Annual Report & Accounts2007-08

SAA-uk’s mission is to promote engagement with traditional and contemporary South Asian Arts

SAA-uk celebrates 10 years

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…preserving the traditional, faciltiating the contemporary

Chairperson’s StatementThis year has been a milestone for SAA-uk as it marks ten years of intensive activity and success.

The Chief Executive’s report summarises our achievements this year and you will see that they are many and various. For me, the most pleasing aspect of our activities this year has been to experience the performances of the many people, of all ages and backgrounds, whose routes into their particular arts have been made possible by the activities of SAA-uk over the years. Sometimes the challenges and diffi culties of running an arts charity can seem very daunting, but the joy and elation inspired by these performances makes all our efforts worthwhile.

I am delighted to welcome Dr. Katherine Brown to our Board. I am sure her experience and skills will be of great value to us in the future.

Unfortunately we have also had to say goodbye, as a director, to David Hoult on his retirement as Principal of Leeds College of Music. David was instrumental in founding SAA-uk with Dharambir Singh and he has been a valuable enthusiast and ambassador for the organisation throughout the past 10 years. I wish him a long and happy retirement.

I must also thank the Board, staff and numerous volunteers for their enthusiasm and support in what has been a year of considerable change.

I look forward keenly to the future and building on the foundations we have laid in the past ten years.

Paul French, Chairperson

…preserving the

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Contents

SAA-uk TEAM 2007-08

Chairperson’s StatementChief Executive’s ReportThe Year in FocusIncome and Expenditure Account, 2007-08Financial Review and SAA-uk Annual Statistics 2007-08Promoting Artistic Excellence Through Performance & EducationFunded Project: Organisational DevelopmentSocial Enterprise – Local & Regional PartnershipsConsultancy and AdvocacyArtistsWhat’s Next…Thanks

24589

10121316171819

Shahaa KakarChief Executive

Helen MooreEducation & Outreach Coordinator

Internships & Placements Sarpreet Kaur & Jasdeep Degun

Keranjeet Kaur VirdeeActing Chief Executive / Chief Executive

Rushia Uzmi (aka Dola) Finance & Administrative Assistant

Edwin PrestonGeneral Manager

Surmeet SinghProgramming & Marketing Assistant

BOARD OF DIRECTORS 2007-08

Mr. Paul French – Chairperson/Financial ConsultantMr. Halim Ahmed Chishtie – Treasurer and Deputy Chairperson/AccountantDr. David Hoult – (resigned 31st March 2008) Principal, Leeds College of MusicMs. Alison Owen-Morley – Head of External Relations, Leeds College of MusicMr. Arthur Selman – Retired Senior ExecutiveMiss. Jacqueline Dawn Cameron – Free-lance ConsultantDr. Ananya Kabir – Senior Lecturer in Commonwealth and Postcolonial Literatures, University of LeedsDr. Katherine Brown – (appointed 20th June 2007) Lecturer in Ethnomusicology and Widening Participation Officer, University of Leeds

BA (Hons)

BA (Hons)

NVQ (Level 3)

BA (Hons)

BSc (Hons)

Kamaljeet Ajimal – Music and the Deaf project

Photo: Helen moore

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CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S REPORTAt the start of the 2007-08 Financial year, Yorkshire was buzzing with preparations to welcome the IIFA Awards (International Indian Film Academy Awards, a.k.a. ‘Bollywood Oscars’). Meanwhile, SAA-uk was busy with providing support and guidance to artists, the local community and other organisations to be part of this extravagant event as well as getting the wheels in motion to celebrate our own 10th Birthday.

SAA-uk began its 10th birthday celebrations with ‘Mehfi l’, a concert that truly refl ected our commitment to ‘preserving the traditional, facilitating the contemporary’. This was also the launch of the SAA-uk Concert Series that provided a platform for artists who had made a major contribution to the music and dance scene of Leeds and beyond. From January 2008, SAA-uk joined forces with the Seven Arts Centre where the SAA-uk Concert Series continued and both organisations began to develop new audiences.

Once again, SAA-uk was part of two high profi le events; ‘Bollywood Jane’, a West Yorkshire Playhouse production and ‘Freedom of the Soul’, a new commission by Sheffi eld City Hall that allowed two Leeds artists to write a new composition inspired by Stravinsky’s ‘Firebird’. The Sheffi eld City Hall partnership also included the programming of music for the ‘Five40Five’ Series. All this lead to over 50% growth in external programming taking the total number of concerts that SAA-uk programmed and delivered to 14, which includes the SAA-uk Concert Series (read on in this report for more details). I was also invited to take part in a royal reception in December 2007 when HRH Princess Anne came to Leeds as part of the city’s 800 year celebrations.

