the company
Our Mission: Balbir Singh Dance Company exists to create dynamic dance through a synthesis of Kathak, live music and Contemporary dance.
Balbir Singh Dance Company,established in 1997 as Diversity Dance, changed its name in 2008 to reflect the fact that its sole purpose is to create and present the work of Balbir Singh.
The work stems from the dual training Balbir Singh received in the fields of Kathak and Contemporary dance and his subsequent interest in exploring the creative potential of synthesising the two forms. Always working with original live music, the work challenges dancers to explore their musicality as well as their physicality and draws on the holistic relationship between Kathak dance and music.
In 2007, funding was secured for Balbir Singh to undertake a development project with four Contemporary-trained dancers over a nine-month period investigating how Kathak training might impact on their skills and capability. The project culminated in the creation of a new work which brought together the two forms and was presented at three showcase events in middle scale venues.
The success of these events and the positive response from dancers, musicians, audiences and promoters played a key role in the Arts Council’s subsequent decision to recruit the company to its portfolio of Regularly Funded Organisations (RFOs) from 2009 onwards.
In light of this very positive development the decision was taken to change the name of the company and to focus its strategic development on the creation of new work and its performance on the middle scale.
