Chowk Productions – Alchemy: Stone to Flesh (Oct – Dec 2022)
Alchemy: Stone to Flesh was a dancer's reading of the exhibition, Nothing is Forever: Rethinking Sculpture in Singapore.
There is a centuries-old relationship between sculpture and the classical dances of India. Throughout the subcontinent, dance forms like Odissi have inspired countless craftspeople to create reliefs, stone carvings, idols and statues for temples, palaces, and even ordinary homes. The inspiration flowed the other way too, as performers created dances in response to sculptures. For example, the temple sculptures and reliefs in Orissa are associated with some of the basic stances in Odissi.
During their residency, Chowk Productions—in collaboration with other artists—explored the manifold ways that the language of dance can be used to interpret sculpture. Transformation is key to life and art; we have to embrace the fact that nothing is forever.
About the artist
Founded in 2014 by Raka Maitra, Chowk Productions creates Singapore-made dance-theatre. They delve deep into the heart of Asian movement and theatre traditions to develop a contemporary performance vocabulary for actors and dancers.
Chowk’s mission is to develop an Asian contemporary movement expression that dissolves the dichotomy between tradition and modernity. This is achieved through training that is rooted in classical Odissi and artistic productions
Chowk has a dance company that creates artistic productions in addition to engaging in research. They also offer regular lessons in Odissi dance for a range of ages, as well as periodic workshops in other traditional Asian somatic practices.