Welcome to the hub of South Asian dance in the UK. We are Kadam, an arts charity based in Luton, and the publishers of Pulse.
Pulse aims to take a snapshot of South Asian dance in the UK at any given time – profile the artists, discuss, critique and contextualise their work, thereby keeping the sector informed, connected and energized. We are equally keen to represent South Asian music, an exciting and evolving art form.
Publisher and the Board
The publisher of Pulse, Kadam Asian Dance and Music was formed in 1995 and is directed by Sanjeevini Dutta, a dancer, curator and producer.
The charity is run by a voluntary board of five members: Yasmin Whittaker-Khan, youth worker and playwright; Samir Bhamra, theatre director and producer; Dipak Mistry, arts consultant; Susan Spencer, teacher; and Simon Richardson, dance and theatre photographer, the Chairman of Kadam.
The History
Pulse, the dedicated magazine for South Asian dance in the UK was published by Kadam from 2001 until end 2017. Kadam acquired Pulse from Aditi the umbrella body for South Asian dance that ceased in 2001. There are fifty-six issues that chart the development of South Asian dance in Britain. Pulse has had three editors: Anita Dawood Nasser 2002, Chitra Sundaram 2003-2007, and the current editor Sanjeevini Dutta from 2008 onwards. It is our aim to make all issues available freely on the web, uploaded on www.issuu.com.
Partners
Kadam is a part of SADAA, the network of UK’s leading South Asian Dance development agencies – Akademi (London), Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan (London), Chaturangan (Liverpool), Centre for Indian Classical Dance – CICD (Leicester), GemArts (Newcastle), Kala Sangam (Bradford), Sampad (Birmingham) and SAA-uk (Leeds).
Facilitated by Rachel Gibson and Anita Srivastava, Producer of Navadisha 2016.
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Meet Our Team
Sanjeevini Dutta
Commissioning Editor
Sanjeevini Dutta
Sanjeevini commissions articles and reviews for Pulse South Asian dance and music; watches dance of all genres and attends a weekly odissi class. She has produced and edited 39 issues of Pulse magazine since June 2007. The developments of the form and the emergence of new artists and works are a fascination for her which never dulls.
She is the Director of Kadam, and in that capacity produces and tours shows such as The Rose and the Bulbul, a promenade piece for gardens, and the Odissi Ensemble, UK’s only professional odissi company in Gods and Mortals, both of which toured in 2017.
Gopa Roy
Assistant Editor
Gopa Roy
Gopa trained in medieval English literature and her earlier career was spent in teaching and research. For the past five years she has been happily learning more about South Asian dance and music as Assistant Editor on Pulse magazine and through helping with Kadam projects. She has always loved dance, particularly odissi.
Parbati Chaudhury
Editorial and Marketing Assistant
Parbati Chaudhury
Parbati is a London-born and based dance artist and teacher whose kathak training continues with Urja Desai Thakore. She regularly features in Pagrav Dance Company, Akademi and Kadam productions, and performed in Amina Khayyam Dance Company’s SLUT at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2017. A busy teacher, Parbati leads kathak classes across London. Aside from her dance practice, Parbati shares in the website’s vision of nurturing a more integrated, informed and innovative South Asian arts sector, and has been a part of the Pulse Editorial team since 2013.
Simon Richardson
Chief Photographer
Simon Richardson
Simon Richardson has been photographing dance, movement and people for the last twenty- five years, with a special passion for South Asian classical dance. He has exhibited widely at home and abroad, including an exhibition as part of the UK Gharana Festival at Patidar Centre, Wembley, in 2011. He works regularly for many of the South Asian organisations in the UK and most of the leading South Asian dancers have come under his lens. He has been the chairman of Kadam Asian Dance and Music since 1998.