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 Founder, Artistic Director & Managing Trustee ALTAR:
Veenapani Chawla
Veenapani Chawla established Adishakti in 1981 and is also its Managing Trustee and Artistic Director. Her academic background consists of an M.A. History, Delhi University; M.A Political Philosophy, Bombay University, B. Ed., Bombay University. She has been examined by the Trinity College of Music, London, for Singing and Piano; trained with Patsy Rodenberg, the Voice Coach of the Royal Shakespeare Company in London; and was briefly in Eugenio Barba’s Odin Teatret at Holstebro, Denmark
In India she has learnt Mayurbhanj Chhau, Kalaripayattu, Koodiyattam, and Dhrupad singing.
She has directed most of Adishakti’s performances and scripted half of these. Her work has toured India as well as internationally. In 1996 her Impressions of Bhima was performed in Paris, New York {Asia Society} and at UCLA. Her Brhannala was performed at the Singapore Arts Festival, Edinburgh Festival, New York {Asia Society} and the Bonn Biennale. Ganapati was performed at the House of World Cultures, Berlin, at Mousonturm, Frankfurt and Kampnagel , Hamburg.
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Since 1987 Veenapani has been engaged in research towards creating a performance methodology based on old knowledges. This methodology involves a physical craft to facilitate the actor’s vocal, bodily and psychological expression. She has been disseminating this through workshops, performances and papers at Adishakti and other national and international venues. Thus in 2006 she was a speaker at the Berkshire Conference, USA and in March 2007 she presented a paper at the International Seminar on Theatre Performance Techniques at the Department of Performing Arts and Culture Industries at the University of Leeds, UK. In November of the year she conducted a Workshop supported by the Orient Foundation in Lisbon, Portugal, on Performance Methods based on Indian Knowledges.
Veenapani has also been concerned to develop a unique aesthetic for contemporary theatre, which would make the genre relevant in the time of cinema.
She has been recognized with grants from the Ford Foundation{1987}, the Charles Wallace India Trust, the Department of Culture, the Det Lange Udvalga in Denmark and the India Foundation of the Arts. In 1988, she was nominated to the Advisory Committee of the Kathak Kendra (Sangeet Natak Academy, New Delhi, India), and in 1994 was awarded an extended Senior Fellowship from the Department of Culture in New Delhi. In 1997 she was nominated by the Department of Culture as an expert in the fields of Folk, Traditional and Indigenous Arts. In 1998, she was appointed Trustee on the Board of Trustees of the National Folklore Support Centre, Chennai. In 2006 she received a Fellowship for a one month Residency at Villa Waldberta, Munich. In the same year she received the Zee Astitva Award for excellence in Theatre.
In 2007 Veenapani was appointed on the Board of Editors for "Theatre, Dance and Performance Training” a theatre journal published from the University of Leeds, UK, by Routledge.
Since 1999 Veenapani has been engaged in designing the Adishakti campus, which houses the members of the Adishakti Theatre, Dance, Music and Puppetry Repertory Company. The artists’ residences, the Guest House and Theatre on the Adishakti campus are the result of a collaboration between her and architect Srinivas Vasthukam of Kerala: a former student of Laurie Baker.
She is currently creating programs for Adishakti to be a research center for performance arts, which will host residency programs and workshops for artists from all over the world. Towards this end in 2008 she designed a three year project on the Ramayana “Pluralism and Performance: The Many Voices in The Ramayana”, which will run at Adishakti.
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Vinay Kumar KJ was born on 15.4.1969 in Trichur Kerala
At the age of 12 he joined the Communist Party's Theatre Repertory Company, which travelled all over Kerala. At the age of 19 he joined the movement for the creation of a Women's Theatre Company / Campus Theatre. He did his B.A in Theatre Arts, from the University of Calicut (1992). He was taught by Kathakkali guru Krishnan Namboodri. An important performance from this period was Woyzeck in which Vinay played the eponymous role.In 1992 he joined Anghanam Theatre in Chavakkad, Kerala, for a nine month period. During this time he started learning Kalaripayattu. In January 1993 he joined Adishakti Laboratory for Theatre Arts Research while it was still in Mumbai.
He performed in Adishakti's A Greater Dawn in that year and in October of that year he shifted with Adishakti to Pondicherry. He has been with Adishakti as an actor in residence since then. During Adishakti's Pondicherry chapter Vinay Kumar joined Veenapani in her research into breath for performance, Koodiyattam and Kalaripayattu, which she had been learning and researching since 1987.
