCP from Arts Council England to expand on her interdisciplinary practice in poetry and dance in April 2021, with further research supported by One Dance U.K. She was nominated for a Women in Dance Award with AWA Dance, 2020. Helen is the author of three volumes of poetry. Her latest collection, ‘Somehow’ (Verve Poetry Press, 2020) was a PBS Winter Bulletin Pamphlet, and a Poetry School Book of the Year. She was one of the six poets selected to write and perform for the opening ceremony



Ella May is a dance artist and facilitator from Ludlow, Shropshire and has recently completed her MA in Dance Performance with Mapdance at The University of Chichester. 


Ella has worked with and toured works by Kiera Martin, Sarah Golding, Robert Clark and James Cousins. 


Ella is really enjoying being back in the West Midlands as part of this project and looks forward to bringing joy through dance to the people of Birmingham.




 


Find out more about the event here:


https://www.bullring.co.uk/events/diwali


and make sure that you follow us on our social media channels for behind the scenes action!




Wednesday 28 September 2022

Sonia Sabri Company partner Greta Zabulyte - Filmmaker and Photographer

We have been lucky enough to work with Greta Zabulyte on several projects and she has been instrumental in photographing and filming the creation and performances of our new piece Mughal Miniatures Scene 1: The Awakening.  


She was able to capture the initial R&D phase as well as performances in iconic Birmingham locations such as the Botanical Gardens and Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery as well as live performances as part of Birmingham International Dance Festival and Birmingham Weekender.

Here Greta describes in her own words the experience of working with Sonia Sabri Company:




Wednesday 21 September 2022

 Future Dance Leaders Strategic Apprenticeship Programme 

Deadline extension


Mughal Miniatures Scene 1 : The Awakening at Birmingham Botanical Gardens by Greta Zabulyte


Apprentice Call Out


Are you a talented, young, Midlands based dancer or dance producer, working in South Asian dance traditions, looking for career enhancement, mentoring and creative collaboration opportunities? This could be the opportunity for you!


Artist-led dance and music organisation Sonia Sabri Company, supported by partners Birmingham Hippodrome and Black Country Dance Hub, is looking for 5 emerging dancers, and/or dance producers, that are Midlands based or are able to demonstrate a strong connection to the region, to undertake a bespoke 8-month Apprenticeship Programme.


This is a paid Apprentice Programme is for dance artists and producers from South Asian backgrounds and/or who specialise in South Asian dance forms. The programme offers real-world training opportunities at the heart of our touring company, in response to the marked lack of clear progression routes for dancers whose principal practice is in South Asian forms, in the wider dance sector.


The Apprentice Programme will run from October 2022 – May 2023 (flexible working; not full-time).



Outcomes


·        Develop your networks and career prospects

·        Enhance your collaborative skills, in particular creating artistic work in dialogue with other dance forms

·        Be inspired and more knowledgeable to pursue future work in a variety of contexts e.g., schools and education, outdoor touring, community work

·        Be more employable

·        See yourself as not just a dancer, but a dancer-deviser

·        Receive a £1,000 ‘no strings attached’ seed cash commission to create/produce a new piece of performance.


Criteria


·        You will be aged 21 years old or above, there is no upper age limit.

·        You will be working professionally as a dance artist or producer for a maximum of 5 years (doesn’t need to be consecutive or full time)

·        You will be interested in not just performance, but work that encompasses children and young people, and community based creative projects.

·        You will be interested in getting experience of a variety of roles in a touring dance company (education, administration, education, performance).

·        You will be interested in how your dance specialism can be brought into dialogue with other dance styles and artforms.

·        You will be disciplined, committed, and have good availability across the project period.

 

What will the Apprenticeship entail?


  • You will be allocated a key contact Mentor from Sonia Sabri Company’s core team.
  • Together you will establish a series of personal key enquiry questions you want to interrogate through the programme.
  • You will have 12 paid core days to shadow, explore and investigate your practice e.g. 4 rehearsal/studio shadowing days, 4 masterclasses days, 4 mentoring/networking days.
  • The key contact person will additionally meet with you (in-person or zoom) once a month to offer support, guidance, networking, and signposting.
  • You will also receive a series of 6 masterclasses with leading Midlands choreographers (working both in South Asian dance forms and, crucially, other forms) to further inspire your work.
  • You will take a leading role performing in/producing dance performance-based workshops as a touring team, for 10 diverse primary schools in Birmingham and the Black Country.
  • You will receive a £1,000 ‘no strings attached’ seed cash commission to create/produce a new piece of performance.
  • At the end of the programme in May 2023, apprentices and mentor organisations will come together over the course of a ‘Graduation Weekend’ to share commissions, have practical artistic dance workshops, evaluate, and reflect.

 

Fees


This is a paid Apprenticeship opportunity. In addition to your ‘no strings’ attached commission of £1,000, your time to undertake the Apprenticeship programme will be paid at £100 daily rate or £510 weekly rate.

