Korzo

Korzo Zaal

Event in the past.

Cloud Messenger

Makers Klapstuk, Zangam, Korzo, Gauri Sharma Tripathi, New European Ensemble, Theaterkoor Dario Fo
Duration 75 min
Part of India Dance Festival

Grand world premiere revolving around an iconic poem

This year, the India Dance Festival opens with the world premiere of Cloud Messenger.

Cloud Messenger is a contemporary, interdisciplinary music and dance performance at the intersection of Indian en western traditions. The creators collaborated before on the special dance adaptation of the Philip Glass opera Satyagraha in previous editions of the India Dance Festival. Cloud Messenger is inspired by the age-old poem ‘Meghaduta’ by one of India’s greatest poets, Kalidasa. In this poem, an exiled spirit, lonely and longing for his beloved, asks a cloud to bring her a message of love. Clouds are seen as fleeting celestial bodies that can connect people. An intriguing idea at a time when people, institutions and governments seem increasingly distant from each other. What does this magical poem, which is more than two thousand years old, say about the current time, which has been called the loneliest century?

Composers Samhita Mundkur and Boudewijn Ruigrok looked for differences and similarities between Indian and Western composition techniques for the new music. They drew inspiration from the ancient Sanskrit of the original poem and from the interpretation given to it by the British composer Gustav Holst in 1913. Led by Gauri Sharma Tripathi, dancers perform an exciting mix of contemporary dance and classical and modern Indian dance styles, accompanied by the New European Ensemble, soloists and a large, specially composed choir of singers from The Hague and the Indian community. Together they create a connection between past and present, between India and the west and between each other...

Cloud Messenger is a production by Klapstuk in co-production with Korzo, was developed in collaboration with Zangam and is supported by the Municipality of The Hague, Fund for Cultural Participation, société Gavigniès, Cultuurschakel, Cultuurfonds, Fonds Podiumkunsten and Gravin van Bylandt Foundation.

 

Read here more about Cloud Messenger. The article was written by Kanta Adhin from the magazine Hindorama.

Saturday 18 May | Cloud Messenger & Cycle

Visit two performances on one evening during India Dance Festival!
With this combi ticket, you recieve a €13 discount when you attend the performances below:

Cycle | Sat May 18 - 19:00
Cloud Messenger | Sat May 18 - 20:30

Order here

Samhita is singer, teacher and composer of Indian vocal music. Samhita started her education at the age of seven in a traditional way with various gurus, including her mother. Over the years she has further developed her expertise in the classical and semi-classical genres of Indian vocal music. Samhita has master's degrees in Sanskrit and French. Her foundation in vocal music and her command of several languages ​​have led to her active involvement in many music and theater productions in India, Malaysia and Europe since 1985. She has lived in the Netherlands since 2009. She is conductor and artistic director for Zangam and creates her own compositions.

Boudewijn is theatre-maker, singer and artistic director of Klapstuk. He studied at the Amsterdam Academy of Theatre and Dance, the Conservatory of Amsterdam and the Royal Conservatory of The Hague. He was involved as musical director, composer and arranger in various performances at, among others, Theater Rotterdam (including ‘Snorro’, ‘Woef Side Story’), Theater Utrecht (‘Immens’), Theater Oostpool, Theateralliantie (‘Wolfgang, het wonderjong’) and Kwekers in de kunst (including ‘Harde Handen’).

Gauri has trained in the classical tradition of kathak, under the guidance of her guru and mother, Padma Sharma. She is the artistic director of her companies Amara Nritya Kala Hansa & ANKH Dance UK. She has won critical acclaim in various dance festivals in India and abroad. She has appeared as a choreographer and performer in Munich Biennale, Royal Festival Hall, Millennium Dome. Presently Gauri teaches both in India and London, and sees the world as her stage.

Klapstuk / Theaterkoor Dario Fo is a new theatrical collective that cares for what matters to the people of The Hague, in our country and in the world. The collective is rooted in music theatre but likes to involve talent from a wide range of genres and disciplines. They’re always looking for refreshing diversity, special combinations and unexpected results. Theaterkoor Dario Fo is part of Klapstuk, and has previously collaborated with, among others, The Kyteman Orchestra, Dutch National Opera Academy, Asko|Schönberg, Opera2Day and at the European Youth Music Festival.

Zangam is the first choir in the Netherlands that sings songs from all over India, from Rajasthan to Tamil Nadu. Zangam presents a repertoire based on classical ragas, folk songs, devout Sufi songs and contemporary arrangements by the conductor. The choir is led by the Indian singer and composer Samhita Mundkur. Zangam regularly gives presentations and performances. In 2023, the choir presented ‘Ek Sur - Songs of India’, a performance with singing, live music and dance.

The New European Ensemble was founded in 2008 in the Netherlands by dedicated and passionate musicians from across Europe. The ensemble has built up a national and international reputation for imaginative programming, ‘great enthusiasm’ (Nutida Musik) and ‘excellent performances’ (de Volkskrant). The musicians regularly tour internationally. Some of today’s leading composers like Kaija Saariaho and Magnus Lindberg enjoy working with the group. In 2018 Sofia Gubaidulina will be featured. The ensemble’s musicians showcase a diversity of talents. They perform new music but are also active as soloists, chamber musicians and orchestral leaders. They present new music in exciting ways by combining music with other art forms like film, literature, theatre, dance and visual art and performing in alternative venues outside the concert hall. The musicians want to share new music with a broad audience while challenging themselves artistically.

Composition Samhita Mundkur (Zangam), Boudewijn Ruigrok (Klapstuk)
Choreography Gauri Sharma Tripathi, Leo Spreksel
Stage director Wilma Sekrève (Klapstuk)
Conductor Gijs Kramers
Musicians New European Ensemble, Tarang Poddar, Lucas Stam, Marianne Svasek
Soloists Harikrishnan Kesavan, Shashwathi Jagadish, Boudewijn Ruigrok (Klapstuk)
Dancers Shalmali Zankar, Tarini Tripathi, Hari Noopur, Chetana Noopur, Jane Manjeeram, Madan Mohan Das, Ischa Statie
Choirs Zangam, Theaterkoor Dario Fo (Klapstuk)
Scenography Tanja Schwerdfeger (Klapstuk), Flavio Cortese
Context programme Els Hoonhout (Klapstuk), Evert Schneider (translator of Meghdoot)
Production management Claire Hermans
Production Emi Barendse (Klapstuk), Jolanda Keurentjes (Zangam), Mirjam Zwanenburg (Korzo), Ryanne Hofman (New European Ensemble)

Korzo Zaal

Event in the past.

Cloud Messenger

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