Not Today's Yesterday 2019/20 Touring Pack

‘…This is an important piece of dance theatre. It is authentic and honest but most importantly, it

wills you to think for yourself…’ Charlotte Maxwell – AFRONALYSIS

ABOUT THE WORK:

This award winning work is an International collaboration between UK award-winning Bharatanatyam artist Seeta Patel and Australian choreographer Lina Limosani. This work blends techniques from Bharatanatyam, contemporary dance & theatre to create a poetic narrative that has the beauty & disquiet of a Grimm’s fairy-tale. Told through a fairytale, this theatrical work's story unfolds through movement, dance and music with a continuous poetic and evocative narration. With striking imagery, it’s a one-woman show which subversively co-opts whitewashing against itself, with cultural appropriation at its core. This accessible show blurs the lines between dance and theatre with a story that aligns perfectly with our history of colonialism. It’s a visual performative metaphor that talks about power and manipulation, stories and culture, BUT most importantly, it's about awareness, about each of our contributions and the roles we play in creating the story we are in today. The inspiration stems from our concerns that revisionist and airbrushed histories have become a central issue of tension throughout the world, in particular Western democracies. History is being dressed up to make a more readily acceptable narrative for us to consume to the detriment of diverse voices and stories being heard. Britain and Australia, amongst others, have sordid histories and relationships with indigenous and migrant communities. Skewed histories fuel a distorted sense of nationalism. This work aims to open up conversation through a clever appropriation of whitewashed histories and give a voice back to lost histories and communities. Not Today’s Yesterday is embracing a new artistic form through the cross pollination of contemporary dance with the traditional form Bharatanatyam the art of storytelling.

Concept- Seeta Patel, Story- Seeta Patel & Lina Limosani, Direction & Choreography- Lina Limosani Text- Sharmila Chauhan & Seeta Patel, Costume- Lydia Cawson, Set- Chris Faulds, (costume & set designs based on original facilitator Dagmara Gieysztor), Performer- Seeta Patel, Sound Artist- Lina Limosani, Dramaturge- Kyra Herzfeld.

ABOUT THE PROJECT:

Not Today’s Yesterday is an exciting International project supported by Arts Council England, Artists International Development Fund, The Place, The-Bench Choreographic Programme, Country Arts SA, NA POMORSKIEJ, Chats Palace, Leigh Warren Dancehub, The Adelaide Fringe Artist Fund and Arts South Australia and the British Council.

2016 - The collaborators conducted their first phase of Research in Australia, working with Lina Limosani (Choreographer) and Dagmara Gieysztor (Design facilitator).

2017 - They embarked on a development phase in Poland, concluding with pilot performances at The Lowry, Salford Quays Manchester and Warwick Arts Centre, UK.

2018 - Saw Lina and Seeta enter into their Production and touring phase with a Premiere at the Adelaide Fringe Festival and a UK tour.

2019 - We aspire to present the work at Edinburgh Fringe Festival along with further international and Australian touring.

Not Today's Yesterday

Not Today's YesterdayWHY PRESENT ‘Not Today’s Yesterday?

• Politically current, relevant and important subject matter that has the potential to reach a wide and diverse audience.

• Excellent international award winning team. • International exposure via Digital distribution. • Running time 50 mins approx with no interval / Q&A (if pre-arranged) - 20 minutes • A high quality production that is reasonably priced and gives you access to one of the UK’s

most up and coming South Asian Dance Choreographers. Also gives you access to Australia’s established Choreographer Lina Limosani who has a keen interest in building long-term partnerships with organisations in advance of more ambitious projects that will take place between 2019-2021.

Curated Conversations: As an integral part of the live performance work, the Not Today's Yesterday project will be offering a post-show talk that goes beyond how the show was made, inciting thought provoking discussion between audiences, the central creative collaborators, and invited guests about how whitewashed histories impact us today.

As demonstrated in the work's performances in 2017, many audiences participated in the fascinating post show discussion which delved into very important ideas in today's tumultuous world.

Looking at post-colonial guilt, the growth of right wing ideologies and nationalism, and of course how we react to and treat refugees and migrants in this time of fear mongering and scapegoating, with specific reference to lost and skewed histories.

Where possible we will try to engage with local and national activists, historians, scholars and beyond to create engaging and vital dialogue.

