URJA THAKORE

 

INTERVIEW

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Pagrav Dance

 

 

MÓTUS is working with Urja Thakore, Artistic Director of Pagrav Dance, to explore a little more about process and studying the contexts and methods within her work. The mission of the company is to work with home grown talent, providing and encouraging clear progression routes within the industry. 

 

Urja is interested ‘creating and promoting Neo classical Kathak, invigorating the form with modern contexts and renewed presentations, whilst also encouraging new thinking and understanding of the discipline. Urja’s work is inspired by observation of everyday life - her most recent work, for example, Kattam Katti is inspired by the Uttarayan kite festival and studies chaos, creativity and colour within its themes. Through tales of competition, danger, excitement and unity, Kattam Katti explores the parallels between this fiercely competitive event and deeply divided societies, echoing the current global climate.

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Urja worked with a set designer to create visuals across the stage for this new work which is discussed in the trailer and link above. Pagrav also works closely with live musicians within this work - their presence being very visual throughout the show; providing an added sense of richness to the production.

You can view a trailer here.

 

The mission of the company is to work with home grown talent giving and encouraging them by providing clear progression routes, training and guidance throughout the industry. 

 

An earlier work of Thakore’s ‘Detox’ was Thakore’s first work with contemporary dancers, rather than traditional Kathak dancers and performers. 

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Themes/stimuluses of Detox were -

• About the feeling of letting go. This urge to create work on this sentiment had strong links to Lao Tzo’s quote ‘When I let myself go, I become what I might be.’ Thakore explored these elements of letting go physically with the ensemble to reach new ground during creation.
   

• How Thakore could use contemporary trained dancers to explore movement vocabulary from a very different perspective - use of floor work, torso and dynamic. Thakore constantly pushed the need and drive of how this would look visually different from her past works and how this could push and develop her own practice.
   

• To investigates the phenomenon of detoxification and the conflict between our desire to embrace or reject toxicity.                           This work was originally commissioned by Academy for CHOREOGATA 2013

 

 

Urja Thakore will be leading a YOUTH DANCE session with MYDC (free and to register/attend email: info@motusdance.co.uk) on 6th July at 5:30pm - 6:30pm.

 

Below is a 10 minute edited interview between Artistic Director of MÓTUS Helen Parlor & Urja Thakore; you can see a full hour long version of this interview here