How to Apply

Please send your CV, or portfolio, or examples of your work, alongside either:

  • A cover letter (max 2 A4 sides) OR
  • A video (max 5 mins - captured on your smartphone is fine) OR
  • A voice note (max 5 mins)

 The supporting cover letter/video/voice note should indicate clearly:

  • How you meet the criteria
  • Why you are motivated to be an Apprentice
  • Initial thoughts on what you’d hope to get out of the bespoke mentoring

Please let us know if you require this pack in large print or other accessible formats - we are very happy to help.


To informally discuss the project and opportunity before you apply, please reach out to Ciara Clayton, Programme Manager, to arrange a call: ciara@ssco.org.uk  


Please send all applications to info@ssco.org.uk with subject header ‘Future Dance Leaders Application’.


Due to the unprecedented recent events over the last ten days and the recent Bank Holiday we are extending our deadline to apply to Monday 26th September 2022.

Wednesday 7 September 2022


Future Dance Leaders Strategic Apprenticeship Programme


Mughal Miniatures Scene 1 : The Awakening at Birmingham Botanical Gardens by Greta Zabulyte


Apprentice Call Out


Are you a talented, young, Midlands based dancer or dance producer, working in South Asian dance traditions, looking for career enhancement, mentoring and creative collaboration opportunities? This could be the opportunity for you!


Artist-led dance and music organisation Sonia Sabri Company, supported by partners Birmingham Hippodrome and Black Country Dance Hub, is looking for 5 emerging dancers, and/or dance producers, that are Midlands based or are able to demonstrate a strong connection to the region, to undertake a bespoke 8-month Apprenticeship Programme.


This is a paid Apprentice Programme is for dance artists and producers from South Asian backgrounds and/or who specialise in South Asian dance forms. The programme offers real-world training opportunities at the heart of our touring company, in response to the marked lack of clear progression routes for dancers whose principal practice is in South Asian forms, in the wider dance sector.


The Apprentice Programme will run from October 2022 – May 2023 (flexible working; not full-time).



Outcomes


·        Develop your networks and career prospects

·        Enhance your collaborative skills, in particular creating artistic work in dialogue with other dance forms

·        Be inspired and more knowledgeable to pursue future work in a variety of contexts e.g., schools and education, outdoor touring, community work

·        Be more employable

·        See yourself as not just a dancer, but a dancer-deviser

·        Receive a £1,000 ‘no strings attached’ seed cash commission to create/produce a new piece of performance.


Criteria


·        You will be aged 21 years old or above, there is no upper age limit.

·        You will be working professionally as a dance artist or producer for a maximum of 5 years (doesn’t need to be consecutive or full time)

·        You will be interested in not just performance, but work that encompasses children and young people, and community based creative projects.

·        You will be interested in getting experience of a variety of roles in a touring dance company (education, administration, education, performance).

·        You will be interested in how your dance specialism can be brought into dialogue with other dance styles and artforms.

·        You will be disciplined, committed, and have good availability across the project period.

 

What will the Apprenticeship entail?


  • You will be allocated a key contact Mentor from Sonia Sabri Company’s core team.
  • Together you will establish a series of personal key enquiry questions you want to interrogate through the programme.
  • You will have 12 paid core days to shadow, explore and investigate your practice e.g. 4 rehearsal/studio shadowing days, 4 masterclasses days, 4 mentoring/networking days.
  • The key contact person will additionally meet with you (in-person or zoom) once a month to offer support, guidance, networking, and signposting.
  • You will also receive a series of 6 masterclasses with leading Midlands choreographers (working both in South Asian dance forms and, crucially, other forms) to further inspire your work.
  • You will take a leading role performing in/producing dance performance-based workshops as a touring team, for 10 diverse primary schools in Birmingham and the Black Country.
  • You will receive a £1,000 ‘no strings attached’ seed cash commission to create/produce a new piece of performance.
  • At the end of the programme in May 2023, apprentices and mentor organisations will come together over the course of a ‘Graduation Weekend’ to share commissions, have practical artistic dance workshops, evaluate, and reflect.

 

Fees


This is a paid Apprenticeship opportunity. In addition to your ‘no strings’ attached commission of £1,000, your time to undertake the Apprenticeship programme will be paid at £100 daily rate or £510 weekly rate.

How to Apply

Please send your CV, or portfolio, or examples of your work, alongside either:

  • A cover letter (max 2 A4 sides) OR
  • A video (max 5 mins - captured on your smartphone is fine) OR
  • A voice note (max 5 mins)

 The supporting cover letter/video/voice note should indicate clearly:

  • How you meet the criteria
  • Why you are motivated to be an Apprentice
  • Initial thoughts on what you’d hope to get out of the bespoke mentoring

Please let us know if you require this pack in large print or other accessible formats - we are very happy to help.


