Kalakunj
Local young dancers Kalakunj, selected from thousands to take centre stage at prestigious National Youth Dance Festival in Newcastle this summer, 22-23 July 2023
Kalakunj from Reading will join young dancers from across the UK to represent their home region this summer, as they perform at One Dance UK’s prestigious National Youth Dance Festival - U.Dance.The dynamic group of dancers from Kalakunj have been selected through a competitive process and first made it to the regional platform of #udance2023 in association with South East Dance and MÓTUS. Their piece ‘Still I Rise ‘was choreographed by Ananya Chatterjee. It is described as a celebration of femininity in all its glory through a dance interpretation of Maya Angelou's poetic interlude, 'Still I Rise', and culminates with the vibrant 'Thillana' from the Bharatanatyam (Indian classical dance) repertoire, aiming to empower girls and women to embody self-love and self-acceptance. Read more here https://issuu.com/onedanceuk/docs/u.dance_2023_digital_brochure/s/28292783
Kalakunj wins Pride of Reading Awards 2022 for Cultural Contribution
To read about the award and interview by Ananya Chatterjee, please visit https://issuu.com/pcreighton/docs/rdgtoday-dec14-2022-prideofreadingsupplement
BBC Young Dancer 2022
Huge congratulations to ADHYA SHASTRY, winner of BBC YOUNG DANCER award 2022, who started her training in Bharatanatyam from the age of nine with KALAKUNJ and also trained in Contemporary and Ballet at The Place, London. Wishing Adhya the very best for the future.
Read more about Adhya's win here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-berkshire-61527660
U.Dance 2022
It is a delight to present the dynamic and vibrant group from Kalakunj selected as part of ‘Screen Moves’, the U.Dance 2022 Digital South East Regional Platform (a celebration of dance, showcasing the variety and diversity of youth dance from across the south east region of the UK). Thank you South East Dance and U.Dance 2022 for this wonderful opportunity.
ISTD 2021 Bursary Awards
2020/21 has been full of challenges and uncertainties due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A big thank you to the Classical Indian Dance Faculty, Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing for organising the online ISTD Bursary Awards 2021 providing a platform to young, aspirant practitioners of the classical Indian art forms to showcase their skills and passion. Congratulations to the Kalakunj students, Adhya Shastry (Senior Category Finalist), and Shivani Kishor and Suhani Bellur (Junior Category Finalists) for their commendable achievements.
Dance Away By Kalakunj
During the Covid-19 pandemic which started from March 2020 onwards, Kalakunj is staying active and positive with various virtual collaborations during the self-isolation period.
The dance pieces can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/@kalakunjreadinguk
Kalakunj @ ISTD Bursary Awards 2020
Shivani Kishor, a KALAKUNJ student, has been selected to represent the ISTD Classical Indian Dance Faculty (Juniors’ section) at ISTD Bursary Awards #bursaryawards2020 #istd.
The link to the ISTD Magazine edition is here :
