The Phoenix Remix | Interview with Suba Subramaniam

Read The Phoenix Remix interview with choreographer Suba Subramaniam about Akademi’s new work Pravaas.

Today we talk to an act that is performing at the Brighton Festival that is happening throughout May. I speak to Choreographer Suba Subramaniam about the show A Weekend Without Walls: Pravaas.

How did you come up with the name of your show that you are taking to the Brighton Festival?

Pravaas translates as ‘migration’. I travelled to an island called Sagar in West Bengal, India to carry out the research and inspiration for this piece. Sagar is at the forefront of extreme weather like tropical cyclones and flooding because of its location, made worse by climate change. People in these places are compelled or have no choice but to move.

The experience I had there was of loss and hope, community and people, landscapes and shelter, refugees and livelihoods. Through the dance styles of Bharatanatyam and Kathak and live Carnatic vocals, Pravaas coveys the climate induced migration of people, their feelings, ways of being, stories and imagery…