Leeds-based choreographer bringing cultures together through dance
Earlier this month choreographer Balbir Singh, artistic director and founder of Leeds-based Balbir Singh Dance Company was awarded an MBE for services to dance. The recognition is hugely deserved.
Over the past three decades Singh has been creating ground-breaking work that connects communities, bridges cultures and transforms lives. Born in India and raised in Bradford, Singh has recognized the value and strength of negotiating the space between two cultures; it has informed and shaped the work that he has created. A graduate of the Northern School of Contemporary Dance, Singh also trained in classical Kathak and he has fused the two to develop a distinctive creative and choreographic style that brings South Asian artistic traditions into dialogue with modern Britain.
When he heard about the award, Singh felt a rush of emotions. “I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry,” he says. “There was a sense of pleasure, delight and joy and a reflective moment, thing about that journey and the ups and downs. It felt like an honour and it gives credit and validity to my work. Of course, the work is a team effort, so it also speaks to the artists and communities too.”
Subscribe to the YP’s Lifestyle newsletter
Dance has the unique ability to cross boundaries and bring people together. In many ways it is fundamental to being human – moving our bodies to music or a rhythm is a primal and ancient act. That accessibility and universality is key to the healthcare, wellbeing, community and research projects that Singh and the company undertake. They include pain management programmes, dementia groups and cancer recovery participants. “Much of our communication is non-verbal,” says Singh. “That is how we connect with each other and everyday movements are almost a form of dance. In the work that we do with community groups and in healthcare settings what we try and do is to give people confidence and enable them to express themselves in a different way.”
This work runs alongside all the performances that the company creates and is a central part of what they do. The company is currently developing three new performance works – A Solo Duet, a new full- length work with long time collaborators Sooraj Subramaniam and Abirami Eswar; The Washing Line, new full-length piece co-created with Thomas and Guys Hospital INPUT Chronic Pain Unit and artists with lived experience; and Captured, an interactive new work exploring the relationship and dialogue between photographer and dancer.
Previous key works include Reflections of an Indian Dancer, which premiered in 2022, a collaboration between Singh as choreographer and renowned dancer Sooraj Subramanian which explored themes of home, identity and the power of the individual performer. The Wise Ones, first performed in 2021, was a joyful celebration of age and aging and how we make sense of the world through dance, told through the story of three older people passing on their life and creative skills to younger counterparts. Other productions include The Two Fridas, a fusion of dance, music and art that tells the story of two major 20th century female artists Amrita Sher-Gil and Frida Kahlo and Champion of the Flatlands which combined theatre and urban culture, featuring dance, live music and ‘flatland’ BMX; to proved very popular with young people and was a hit in the company’s schools programme. It gives you some idea of the breadth, depth and range of the company’s work.
A key milestone in the company’s journey came in 2012 when it secured National Portfolio Organisation status with Arts council England. That same year they also participated in the Cultural Olympiad that accompanied the London Olympics, dazzling audiences with their contribution, Synchronised, a breathtaking dance and synchronised swimming spectacular. “We had 150 people in a swimming pool, the logistics were challenging,” says Singh, laughing. “That was a proud moment and it was also the beginnings of us going outside of a conventional theatre setting and the start of other sport and dance collaborations. We have since done two ice skating productions, worked with Tour de Yorkshire and with female rugby players.”
Singh continues to push against boundaries, challenge himself and is looking forward to taking the company in different directions and forming new partnerships. “The way I work is to always push myself out of my comfort zone,” he says. “As a company we are constantly going deeper in to the work and trying to communicate how important movement and creativity is to our wellbeing. And to highlight the importance of the arts in bringing people and different cultures together. That is a life-long quest.”