On the Educational front, the regular weekly classes continued and SAA-uk delivered its 9th Annual Community Music Summer School which was considered the ‘Best’ since the initiative began. The outreach activity was varied and included ‘Music & Maths’, Music and the Deaf, corporate training plus delivery as part of a four-week national programme called Gallery 37 plus. The organisation also continued to support artists through brokering contracts, advice and support and by delivering Artist Surgeries.

The winds of change began with the resignation of Shahaa Kakar, our Chief Executive, in June 2007. I subsequently took on the challenge of this role in September 2007. The Organisational Development Project that had been carried over from the previous year saw fruition with the launch of the new website on 28th September 2007 announcing SAA-uk’s new look.

2007-08 was the year of re-investment with the decision taken to use £11,500 of the organisation’s accumulated surplus to realise our Artistic Vision and plans for the year. This partly contributed to the end of year accounts showing a net defi cit of £24,165 indicating that in the year ahead we will need to focus on increasing income through public funding or earned income.

As much as this report is produced to focus on the fi nancial year 2007-08, it is also an opportunity to refl ect on our achievements over the past 10 years over which SAA-uk has stayed true to its vision of ‘preserving the traditional, facilitating the contemporary’ through our mission ‘to promote engagement with traditional and contemporary South Asian Arts’.

considered the ‘Best’ since the initiative began. The outreach activity was varied and included ‘Music & Maths’, Music and the Deaf, corporate training plus delivery as part of a four-week national programme called Gallery 37 plus. The organisation also continued to support artists through brokering contracts, advice and support and by delivering Artist Surgeries.

The winds of change began with the resignation of Shahaa Kakar, our Chief Executive, in June 2007. I subsequently took on the challenge of this role in September 2007. The Organisational Development Project that had been carried over from the previous year saw fruition with the launch of the new website on 28th September 2007 announcing SAA-uk’s new look.

2007-08 was the year of re-investment with the decision taken to use £11,500 of the organisation’s accumulated surplus to realise our Artistic Vision and plans for the year. This partly contributed to the end of year accounts showing a net defi cit of £24,165 indicating that in the year ahead we will need to focus on increasing income through public funding or earned income.

As much as this report is produced to focus on the fi nancial year 2007-08, it is also an opportunity to refl ect on our achievements over the past 10 years over which SAA-uk has stayed true to its vision of ‘preserving the traditional, facilitating the contemporary’ through our mission ‘to promote engagement with traditional and contemporary South Asian Arts’.

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THE YEAR IN FOCUS:

• Celebration of SAA-uk’s 10th Birthday• Launch of the SAA-uk Concert Series• Programming and delivery of 6 additional shows in

the region• Successful partnership with Sheffi eld City Hall to

create a major piece of new music in collaboration with the Hallé Orchestra

• Delivery of Gallery 37 plus ‘Mumbai Mix’ project• SAA-uk Supradha Dancers taking part in the NSCD

Community Dance Platform• Securing contracts for Yorkshire-based artists to

perform in Europe• Securing Work Permit extensions for SAA-uk Resident

Artists Jayasree Sen Gupta and Zoobin Surty• Supporting artist career development through two

Artist Surgeries: ‘How to access and secure funding’ and ‘How to develop and sustain as a business’

• Mentoring and supporting artists to secure and manage project funding

• Providing advice, guidance and support for the West Yorkshire Playhouse ‘Bollywood Jane’ Production

“The year began with the awareness that there were many changes afoot and challenges to overcome as well as celebrations – what an amazing year, full of change, growth, innovation, risk-taking and Birthday Cake!!”

Key achievements during the yearKey Artistic achievements and developments during the 2007-08 year included:

• Creating an opportunity for a local community dancer to take part in the IIFA Awards

• Continuing to work in partnership with Yorkshire Dance to create access to Bollywood and Kathak Dance.

