SAWCC and Still/Moving present an evening of movement, both physical and spiritual, and by any means auditory: spoken word by Amani Saeed, dance by Barkha Dance Company, and music by Roshni Samlal, followed with a set by DJ Anjali Rose.
Ki Smith Gallery
170 Forsyth Street
New York, NY 10002
Tickets: Sliding scale $15-25, in advance or at the door
RSVP here: https://www.kismithgallery.com/event-details/amani-saeed-roshni-samlal-barkha-dance-company-sounds-by-anjali-rose
Amani Saeed is an international writer who treads the line between roots and routes. She writes poetry, blog posts, films, and whatever else is needed to get the point across. Amani is the curator and host of the interdisciplinary sell-out night the Hen-nah Party, designed by and for queer South Asians. Her poetry collection, Split, was published with Burning Eye Books. Amani is the co-writer for Queer Parivaar, which premiered at the 2022 BFI Flare: London LGBTIQ+ Film Festival and won the “Best British” Iris Prize 2022.
Roshni Samlal is a New York–based tabla player, DJ, producer, curator and poet of Trinidadian descent. As a classically trained tabla artist, Roshni performs traditional tabla solos, South Asian classical accompaniment, jazz, and chamber composition. She also uses electronic music production and poetry as contexts to reframe the tabla solo within an experimental narrative lens. She is the lead curator and producer of the Ragini Festival, which focuses on spotlighting the work of artists engaged in traditional folk and innovative arts within the further reaches of the South Asian diaspora, focusing on Indo-Caribbean heritage. Her DJ sets are rooted in her diasporic heritage as a Trinidadian immigrant during the 90s, Global Club, Bollywood, Chutney, Soca, Electronics, Dancehall, and Dub. Her work has been supported and showcased at GlobalFest, Ragas Live Festival, Lincoln Center, Celebrate Brooklyn, True/False Film Festival, Brookfield Place, Rubin Museum, Accordions of the World Festival, Joe’s Pub (working group member 2022-2023), New Music USA, Pioneer Works, and Brooklyn Museum.
Barkha Dance Company (BDC) is a kathak dance organization that upholds the traditional lineage of kathak and mindfully creates contemporary works that uncover new movement possibilities and means of storytelling within the form. Based in New York led by artistic director Barkha Patel, their work has had the opportunity to present at venues such as Dance Theatre Harlem, Jacob’s Pillow, Inside/Out, Joyce Theatre, and Little Island Dance Festival, among others. She was the recipient of the 2023 Juried Bessie Award, is currently in residency with Movement Research, and is a Harlem Stage WaterWorks Fellow. Barkha teaches kathak to young and adult students in New York and across the US, both in-person and via Zoom. You can learn more about her dance and community work at www.barkhadance.com
Anjali Rose is a bandleader, film score composer, producer, vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist based in the Mid-Atlantic, predominantly New York City. When not doing music, Anjali is making films through Ananda Luna Productions. Anjali’s latest album The Worlds That Disappear came out in November 2022 with the help of independent music label Soulful X Nature. In the spring of 2022, Anjali contributed music to her second film score for the short film Gabriela, sponsored by Netflix and the LA Latino Film Festival; the film has since been showcased in various festivals including Sundance. Anjali’s debut album Shadow Works was independently written, recorded, produced, mastered, and released via cassette in 2021. Though born and raised in central New Jersey, Anjali has welcomed Western Massachusetts, Southern Spain, and now Brooklyn, NY as her home where she makes music, videos, and learns. Anjali has toured in over 15 different countries and states around mainland Europe, the US, and parts of Canada.
This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council.