Engaging Digitally: Alongside our comprehensive PR and Marketing campaigns, audiences will be able to engage with digital content leading up to and following on from the shows. As part of the research for NTY, we have been collecting articles dealing with the theme and examples of whitewashing both historically and in the present day. Collated into an extensive online catalogue, these articles will be available freely to the public for their own interest and education into the numerous lost stories from around the world that continue to effect communities large and small.

The Lowry, Manchester, UK

Not Today's Yesterday

Workshops and Masterclasses: We have designed a number of bespoke workshop and masterclasses that are available alongside the performances. These include:

• Bharatanatyam Taster Workshops • Creative Dance/Choreographic Bharatanatyam

Workshops • Rhythm Vocal Percussion Workshops • Contemporary Dance and Choreographic Workshop

Who is the audience: Not Today’s Yesterdays delivers a unique interpretation on the immigrant experience to audiences. Australia is largely an immigrant society and these stories and subject matter are at the heart of current national conversations. This project will contribute to that conversation, and perhaps provoke new observations and insights to our collective story.

This project is a natural fit for both contemporary dance and theatre patrons who already have an affinity with, and an interest in dance and theatre. It will also appeal to audiences who are interested in and ready to experience other cultures and artistic forms, and audiences keen to engage with work that examines our current political environment.

Engaging with broader audiences we will target: • Schools audiences age 10 and over, with a particular focus on social studies and history • A number of Indigenous, Indian, and multicultural groups

Mt Gambier, SA

Lodz, Poland

Birmingham, UK

As more and more stories emerge, and more and more voices speak about the impact of historically skewed rhetoric that continues to propagate inequality and persecution, the Not Today’s Yesterday project will form an important resource to affect change of attitudes through education and honest dialogue. Not Today’s Yesterday wants to confront difficult questions that reflect each of our contributions and roles in creating the story we are in today, and the possibilities we have to change tomorrow.

MARKETING SEGMENT: Dance enthusiasts and students. Multicultural audiences. Theatre audiences. History students and teachers (high school and university levels). Social justice and human rights groups.

• Highly accessible solo show that blurs the lines between dance and theatre. • A story that fits perfectly with our Australian history. • It’s topical. It’s culturally diverse in content as well as it’s performers background. • Award winning work: Peace Foundation Award & Adelaide Fringe Bank SA Best in Dance

award. • International Collaboration and highly original. • Striking imagery

TECHNICAL INFORMATION: • Bump in on the day of show • Running time 50 min with no interval • Q&A (if pre-arranged) - 20 minutes. • Stage requires a minimum performance area of 7m wide by 7m deep with 6.5m clear

height beneath lighting bars. Height is negotiable, but must be more than 4.0m clear. A lower trim height will affect details of the lighting spec.

• Black dance floor. • Black Gauze or full black upstage (or back wall of theatre if this is a clean black surface) • Black wing masking to mask booms on stage and a pulley operator DSL.

TOURING INFORMATION: • Touring party of 3 • Available from January 2019 • Maximum shows per week 8, split week possible • For Touring & Weekly Fees or Performance Fees contact:

- Lina Limosani (lllimosani@gmail.com) or - Louisa Norman (louisa.norman@countryarts.org.au) - or visit https://touringselector.com/production/3782/not-todays-yesterday

Not Today's Yesterday

QUOTES:

‘This is outstanding, innovative, must-see dance.’ Peter Burdon - The Advertiser

‘Not Today’s Yesterday is a poised and thoughtful work and a spectacular performance from a powerful dancer.’ Frodo Allan, Broadway Baby

‘With work such as this, one feels one should give a round of applause some 48 hours later.' Broadway World UK

'This is an important piece of dance theatre. It is authentic and honest but most importantly, it wills you to think for yourself.’ Charlotte Maxwell – Afronalysis

‘An unmissable treat’ British Theatre Guide

‘Not Today’s Yesterday is a poised and thoughtful work and a spectacular performance from a powerful dancer.’ Frodo Allan, Broadway Baby

‘The interplay of Patel’s classical form with Limosani’s contemporary choreography makes a perfect partnership for the telling of this old/new tale.’ British Theatre Guide

'Not Today’s Yesterday is an important work and recommended to those interested in cross-cultural arts practice, dance theatre and superb solo performance.’ Lewis Major - The Adelaide Review