To informally discuss the project and opportunity before you apply, please reach out to Ciara Clayton, Programme Manager, to arrange a call: ciara@ssco.org.uk  


Please send all applications to info@ssco.org.uk with subject header ‘Future Dance Leaders Application’.


Deadline Monday 26th September 2022.

 

 

Tuesday 24 May 2022

Kinga Malec


Find out how dancer Kinga Malec enjoyed the first week of R&D for our new project that will be taking place this year as part of Birmingham 2022 in the summer.
Thank you to Creative City for making this happen.
Keep watching this space for more details on this exciting project!





Tuesday 15 February 2022

 

IN REHEARSALS WITH "SAME SAME...BUT DIFFERENT"- DAVID EVANS



As the dance world begins to open up again, I’m so glad to be back in the studio rehearsing Sonia Sabri Company’s family show Same Same…But Different before we head out on tour. 

In rehearsals the body is worked, and this leaves me with a feeling of having put in a hard day’s work. 


I enjoy how dance, and this show in particular, with its movement, playfulness, and music, touches the many parts of my being, physically and emotionally.


As well as dancing, I am extending my repertoire by incorporating sections on my acoustic guitar. 


This is my first time playing the guitar to accompany dance and there is something very particular about dance and music performed together live and how they become a duet. 


I usually write music by myself, so it’s been a journey of discovery for me learning new ways of collaborating to help tell the story of these sections.   


The show is propelled by the idea of difference and belonging embodied in the phrase, “Same same… but different.” In the show, three friends playfully wrestle with their own difference and belonging. I was drawn to the project in part because of this idea. I was born in New Zealand, grew up in the US and Singapore, and moved to the UK 10 years ago. I became a British citizen five years ago. 

At the centre of my own immigrant experience has been this process of navigating difference and belonging. It’s been a process of discovery, but it has also been a process of frustration and contradictions. Moments that mark us out as different. It might be dress, accent, what you eat, what makes you laugh. Even when these differences are received positively, they are still seen as differences. However, these experiences of feeling different are not limited to me or the immigrant experience. It’s something we all experience at one time or another. The beautiful thing is that we have a choice to engage with our own and each other’s differences, embrace them, celebrate them, and at the same time see the many ways in which we are all the same.


Another theme I’ve been reflecting on in the piece is discovery, particularly in the context of a family show. I’ve been at home this week in between rehearsal weeks and spending time with my ten-month-old. He and I make lots of discoveries together. Things that have become very normal to me he helps me rediscover. During bath time, I dunk a cloth into the water, lift it out, and he watches the water pour out in a long stream. He tries to grab it like it’s solid and watches it break around his hand. He tries to stop the drip at its source, putting his hand on the cloth and then watching the water run down his arm. He looks at the water curiously and then looks back at me, sharing the discovery with me. It reminded me how there are things in the world that children are best suited to discover. 

Throughout the show, there are many discoveries that our characters have about the world, each other, and themselves. 

I am so looking forward to seeing how the audiences and children in particular react to the show and to hear their joy and laughter as the performance unfolds.


Co authors David Evans and Lisa Godsal

Wednesday 24 November 2021


 ON TOUR WITH "SAME SAME...BUT DIFFERENT"- KATIE ALBON


I joined the company in June 2021 to learn ‘Same Same…But Different’ ready for the Summer and Autumn tours. '

By the end of November, I will have performed the show a grand total of 42 times! 

It has been a busy time but there have been some unforgettable moments.

Touring for me is not just about the performing (which of course is a joy in itself); it’s about the communities we meet, the conversations with the families after the show, the meals shared with the company, the laughter in the van, the time exploring new places…I could go on and on!


 Performing a show aimed at children and their families has been a lot of fun. I love the instant reaction from the children; they smile, laugh and shout out what they think and feel. I feel very lucky to be able to bring joy to their days and to open up conversations for them about difference and why we should celebrate difference.

We have also been busy delivering workshops in primary schools and in some of the performance venues. 

I have loved leading the creative part of these sessions, taking the children through a task that allows them freedom to create their own movements and then share and perform to their classmates. 


A highlight for me was our day in Broadmayne organised by Arts Reach. We had two workshops that day, one with ‘Premix’, an inclusive performance company for 7 - 11 year-olds. We had a brilliant time exploring some of the props (like bells and a long red ribbon) and the different dance styles from the show through improvisation and play. As a key theme of the show is celebrating difference, I think it’s really important that all children are included in the work that we do.

 

Something I’ll particularly take away from this experience are the memories of the lovely people we’ve met and the comments from the children after the show. One girl (age 9) said:

 

“I really enjoyed the show because all the other shows are different to this one, and this one was funny, I don’t normally enjoy shows and this one was the best one I’ve been to, it’s really joyful. I get really into it, it’s really good”. 


Rural touring is unpredictable, you don’t know what the spaces will be like until you arrive and you might be performing to 2 people or 200 people. 


Every day is different but every day is an adventure!