Dancing in the Kitchen- a disco with serious intentions
Creating a community of common interest while being immersed in something that gives pure pleasure, has been our experience of developing the Dancing in the Kitchen night with DJ Ritu. The idea of a digital dance party on zoom was born out of a desire to lift the January gloom. So a free event Dancing in the Kitchen with DJ Ritu was set for the last Friday of January.
The event worked like magic- the connection to friends and strangers, the quirky lights and computer graphics of individual screens and the spinning out of danceable discs by DJ Ritu! Ritu is a true professional who has mastered the art of keeping a flow of music that will get you on your feet. Her years of experience of running Club Kali, Kuch Kuch Bollywood Nights and Outcaste Records have given her an intuitive understanding of the audiences’ needs and tastes. The mix has big hit numbers: the pounding bhangra and Bollywood beats but also surprises from lesser known artists, saxophonist from Soweto or percussionist from Egypt or a Malian kora player.
Pulse introduced the idea of featuring South Asian musicians, half-way through the evening with brief interviews and playing one of their tracks. So far we have had Archita Kumar, Arun Ghosh, Supriya Nagarajan, Bernard Schimpelsberger, Ranjana Ghatak, Niraj Chag. We have heard sublime tracks such as a newly composed Mira bhajan and sound scape of the chorus of birds in the Brazilian rain forest! It is such a treat and such a privilege to meet and interact with these artists. DJ Ritu has gone on to feature Archita Kumar and Ranjana Ghatak in her weekly radio programme- A World in London.
We love the party atmosphere- friends have gone out and bought disco lights for themselves and presented these to friends. Classical Indian dancers have let rip to find their improvisational side free from stylistic constraints. Parvati Rajamani the odissi dancer and teacher is a firm favourite with her unabashed abhinaya, winning young converts to Indian dance.
Most importantly for organisations and funders, Pulse is creating friends for South Asian dance and music. That is the underlying significance for us as promoters- a unique way to engage and retain audiences. Pulse asks for the support of funded organisations in our common goal to popularise South Asian dance and music.
The next event will take place on Friday 26 March at 9pm on zoom. Tickets £3.50/£7.50 are available on Eventbrite tinyurl.com/2w6sst4a
Sanjeevini Dutta
23 March 2021
