Nigah in collaboration with the Religare Arts Initiative's year-long project, Art Against AIDS, presents:

An evening of dance and film relating to the themes of gender, sexuality, desire and HIV/AIDS as part of the commemoration of Dec 1 as World AIDS Day.

When:
Friday, December 4th, 2009
from 6:30 — 9 PM

Where:
Religare Arts Initiative,
7 Atmaram Mansion, Level 1,
Scindia House, Kasturba Gandhi Marg,
New Delhi - 110001
T: +91 11 43727000/7001

Dance::

Ruddha (rude, huh?)

A solo of “false translations” of traditional kathak compositions, where bols transform into nonsensical English gossip, where idiosyncratic postmodern movement suddenly shifts into classical kathak. Based on classical kathak compositions learned from Bandana Sen and Anjani Ambegaokar.

Choreography and text: Cynthia Lee
Performance: Cynthia Lee
Duration: 7 minutes

Dasi (displaced)

The basis of the piece is a critical response to an exotified image of "the temple dancer" that the choreographer has had to contend with while performing Indian dance in Europe. Constructed through chance procedures and drawing on tandava and lasya qualities, the dancer reclaims the power of the gaze.

Choreography: Sandra Chatterjee
performance: Sandra Chatterjee
music: Oliver Rajamani
Duration: 6 minutes

Counting the Moons

choreography: Anusha Kedhar & Cynthia Lee
performance: Sandra Chatterjee and Cynthia Lee

original music: Gregory Acker and Robert Levit
duration: 13 minutes

"I wore myself out watching the road.
Counting the moons, I grieved,
Holding back a love I could not hold..."
-Ksetrayya

A North and South Indian classical dancer collaborate to evoke love, loss, and the slippery relationships between self, friend, and lover, in this contemporary abhinaya (emotional expression) piece loosely inspired by a poem by the 17th century Telegu poet, Ksetrayya.

About the Performers:

Cynthia Lee:

Based in Los Angeles and drawing on the aesthetics of western avant-garde performance and classical kathak, Cynthia Lee’s choreography focuses on rigorous intercultural collaboration and developing kathak as a contemporary form. Her work has been deeply influenced by her teachers Simone Forti, Eiko & Koma, Bandana Sen, Kumudini Lakhia, and Anjani Ambegaokar. Cynthia holds an MFA in choreography from UCLA's Department of World Arts and Cultures and is a member of the Post Natyam Collective.

Sandra Chatterjee:

Based in Munich, Germany, Sandra Chatterjee combines her interests of choreographing, writing, and creating platforms for exchange among emerging creative artists. Her training in Kuchipudi provides a strong basis from which to create contemporary choreography that also draws on her training in Bharatanatyam, Polynesian dance, modern/postmodern dance, and yoga. She holds a PhD in Culture and Performance from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and is a member of the Post Natyam Collective.

Film:

Black White + Gray: A Portrait of Sam Wagstaff and Robert Mapplethorpe (USA, 2007)

Duration: 76 minutes

Writer/Director: James Crump

Sam Wagstaff was a Vanity Fair cover waiting to happen. He was handsome, wealthy, cultivated and connected, not to mention the lover and mentor of the photographer Robert Mapplethorpe. Both men died of AIDS in the late '80s. Each man was a sexual outlaw, and a sense of outlawry marked their cultural lives no less than their private ones, as seen in James Crump's absorbing 2007 documentary. The narration is delivered in rather hard-bitten tones by writer Joan Juliet Buck. "Black White + Gray" demonstrates a rare degree of intelligence, sophistication and frankness.

Nigah Invites you for the Pink Rupee Party !!!

Nigah Invites you for the Pink Rupee Party !!!

Your QueerFest Returns, 23rd Oct - 1st Nov .... with another ten days of films, photography, performances, workshops and a lot more
queerness around, check out the details - www.thequeerfest.com.

The pride of Nigah QueerFest is that its funded by the Queer Community. The last 2 years have been a great success with your love and support.

Yet again, we invite you to the fundraiser party to show your support and dance the night away with us.

Day and Date: Friday, 4th September 09
Time: 10:00 pm onwards
Venue: Pegs N Pints, Chanakyapuri (with Chanakya cinema on your right, go till the end of the road. The club is on your right).
Entry: Rs 400 on the main gate (gets you coupon for one drink) plus Rs 100 at the second door (a suggested contribution to Nigah, feel
free to go higher!)

YOUR PRESENCE IS YOUR SUPPORT, SO COME AND SPREAD THE WORD !!

Solidarity
Nigah
www.thequeerfest.com

Tipping the Velvet

Nigah presents >>
Tipping the Velvet
on Friday, 31st July 2009
from 6 pm to 9 pm
at Milan, A-20 (Basement), Lajpat Nagar III, New Delhi

Nigah events are back again after a short break! The last few weeks have been very exciting and eventful, first the Delhi Queer Pride march and then the historical High Court judgment that read down Sec 377 of the IPC. To celebrate this and more, we invite you to the screening of a delicious, lip smacking film!

Tipping the Velvet is set in the 1890s, it tells the story of Nancy Astley, an oyster girl from the English town of Whitstable , who falls in love with a male impersonator and stage performer named Kitty Butler and begins to undergo a complete life transformation. The story deals with the topic of lesbian sex and desire along with the role that economic class can play in oppression. The title of the film is a Victorian-era euphemism for cunnilingus.

This 2002 BBC television drama serial is based on the bestselling debut novel by Sarah Waters of the same name. It stars Rachael Stirling, Keeley Hawes , and Jodhi May . Directed by Geoffrey Sax, the novel was adapted by acclaimed screenwriter Andrew Davies.

Directions:
Entrance is in the lane behind the building. Ring bell to gain access. It's right behind Moolchand Hospital.
- last turning into Lajpat Nagar if you are coming from Defence Colony Flyover.
- first turning if coming along the Ring Road from Defence Colony side. Do not not take the underpass, take left lane (do not turn left!) and go straight across the traffic lights on ground level.
- Right turn at Moolchand Flyover if coming from Chirag side, then as above
- U-Turn at Moolchand Flyover if coming from Ashram on RIng Road, then as above

Do come! Forward this information widely! Refreshments will be provided.

Queer Writing Workshop

Nigah invites you to a queer writing workshop:

Inviting writers of any genre, gender or generation to come, read, write, listen and subvert the ways in which we imagine/are supposed to imagine our many genders and sexualities. We will discuss how our queerness and writing affect each other and try some writing exercises so do bring along your pens!

WHEN: Sunday 1st February 2009
WHERE: India Coffee House, Mohansingh Place, Connaught Place
TIME: 5 pm to 7 pm

QueerCafe

Nigah presents>>
QueerCafe - the fourth annual open mic

Voices that challenge, queer, and subvert the ways in which we
imagine/are supposed to imagine our many genders and sexualities.

Friday, 13th February, 06.30 pm
The Attic, Regal Building
Connaught Place, New Delhi

Inviting readings, performances, poetry, songs, video, films, mimes,
erotica, rants, raves, elegies, odes, limmericks, nazms, what have
you. Your audience is waiting.

Open to all and entries invited in any language.
Time slot per participant: 10 minutes
To sign up or for questions, write to us: contact@nigah.org

We hope that the evening will bring together some of Delhi's most
exciting performances that will delight audiences of all genders and
sexualities.

Do join us, participate and spread the word!