UKGHARANA

gharānā.noun Defination: a system of social organization linking musicians or dancers by lineage and/or apprenticeship, and by adherence to a particular musical style. A gharana also indicates a comprehensive musicological ideology. This ideology sometimes changes substantially from one gharana to another. It directly affects the thinking, teaching, performance and appreciation of music - the artform. 

Invited by Patidar Centre — a venue in the heart of south Asian audience – Wembley; to establish their credentials of south Asian classical arts activity, zeroculture/the Artta curated UK Gharana – a season showcasing how UK was shaping Indian classical dance and music to its own ‘style’.

UK Gharana featured new and specially commissioned work from artists such as Nahid Siddique, Nina Rajarani, Amina Khayyam, Abhay Shankar and featured emerging work from Quincy Charles, Divya Kasturi, Shamita Ray. A major part of the season included discussions and showcases – such as Colour of My Skin – discussing non Asian heritage dancers being affected by the industry.

A further landmark feature of the season was an exhibition of south Asian dance images by acclaimed photographer Simon Richardson that ran up and down the stairs of the venue.

While Patidar Centre harbored ambitions to become a major national space for such work, the second edition did not materialise due to the organisation’s governance structure.