Hip Hop Meets Classical Indian Dance in Shobana Jeyasingh's MATERIAL MEN

Birmingham Hippodrome is delighted to welcome esteemed choreographer Shobana Jeyasingh to The Patrick Centre on Mon 27 & Tues 28 Mar, with her virtuoso new dance work, Material Men redux.

Shobana Jeyasingh is one of the most exciting choreographers working in the UK today. In her new full-length work Material Men redux, she weaves the shared history and personal stories of her two virtuoso dancers - Sooraj Subramaniam and Shailesh Bahoran - into a powerful piece of dance theatre.

Hip hop and classical Indian dance - the styles of the dancers could not be more different. But the two men share a history rooted in the dark realities of colonial migration and plantation labour, particularly Shailesh whose great-grandparents did the classic journey from a village in north India to work on the sugar plantations in Suriname.

Material Men redux is a dynamic exploration of colonial history, migration, the violence of loss and the creation of new ways of belonging. It gives voice to a less mainstream version of British history, 100 years after indentured labour was abolished by the British government.

The piece includes an evocative film by Simon Daw featuring archive photographic material, and historic texts. The commissioned score by acclaimed Australian composer Elena Kats-Chernin is played live on stage by The Smith Quartet with additional sound design by Leafcutter John.

On 25 and 26 March, dancer Shailesh Bahoran will be running a two-day hip hop masterclass for local dancers and hip hop crews at the Patrick Centre. There will be a maximum of 25 dancers, many of them very skilled but without any formal dance training.

Shobana Jeyasingh Dance Company will also be running a series of schools workshops in Hip-Hop and classical Indian dance with students from Queensbridge School, Lordswood Boys School and Henley-in-Arden School on Wed 22 and Thurs 23 Mar.

Material Men redux will visit The Patrick Centre on Mon 27 & Tues 28 Mar. Performance time: 7.45pm. Tickets are priced at £16. For further information and to book, call 0844 338 5000 or visit www.birminghamhippodrome.com.

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