NCPA Pravaha- KiN by Isha Sharvani Daksha Seth

KiN
By Isha Sharvani & Daksha Sheth Dance Company

Isha Sharvani is an Indian-born Australian contemporary dancer, who has been performing professionally since the age of 13. Her work is strongly rooted in Indian traditional dance and spiritual disciplines which she has adapted into contemporary dance, circus arts and visceral ways of storytelling, bringing to light a unique and completely original cross-cultural art form. Shravani has been the principal dancer of The Daksha Sheth Dance Company for over two decades.

Daksha Sheth is the Director of The Daksha Sheth Dance Company. The company, considered one of the most dynamic and visionary contemporary dance companies in India, was started in 1986 by Daksha Sheth and her husband, Australian composer and director Dev Issaro. The Daksha Sheth Dance Company has performed over 3,000 shows across 30 countries and has been featured in numerous international festivals in Europe, Asia, America and Australia.

Dev Issaro has collaborated as co-artistic director as well as visual and musical director in all of Sheth’s experimental dance productions since 1986. He also oversees the conceptualisation, stage design, photography and lighting design for all the productions of the company. Tao Issaro is an Indian/Australian multi-instrumentalist, composer, sound designer and performance maker, raised in the artistic tribe of the Daksha Sheth Dance Company, Tao has developed a dynamic performance language combining percussion, movement, physical theatre and storytelling. Russell Thorpe joined the Perth-based contemporary dance company Co3 as a founding dancer in 2015. During his time with Co3, Thorpe performed works by Raewyn Hill, Larissa McGowan and others. In 2021, he performed in a re-staging of Hofesh Shechter’s Uprising & tHE bAD for the Perth International Arts Festival.

KiN is based on a true story about one family’s connection through music and dance and explores the passing of tradition and its transformation across generations. Performed by a family of artistes, Daksha Sheth (mother), Dev Issaro (father), Isha Sharvani (daughter), Tao Issaro (son) and Luca Issaro (grandson), the cast of KiN create a unique experience that weaves the fabric of family seamlessly with commanding artistry and fiery musicality. Be prepared to be transported from Indian temples and villages to abstract realms with kaleidoscopic visuals as you journey through time, to the heart of what it means to be kin. Rooted in the ancient Indian dance tradition of Kathak and the yogic rope tradition of Mallakhamb, KiN integrates these art forms with contemporary Western dance-theatre in a story that explores themes of multiculturalism, belonging and kinship. This collaborative work forms a link between the traditional and the contemporary, pushing both forms forward and intertwining the history and culture of the cast’s Indian and Australian heritage.