Balbir Singh is the mastermind behind Synchronised and the choreographer of Flight Paths.
Balbir trained at the Northern School of Contemporary Dance and went on to learn the principles of Kathak under Akram Khan and then Guru Pratap Pawar. Balbir’s work brings together the skills, disciplines and traditions of Kathak with the less constraining possibilities of contemporary dance. Always working with original live music, the work challenges dancers to explore their musicality as well as their physicality. Balbir describes his upbringing as cross-cultural, with those cultures being Bradford and Leeds – the move from the former to the latter being the biggest spur to his creative direction.
With this highly individual take on the meaning of cultures it is hardly surprising that the work of Balbir Singh Dance Company is seen as more post-structural than post-colonial. Even the centrality of Kathak in the company’s work stems more from Balbir Singh’s fascination for its numerical systems than from any religious motivation. More information about the Balbir Singh Dance Company can be found here.
You can listen to Balbir talking about Synchronised on BBC Radio Sheffield by clicking here (he’s about 1 hour 15 mins in).
Balbir Singh on choreography and Synchronised
Artistic Director of Synchronised, Balbir Singh, talks about the project....
BBC Look North dips its toes into ‘Aqua Dance’
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Dancer Amy on Synchronised
Professional dancer Amy tells us what it's like to dance in water as part of Synchronised...
Heba on Synchronised
Former Olympic synchronised swimmer Heba talks about working on Synchronised....
Synchronised – a sneaky peak
Synchronised takes classical Indian dance, Kathak, into swimming pools for a new take on Synchronised swimming....
The Synchronised team tell us their ‘imove ands…’
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Synchronised
This groundbreaking world premiere plunges dancers into the water for a spectacular performance. Pioneering choreographer Balbir Singh and former Olympic synchronised swimmer Heba Abdel Gawad have joined forces to create a new genre, AquaKathak, which unifies the spirit of Busby Berkeley's extravagant...
Synchronised
Huddersfield-based choreographer Balbir Singh, working with former Olympian Heba Abdel Gawad, blends the traditional North Indian dance style Kathak with synchronised swimming to produce Synchronised, a huge performance involving dancers, swimmers and members of the public that will hark back to the MGM ‘water musicals’ of the 40s and 50s, but with a thrilling modern...
Wingbeats
Flying is the ultimate freedom of movement and Wingbeats explores flight in all its forms, from the bevies of birds at Bempton and Flamborough Head to the inspirational story of Amy Johnson, Yorkshire’s own aviatrix. Wingbeats is teaming amazing artists with local schoolchildren to create work inspired not only by the theme of flight...