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| VINAYKUMAR K.J |
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In 1995 he acted in Veenapani's Impressions of Bhima, which travelled all over the country and was performed also in Paris, New York and Los Angeles. In 1996 Vinay received the APPEX Fellowship, which took him to UCLA for a period of two months. During his stay at UCLA he directed a group of artists from the Asia Pacific region in a production of Antigone. In 1997 he went to Bali on the same Fellowship and then again to UCLA where he performed in The Myth of a Hero a collaborative project between him, musician Paul Dresher and Chinese Peking Opera director Chen Zhi Zhen. In 1997 Vinay assisted Veenapani in her research into Koodiyattam breath techniques of performance. Out of this emerged Veenapani's Brhannala, another solo performance by Vinay. Brhannala travelled to Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Calcutta, the UK, USA, Singapore, Germany. In 1999 Vinay Kumar assisted Veenapani in her research into Koodiyattam music as a text. Out of this em erged Veenapani's Ganapati. With Ganapati Vinay again travelled nationally and internationally. From 2000 onwards Kumar assisted Veenapani in her endeavour to develop a physical craft for feeding the physical, vocal, and psychological expression of the actor based on traditional Indian knowledges. He gave expression to this craft in his performances and led workshops which disseminated this methodology of performance. In 2006 he along with Veenapani and Adishakti's Nimy Raphel went on a two month residency to Villa Waldberta in Munich to create a theatre work on the city. In 2007 he performed as Hamlet in Veenapani's T he Hare and The Tortoise.
In 2008 Vinay Kumar directed Ionesco's Rhinoceros with Adishakti . He created the sound-scape for the production and also designed the lights. In the same year Vinay Kumar, redesigned the lights of the Adishakti productions : Impression of Bhima, Brhannala, Ganapati and The Hare and the Tortoise. He trained the Adishakti actors in setting up lights, operating them and designing them. In August 2008 Vinay collaborated with British film director Lucia King in a performance about performance in her documentary film shot at Adishakti.Currently Vinay is engaged in studying the various readings/telling of the Ramayana. He aims to create a script for performancefrom out of this material.
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Suresh Kaliyath has been with Adishakti since 1997.
He is an accomplished Ottan Tullal performer, which he learnt under Guru Kalamandalam Gopinatha Prabha & Kalamandalam Mohanakrishnan over a period of fifteen years. He has also studied Bharatanatyam and Parichamuttakali. Suresh has performed with Adishakti in Brhannala and Ganapati at various venues both national and international. He also performs in Adishakti's The Hare and The Tortoise and Rhinoceros. From 2008 he will be part of the team which performs in Impressions of Bhima . He has performed "Ottan thullal" in Netherlands & Belgium (2002), France (2004), Spain (2005) & U.S.A (2006). Suresh disseminates Adishakti's method of linking performance to rhythm through workshops held at Adishakti.
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| SURESH KALIYATH |
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In 1997, Suresh received Scholarship from Department of Culture, Govt. of India in "Ottan thullal". He has Diploma in Indian Arts from Nalanda Dance Research Centre, Mumbai & Diploma in Mechanical Engineering.
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Arvind Rane has a B.A. in Economics & Politics from Mumbai University. He has been Creative Supervisor in Advertising Agencies like Shilpi, O&M, Ulka, Contract, Lintas and RK Swamy from 1981-1997, while he was in Mumbai. Concurrently he was with Adishakti during its Mumbai phase from 1981 to 1992. He rejoined Adishakti in 1998.
Arvind has performed with Adishakti in Brhannala and Ganapati at various venues both national and international. He also performs in Adishakti's The Hare and The Tortoise and Rhinoceros. From 2008 he will be part of the team which performs in Impressions of Bhima .Arvind disseminates Adishakti's method of linking performance to rhythm through workshops held at Adishakti.Currently he is performer in residence with Adishakti and is also in charge of Adishakti's Public Relations and fund raising.
