An Evening of South Asian Dance & Music

Saturday 03 May | 5:30 pm - 8:30 pm | The Salisbury Centre, Edinburgh 

BEYOND Winter 2024 Awardees Oxana Banshikova, Nikhita Devi & Prathiksha Ravoor are putting on a wonderful, community South Asian Arts event and taster day, in Edinburgh with support of their BEYOND funding. See below for more information on the event and how to book your tickets

Beyond was setup to help nurture and kick start artist led projects which connect more people with dance, through awards of seeding funding.

ABOUT

Join us for a vibrant and welcoming celebration of South Asian dance and music! Over the past two years, our collective of South Asian dance practitioners has come together to share our practice and support one another. Now, with support from the BEYOND fund at The Work Room, we’re excited to invite you to a special taster event.

This event offers open-level workshops, live music, and engaging conversations, introducing participants to a variety of South Asian dance and music styles. Whether you want to take part or simply enjoy the performances, everyone is welcome—no prior dance experience is necessary!

Expect pop-up performances throughout the event, and we’ll end the evening with an inclusive community dance session in the beautiful garden of the Salisbury Centre.

Come and celebrate, connect, and be inspired as we lay the foundation for a future South Asian Dance Festival! Presented as part of Edinburgh's Beltane festival celebrations 

TIME, DATE & PLACE

South Asian Dance Festival | Saturday 3 May 2025 | 17:30 - 20:30 | The Salisbury Centre, 2 Salisbury Road Edinburgh EH16 5AB

Access Information about The Salisbury Centre can be found here

About the Facilitators:

Oxana Banshikova is a distinguished dancer, choreographer, and dance educator from Kazakhstan. She specialises in Bharatanatyam, the classical dance form of South India, and its fusion with other art and dance forms. Oxana graduated from the renowned Kalakshetra College of Fine Arts in Chennai, India. With 20 years of professional experience, Oxana has performed and taught Bharatanatyam across UK, India, Kazakhstan, Armenia, and Hong Kong. She is the founder and director of Cosmic Dance Company (established in Hong Kong in 2009) and the associate artistic director of Beyond Bollywood, Hong Kong.  

Prathiksha Ravoor is a Bharatnatyam dancer with 23 years of experience in performing and teaching. She has performed in prestigious occasions like Hampi festival, the art of living centre and other dance festivals in India. Her passion for dance has led her to meet and explore dance in other forms such as contemporary, kathak, mohiniyattam, even Bollywood.

Nikhita Devi (they/them) practice is deeply rooted in their Indian heritage, based primarily on Indian classical dance, which allows them to express themself and connect physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually with themself, their audience and their community. They hope that infusing the movement vocabulary of classical dance styles with the sensuality and earthiness of bellydance and burlesque will help to inspire and liberate femmes, the LGBTQ community and the South Asian community at home and abroad.

Instagram – nikhita.devii

Facebook page – Nikhita Devi Dance and Yoga

ABOUT THE TASTER SESSIONS

A full lineup and timetable of taster workshops and performances will be announced closer to the date! All workshops will be open level- no previous experience is necessary!

BOOKING

South Asian Dance Festival is aimed at adults interested in trying out or learning more about South Asian Dance and Arts. Suggested Ages 14 +

This event is ticketed with Pay-What-You-Can pricing. Suggested donations are £8 full price and £5 concession. BOOK ON EVENTBRITE

For more into email:  southasiandancejam@gmail.com 

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