April Blog
It’s the end of April already! And that means it’s our Blog’s 1st birthday! Can you believe we are 12 blogs in, and only 2 more blogs away from becoming Bradford Arts Centre. Grab yourself a slice of birthday cake this time, and check out this month’s blog!
Capital Update
It’s been a significant month on our building site – if you’ve walked past you can’t fail to have seen our big, new Bradford Arts Centre sign! We’ve also had a milestone moment inside the building, with the framework for our new theatre seating being installed. You can really get a feel for how the finished building will be now – we can’t wait to be able to show you all around soon!
Past Performances: Disco Queen by Ella Tighe
We had the BEST time at Disco Queen this month! The Alhambra Studios was packed with energy, glitter, and pompoms that even our team loved dancing with. Ella Tighe brought it all! Huge thanks to Ella and her team for premiering Disco Queen with Kala Sangam.
‘Incredible! Thought provoking, heart warming, educational and amazingly inspiring. I have not been to a freestyle dance event and it blew me away! What powerful dancers they are – each and every one. A truly magnificent celebration of the human body!’
Audience Feedback
Associate Announcement
As we begin to put plans in place for the grand opening of Bradford Arts Centre in September, we are delighted to announce Bradford South Asian Festival (BSAF) and Rhythmosaic as new Associate Companies.
First set up in 2022, the Associate Company programme sees Kala Sangam providing a bespoke package of support, working closely with each organisation to help them grow and develop. This can include a commitment to performing their work; co-commissioning; rehearsal and office space; fundraising support; championing their work and more. You can read the full news post here
We hosted the Bradford South Asian Festival’s Faith, Food and Friendship dinner and it was a lovely evening. Marking the Spring festivals of a number of religions (Eid, Easter, Passover, Navratri and Vaisakhi) the event brought people from Bradford’s diverse communities together to eat, talk and share their stories. There was an emphasis on getting to know each other and finding our shared experiences.
We also hosted Rhythmosaic’s celebration dinner, where members of their company, friends, family and the Kala Sangam team got together to talk about our partnership. We even got change to speak to some of their team in India over a zoom call and hear about all the fantastic training opportunities and performances that are happening over there.
What Have Our Staff Been Up To
On the 5th of April Fay welcomed home her new Golden Retriever puppy called Ted. When Ted isn’t trying to do the crate escape he loves nothing more than sunbathing in the garden or cuddling up on the sofa.
Sidra and other Muslim staff celebrated Eid-ul-Fitr. It marks the end of Ramadan a holy month in which Muslims fast from dawn to sunset for thirty days. It is a time of excitement and anticipation from selecting the perfect clothes, shoes, matching bangles, jewellery, mehndi (henna) to having a big feast. Then for Sidra also comes the big shop for Eid groceries. Eid morning is really busy with getting the kids ready, making something sweet like seviyan (sweet vermicelli), Eid prayer so she starts preparing for Eid feast a day before. She spent the Eid day visiting her family, eating lots of delicious food, then all her family came to her house for the evening meal, which she really enjoyed. For Sidra Eid continued to second day meeting up with friends and neighbours.
Eid was equally as busy for Ifty! He did his early morning prayers and then went to see his grandma. He put on his best traditional shalwar kameez (traditional Asian clothing) and spent the rest of the day eating all of his favourite foods, including meat pilau, kebabs and finishing off with lots of trifle!
Jez has been busy stripping wallpaper and lifting carpets in his new house, and in between times has been meeting the bees in his new garden.
Archive Adventures
Our Archive Adventure videos are already halfway through! This month, we have been chatting to Mary over at BCB, Balbir Singh, our very own Sid and Ifty, and Vijay Venkat. They have all shared some brilliant stories about Kala Sangam’s past, and highlighted some key moments from our archive to chat about. We have some more friendly faces coming in May, but for now, check out our April videos here.
Arts and Heritage Update
Kala Sangam held their Hub Sharing at Bank House, bringing together the 3 Arts and Heritage Community Project groups together for a morning of talks, performances and displays of their work so far in the project. Each group also gave the guests a preview of what they are working on for their final pieces which will take place at Bradford Arts Centre later this year. We had a morning full of poetry, pottery and performance, as well as plenty of food and sharing stories, as this was the first time our 3 groups have met! Thank you to WomenZone, u3a and European Drom, you were all amazing and thank you to everyone who came to support them. We’re looking forward to inviting you all to see their pieces at Bd_AC!
It was also exciting to see European Drom perform at The Beacon in Wibsey Park for an evening celebrating International Roma Day. It was great to see them leave with bags of confidence and the children and young people enjoyed performing in front of an audience for the first time – well done everyone!
Over in Keighley, It’s been a busy month for Highfield Community Association! The men’s group have enjoyed calligraphy workshops with artist Razwan-Ul-Haq, learning about the blend of traditional Islamic calligraphy and modern art, and trying their hands at some hand-mixed inks! We also hosted an Eid party for the group, enjoyed a family craft open day, and have started stitching together a quilt that represents key features of Bangladeshi heritage with the women’s group. In Keighley East, we are working with Parkwood Primary School, Friends Of Parkwood, and local Long Lee and Parkwood residents to take part in workshops led by Lisa Holmes from Photo Hub North, combining their experiences of Parkwood and using their imagination to make up their own folklore stories!
Classes
Our Bollywood dance classes are back this May! No experience needed, just bring your energy! More information here
We also have our weekly Kathak Classes with RHYTHMOSAIC! Sign up here
Hollywood Meets Bollywood: A Splashing Community Dance Fusion Project at Ilkley Lido!
Ever dreamed of dancing to the infectious rhythms of Bollywood? Now’s your chance!
Take part in an exciting dance performance at the poolside at Ilkley Lido as part of the Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture Celebrations. You will work with Bollywood dance choreographer Zoobin Surty to create a unique showcase blending Bollywood beats with Hollywood glamour. The performance will also feature a troupe of synchronised swimmers. You can find more about the project here
Booking Spaces
We are still taking room bookings for Kala Sangam at Bank House as we gear up to move back into St Peter’s House later this year. So, if you’re looking for a meeting room, training space or conference hall in the heart of the city centre, please email steveoconnell@kalasangam.org . Our building is accessible and all rooms have a projector, flipchart and fast Wi-Fi. Don’t forget, we also have in-house catering offering refreshments and food throughout your session.