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ARVIND RANE |
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Nimmy Raphel has a Diploma from Kerala Kalamandalam in Mohiniyattam and Kuchipudi dance; forms which she has learnt over ten years and which she has performed all over India. She is currently a resident actor, dancer, musician and puppeteer at Adishakti, practicing its methodology of theatre since 2001. Nimmy has performed with Adishakti in Brhannala and Ganapati at various venues both national and international. She also performs in Adishakti's The Hare and The Tortoise and Rhinoceros. From 2008 she will operate the lights for Impressions of Bhima . Nimmy disseminates Adishakti's performance method which relate the tantric centers in the body to movement behavior, psychological and vocal expression, through workshops held at Adishakti. |
| NIMMY RAPHEAL |
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Arjun Shankar is a self taught guitar player, who has been influenced by many styles including Jazz, the Blues, Heavy Metal and Disco. He was a founding member of Harami Theatre, a collective of young theatre people in Bangalore, in 2003. Under the aegis of Harami Theatre, he performed and collaborated in productions like 'Alphabetical Order' and 'Butter and Mashed Bananas' as an actor and a musician.During his time with Harami theatre, he also did freelance graphic and web design in Bangalore.
Arjun joined Adishakti in 2006 as an actor and a musician. He performs in The Hare and The Tortoise and Rhinoceros . He also operates the lights for Brhannala and Ganapati.
Arjun leads Adishakti's workshops on voice training and text.
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ARJUN SHANKAR |
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Pascal Sieger {Equivalent of an M.A. in Education from Metz University in France. Learnt music from Luciano Paliarini} He is now a professional saxophonist and composer and has played sessions with leading musicians in Europe and the USA and has composed extensively.
He has been with Adishakti since 2001 and simultaneously at Auroville.
Pascal has performed with Adishakti in Brhannala and Ganapati at various venues both national and international. He also performs in Adishakti's The Hare and The Tortoise. He has composed the music for this play.
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| PASCAL SEIGER |
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Anoop Davis has a background in 3D & 2D animation, audio/video editing, web-archiving, graphic design and is currently doing his BCA. He writes for the Malayalam magazine Mayoori and has made ad films and also acted in a short film in Chennai in 2006.
He joined Adishakti in 2008 as an archivist. He took a month's training at NFSC for archiving and now is also training as a performer. He has designed and maintaining the new website of Adishakti. He is operating the lights for The Hare and The Tortoise and Rhinoceros. He is the part of the team which performs Impressions of Bhima.
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ANOOP DAVIS |
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Jean Legrand {Electro Technical Engineering at E.N.REA, Paris} Is in Auroville and in charge of the Education system there. Jean has been doing Adishakti's performance lighting since 1998 .
This year he has retired from the work as his work load at Auroville is heavy. He continues however to be a part of Adishakti.
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| JEAN LEGRAND |
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Sl. no.
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NAME OF TRUSTEES |
ADDRESS OF TRUSTEES
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| 1 |
Ms. Veenapani Chawla
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Adwaitam, No.8, Appavou Nagar, Vazhakulam, Pondicherry – 605012 Mobile - 09443389963
Tel: 0413 - 2622402, 2622287
Email:
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| 2 |
Ms. Rathi Jafer |
Director, InKo Centre, No.51, 6th Main Road, Raja Annamalaipuram, Chennai – 600028 Tel: 91- 44-24361224
Fax: 91-44-24361226
Email:
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| 3 |
Mr. Sunam Mukherji |
Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Pondicherry – 605002
Tel: 0413 – 2334458
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| 4 |
Ms. Chandrika Grover Ralleigh |
Pro Helvetia, Swiss Arts Council, A-20, Nizamuddin East,
New Delhi – 110013,
Tel: 91-11-41825636
Email:
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| 5 |
Ms. Sathya Saran |
14 C, Miniland, Dhandu,
Mumbai – 400078
Mob: 09821046319
Email:
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| 6 |
Mr. Sudeep Srivastava |
3A, Shefali, No. 27, Appavou Nagar,
Vazhakulam,
Pondicherry – 605012.
Mob: 9894743601
Email:
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| 7 |
Mr. Rajeev Sethi |
Chairman & Founder Trustee, The Asian Heritage Foundation,
C-52, South Extn. Part-2,
New Delhi – 110049
Tel: 91-11-26263984/5/6/7
Fax: 91-11-26263988
Email:
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| 8 |
Ms. Sara Joseph
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Geethanjali (H) Mulankunnathukavu (P.O)
Thrichur dist,
Kerela State,
Pin - 680581
Tel: 0487 - 2201314
Email:
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