Palimpsest 1996 – Document

Series nameProduction: Palimpsest 1996 - 1997 and 2000-2001
Description

This A4 document provides a background to ‘Palimpsest’, choreographed by Shobana Jeyasingh and performed by her dance company in 1996 -1997. The performance was held at Queen Elizabeth Hall at the South Bank Centre, The Place Theatre in London and Joyce Theatre in New York. ‘Palimpsest’ toured again in 2000, to Nottingham, Birmingham, Brighton, Sheffield, Taunton, Reading, Loughborough, Newcastle and London. This ‘Palimpsest’ document includes a review of the performance from Time Out Magazine(1996) and details the names of the designers, musicians, dancers and technical coordinators of the production.

Date of Creation / Publication1996
CreatorShobana Jeyasingh Dance Company
Associated Person/ Organisation Jeyasingh, Shobana
LocationLondon
Collection and Reference Number Shobana Jeyasingh Dance Company (GB 2661 SJ)
Catalogue NumberSJ/PRO/PP/1
CopyrightThe Creator and/ or associated person or organisation where applicable
Access to originalsThe originals are located with the Shobana Jeyasingh Dance Company
Series notesIn 1995, Shobana Jeyasingh choreographed 'Palimpsest', a dance performance rooted in Bharata Natyam and layered with contemporary movement. A 'palimpsest' is a manuscript which has been partly erased and written over. For Jeyasingh, this was a metaphor for memory, in which the past is constancy overlaid by fresh experiences.

The score was composed by Graham Fitkin,composer in residence with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic (1994 -1997), and well known for his ensemble and dance work. For Jeyasingh's production, Fitkin used a contemporary score for modern strings and clarinets. The production won the Time Out award for best choreography in 1996.

The dancers in 'Palimpsest' were Natasha Bakht, Aditi Jaitly, Radhica Laukaran, Savitha Shekhar, (1996 -1997) Jasmin Simhalan and Chitra Srishailan (1996-97 and 2000), Sowmya Gopalan, Anusha Lall, Jiva Parthipan and Rani Nair (2000).
Collection notesThe digitised material in the Shobana Jeyasingh Dance Company collection includes performance programmes, flyers, information leaflets and photographs. At the request of Shobana Jeyasingh Dance Company,the collection features digitised items pertaining only to productions from 1996 onwards.