'Dancer and choreographer Lina Limosani’s work is always intelligent and often daring.’ Alan Brissendon TESTIMONIALS:

‘The treatment and artistic content of Not Today’s Yesterday was of an extremely high standard’ The Lowry, Salford Quays, Manchester UK

‘Words are not adequate to describe what I saw.’ Dariush Fiet, Poland

‘Seeta is incredible, a true talent’ Krystyna Jalkiewicz

‘This has given me drive and hope that its worth pursuing creative practice.’ Dariush Fiet, Poland

‘It’s incredible to see that so much of the context can be expressed through movement and dance’ Krystyna Jalkiewicz

Not Today's Yesterday

AWARDS:

Bank SA Best Dance Weekly Fringe Award 2018

Bank SA Best Dance Fringe Award 2018

Graham F. Smith Peace Foundation Award, Adelaide Fringe 2018

Not Today's Yesterday

MEDIA RELEASE Lina Limosani and Seeta Patel present

An unmissable treat - British Theatre Guide Once upon a time… in a faraway land… it happened… did not happen… could have happened. History is passed on like stories from generation to generation. But what if the stories are not what they seem? This premise was the starting point in the creation of Not Today’s Yesterday, a new work by multi-award winning UK artist Seeta Patel and acclaimed South Australian choreographer Lina Limosani having its Australian premiere at Holden Street for the 2018 Adelaide Fringe. Not Today’s Yesterday, blends techniques from Bharatanatyam with contemporary dance and theatre to create a poetic narrative that has the beauty and disquiet of a Grimm’s fairy-tale. “Our collaboration grew out of a mutual interest in telling stories through dance,” said Seeta. “My practice is rooted in Bharatanatyam, a South Indian classical dance from with a fascinating political and social history. The form is partly used to tell stories and explore the full gamut of human emotions through movement and facial expressions. Lina is well known for her unique narrative style of contemporary dance. And we are both interested in telling the hard stories, the stories that need to be told.” Limosani added, “Working with Seeta has been like a gift in that she has given me an insight in to a form of dance that has an incredibly rich cultural and historic basis. Confronting the true facts behind much of the history we’ve incorporated into the work has been disturbing. So much of our world view is built on singular points of view when the truth is far more complicated.” Surprising, gripping and politically timely, Not Today’s Yesterday, is an intelligent and insightful one-woman show that invites you to re-see the past for a better future.

Not Today's Yesterday

Artists Seeta Patel Lina Limosani - Limosani Projekts

What Not Todays Yesterday

Length 50 minutes

Genre Dance and Theatreheatre

Suitable 10+

Websites Lina Limosani: www.limosaniprojekts.com Seeta Patel: www.seetapatel.co.uk/

Facebook: Limosaniprojekts.com/work-available-for-touring.html Facebook.com/nottodaysyesterday/?ref=br_rs

Production Links Promotional Clip: Vimeo.com/262176034 Vox Pops Adelaide Fringe: Vimeo.com/262780790 Residency Mt Gambier clip: Vimeo.com/185195300 For full length footage contact: Lina Limosani: lllimosani@gmail.com

Other Links Seeta Patel: ‘Why Bharatanatyam is Awesome’ www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhgJ823aO6w

Seeta Patel: Live Interview www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnUqiJP4Uns

The Future of Choreography: Seeta Patel - Sadler's Wells is Dance www.youtube.com/watch?v=yW1nhW6cNSs

Research Links: www.limosaniprojekts.com/nty-research-links.html

Logo Credits

Social Media Twitter: Twitter.com/seetadances?lang=en Twitter.com/lllimosani

Instagram: Instagram.com/nottodaysyesterday/ Instagram.com/linalimosani/

Media Contact & Producer

Lina Limosani Limosani Projekts lllimosani@gmail.com Mob +61 468349042

Not Today's YesterdayPRODUCTION INFORMATION

Limosani Projekts limosaniprojekts.com

Led by performing artist Lina Limosani, LimosanI ProjeKts is a project-based contemporary dance company devoted to the development of unique performance concepts, international collaborations and the appreciation and understanding of dance and the performing arts. By creating and building a pre-eminent reputation for dance that is exciting, thought-provoking and accessible, LimosanI ProjeKts aims to continue to build relationships with existing and potential audiences and act as an advocate for the field of dance. With strong beliefs in the collaborative process, all dancers contribute to the creation of movement that is energetic, theatrical and technical demanding contributing to performance work of the highest calibre.

