Cricket Green, Bradford BD:Fest: Northern School of Contemporary Dance dancers
Sport and Art
Where athleticism meets aesthetics, the company’s Sport and Art strand pushes the boundaries of performance. From exploring martial arts like Kalaripayattu and archery from The Ramayana, to partnering with physiotherapists on mindful movement for health, BSDC investigates the creative potential in everyday motion. Dance becomes both exercise and expression – a celebration of the physical and the poetic.
“I had a background in long distance running, swimming and cycling before I got into dance. So it felt like a natural progression to connect the two. Exploring the aesthetics of sport and the athleticism of dance in a creative way has been a delight. To create new experiences for audiences from the worlds of theatre, sport – as well as the general public – that’s what I am here to do as an artist. And it’s given us an opportunity to open up a wider awareness of ice skating, BMX, swimming, rugby and most recently cricket. Balbir Singh
Cricket Green devising, Durham University Botanics: Kali Chandrasegaram, Devika Rao and Balbir Singh
Cricket Green
A spectacular live music, theatre, and dance show that seamlessly blends classical Indian and contemporary Western dance forms to tell the story of Team Earth and Team Climate in a surreal game of cricket.
Cricket Green devising, Durham University Botanics: Kali Chandrasegaram and Devika Rao
Cricket Green being performed at Bradford’s BD:Festival 2023
Champion of the Flatlands
Part of the Two Wheel Trilogy, which included Dancing Bicycles and Roundness of 12.
A ‘boy meets girl’ story of love and competition. The piece brought together the disparate worlds of performance art and urban culture, blended with live music. Featuring BMX freestyle riding from champion BMXers.
Champion of the Flatlands at London’s Southbank: Abirami Eswar and Keelan Phillips
A moment between rehearsals at Halifax Piece Hall: Keelan Phillips, Balbir Singh and Jesse Bannister
Full Contact
The history of Rugby League is awash with incredible incidents that live on in the memories of fans and players alike. In Full Contact, storytelling, music and dance are blended to celebrate this shared history and bring the worlds of Rugby League and contemporary dance into full, explosive contact.
Rehearsals for Full Contact
The Boy with the Rollerblades
Once there was a famous ice skater called Gary. Gary skated all over the world. He was always on his skates. Then one day the ice began to melt . . .
A fantastical work for children showcasing the mesmerising talents of world figure skating champion Gary Beacom.
Performed to live music that blended traditional Indian sounds with jazz.
With its underlying message about climate change, The Boy with the Rollerblades was one of Balbir’s first pieces in what would later become the company’s Blue:Green strand of work.
“It’s designed so the audience don’t focus on one element alone – be it the rollerblader, musician, storyteller or dancer – they all work together to allow the storytelling experience to dance with their imaginations and make them think in a way they maybe haven’t before, about who they are and about the world around them.” Balbir Singh
Explore more of Balbir Singh’sSport and Artwork on the BSDC projects blog:
