Pagrav Dance Company

Kattam Katti (Cutting Through) is a new contemporary dance theatre show by Pagrav Dance Company that will transport you to Uttarayan, the world-famous kite festival that takes place in Gujarat, North India. Tapping into the chaos, creativity and colour of the festival, it brings to life the highs, lows, loves and losses of lives that are lived out among the festivities.

Choreographed by Urja Desai Thakore (BBC Young Dancer choreographer) and based on her personal observations of the festival and Gujarati heritage, kite flying becomes a metaphor for the inequalities of privilege in societies and in the corporate world. This contemporary neo classical work with strong roots in the South Asian dance tradition, features original music, performed live, by four musicians who interact with and move around the four dancers.

Every January millions of people from different cities, religions and social classes come together to fly kites in a unique event marking the transition from winter into spring. Whilst it is a joyous event, Uttarayan is also ruthlessly competitive. The aim is to fly your kite higher than anybody else’s. Competitors coat their kite strings with glass pigment that while beautiful on the surface will also cut the strings of other kites. Wounds to participants are not unknown and penthouse-owning rich people make full use their advantages by launching their kites from high rooftops. Kattam Katti draws parallels with society’s inequalities in India, the UK and around the world.

‘Today there are many deeply divided societies around the world,’ said Urja ‘I used kite flying and the festival as a metaphor for the inequalities of privilege I see in those societies and in the corporate world. It is also based on my personal observations of the festival and Gujarati heritage in general. I hope that by addressing such universal themes in this way we can introduce Asian dance to new audiences from diverse cultures’.

The London premiere is at Sadler’s Wells’ Lilian Baylis Studio on 21 and 22 May, following dates at Folkestone Quarterhouse (23 April) and Milton Keynes’ MK Gallery (2 May). It will undertake a more extensive British tour later in the year and into 2021.

Founded in 2005 by acclaimed dancer, choreographer and teacher Urja Desai Thakore, Pagrav Dance Company creates work rooted in classical Indian Kathak styles, fused with contemporary storytelling and design. The company is also highly committed to nurturing the next generation by providing a supportive platform for emerging dancers.

Kattam Katti was commissioned by Sadler’s Wells and is funded by Arts Council England and Milton Keynes Council with partners MK Gallery, Creative Folkestone, University of Bedfordshire, Akademi, SouthEast Dance, SAA Arts UK and GemArts.