Graduating from the Victorian College of the Arts in 1999, Lina went onto become an original member of Garry Stewart’s Australian Dance Theatre (ADT) and has since worked with Lucy Guerin, Chunky Move, Narelle Benjamin, and the New Zealand Dance Company. She also became a member of Scotland’s David Hughes Dance Company, working closely with physical theatre director Al Seed, and Switzerland’s Cathy Marston. Her time overseas has also seen her work with Scotland’s Plan B, Designer/Director Alex Riggs along with Munich’s Micha Purucker.

Lina has always been active as a creator and been making work since 2000. In 2003 she received the EMERGING ARTIST award by the Adelaide Critics Circle for her works in ADT's choreographic seasons of IGNITION and then creating The Tighter You Squeeze for the company in 2008. She has since undertaken a number of commissions and choreographic residencies overseas and was also selected as one of six International Choreographers for the Swiss International Choreographers Project, Zurich in 2012. Under the banner of LimosanI ProjeKts, Lina has created a number of works; A Delicate Situation nominated for three Boh Cameronian Awards, an Adelaide Critics Circle Award and an Australian Dance Award 2015. 2016 saw Lina develop One’s Wicked Ways for Australian Dance Theatre’s IGNITION season andpremiere Whispers From Pandora’s Box for the New Zealand Dance Company. A collaboration with British Bharatanatyam dancer Seeta Patel saw Not Today’s Yesterday, a one-woman contemporary dance theatre work premiere at the 2018 Adelaide Fringe where it received the Best in Dance and Peace Foundation Awards. Lina's new work The Spinners, an Australia/Scotland artistic collaboration with physical theatre director Al Seed premiered in July 2018 with SELL OUT seasons at the inaugural Adelaide Dance Festival and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, where it was nominated for a Total Theatre Award for Dance.

Lina continues to teach and create work at various establishments and dance institutions within Australia and overseas.

S E E T A P A T E L seetapatel.co.uk

Born in London, Seeta Patel began training under the guidance of Kiran Ratna in 1990 and has since worked with a range of Bharatanatyam and contemporary dance professionals including Mavin Khoo, Padma Shri Adyar K Lakshman, Pushkala Gopal, Darshan Singh Bhuller and more.

Patel has toured with DV8 Physical Theatre, Shobana Jeyasingh Dance Company, David Hughes Dance Company and Mavin Khoo Dance amongst others. She was awarded the Lisa Ullmann Travel Scholarship to study in India (2005) and at the New York Film Academy (2013). Patel has presented solo and ensemble works at the Purcell Room, Royal Opera House: ROH2 and Sadler’s Wells (First Light - 2014, Last One Standing –

2010, Shringara - 2009, Alter Ego – 2007, She Was Still… - 2005/6, Cycle of Change – 2005). She presented her solo classical London debut, Shringara: Journey of Desire, to a sold out audience at The Clore Upstairs, Royal Opera House (June 2009), and went on to tour the UK in 2010/11. She has subsequently presented solo classical works Dancing My Siva, and more recently, Something Then, Something Now to sold out audiences at Sadler’s Wells and the Purcell Room (Darbar Festival).

Over the past 12 years, Patel has received awards and bursaries for her creative and professional development. She produced multi award-winning short dance film, The Art of Defining Me in 2013, gaining national and international acclaim.

Seeta was a judge, mentor and advisor for the first ever BBC Young Dancer Competition, was awarded the Artists’ International Development Fund to begin ‘Not Today’s Yesterday’ with Australian choreographer Lina Limosani, and is currently choreographing a new work at London’s Sadlers Wells.

Seeta recently collaborated with the Gandini Juggling group on ‘Sigma’, which won the Total Theatre Award for Visual Theatre and Best Directing at the Asian Arts Awards at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe. She also received the S & R Washington Award for her work in Classical Indian dance.

Not Today's Yesterday

Stephen Berkeley White Stephen Berkeley White

Stephen Berkeley White

Stephen Berkeley White

Chris Herzfeld

Not Today's YesterdayStephen Berkeley White

Not Today's Yesterday

Stephen Berkeley WhiteStephen Berkeley White

Not Today's YesterdayStephen Berkeley WhiteChris Herzfeld