• Continuing to support the maintenance and development of Fused

manage project funding• Providing advice, guidance and support for the West

Yorkshire Playhouse ‘Bollywood Jane’ Production

• Continuing to lead the South Asian Music Education Strategy Group

• Working in partnership on a local, regional and national level

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• Continuation of RFO (Regularly Funded Organisation) funding from Arts Council England for core work (£63,350)

• Successful re-application to Leeds City Council for core funding through arts@leeds for the sum of £14,677

• Reinvesting the sum of £11,500 from the organisation’s surplus towards sustaining and expanding the Artistic Programme for 2007-08

• Generating 57% of total income through ‘Earned Income’

• Roll-out of Organisational Development Project, re-defi ning the SAA-uk Brand and the development of HR Policies

• Recruitment of new Board Member Dr. Katherine Brown

• Successful completion of Arts Award Training and First Aid Training by SAA-uk staff

• Becoming a registered Arts Award Centre• Increasing the capacity of the organisation through

volunteers, internship schemes and school placements

• Continuing as a member of the Yorkshire World Music Network, Yorkshire Orchestral Promoters Network and English National Youth Arts Network

Key achievements during the year continued…Key Organisational achievements and developments during the 2007-08 year included:

Message from Shahaa “After an amazing journey of almost fi ve years, I have now resigned from my role as Chief Executive of SAA-uk and turned my energies to raising my daughter Aarzu. I leave SAA-uk with an immense sense of appreciation for everything I’ve learned and with a lot of fondness for everyone that I’ve worked with. Thank you to all of you who have supported me along the way. I look forward to remaining part of SAA-uk’s extended family and watching as the organisation continues to grow and prosper in the years to come.” Shahaa Kakar

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1997-98 – Leeds Centre for Indian Music and Dance (LCIMD) was born and became a Registered Charity

1998-99 – First International Summer School – invitation of top artists from India for intensive week-long music retreat

1999-00 – First International Summer Festival – following on from the Summer School the previous year

2000-01 – LCIMD became an Arts Council England Regularly Funded Organisation (RFO) and the launch of youth education projects ‘Sangeet Tabla’ and ‘Hissa’

2001-02 – Launch of ‘Baithak’ series at West Yorkshire Playhouse plus ‘Dr. Carnival’ and ‘Celebrating the Spirit’ – both city-wide projects involving collaborations between LCIMD and local and national World Musicians and communities

2002-03 – change of organisation’s name to ‘South Asian Arts-uk’ (SAA-uk) plus SAA-uk co-founded South Asian Music Consortium (SAMC), end of ‘Sangeet Tabla’ and delivery of training for Samyo, the national South Asian Music Youth Orchestra

2003-04 – International Winter Retreat – taking South Asian music students from the UK to Kolkata, India

2004-05 – ‘FuseLeeds04’ and ‘Raagtime’ commission plus SAA-uk is acknowledged by HRH The Queen for its contribution to the British music industry

2005-06 – Bollywood Fever and Culture Bazaar – continuing work in the communities of Yorkshire and beyond

2006-07 – Planning for the future – Organisational Development Project funding secured. SAA-uk spreads its Wings…

2007-08 – Happy 10th Birthday! and rebranding of SAA-uk plus Concert Series celebrating South Asian Arts over the past 10 years and major collaboration with the Hallé Orchestra

All that was achieved in this year and over the past 10 years has only been made possible by the support, commitment and enthusiasm of artists, staff, volunteers and the Board past and present. So well done everyone and keep it up!!

A ‘BIG THANKS’ goes to SAA-uk’s extended family, our artists, who have worked tirelessly throughout the year and are the source of inspiration. As always, the SAA-uk team and I look forward working with you all in the coming year! I also take the opportunity to welcome Shahaa to our extended family and thank her sincerely for her contribution to SAA-uk.

Outstanding achievements during SAA-uk’s fi rst 10 years:

From top: Leeds Centre for Indian Music

and Dance logo (1997), Sangeet Tabla

– fi nal performance (November 2002), SAA-

uk logo (2002), Raagtime (2004), SAA-uk

logo (2007)

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INCOME 2007-08

Year ended 31st March 2008

Core grants £16,138Project grants £63,189Earned through projects £110,179Donations £767Bank Interest £4,598Other Income £1,342

TOTAL INCOME £196,213

A. 8% Core grantsB. 32% Project grantsC. 57% Earned through projectsD. 0% DonationsE. 2% Bank Interest

C. 57%

A. 8%F. 1%E. 2%

D. 0%

B. 32%

EXPENDITURE 2007-08

Year ended 31st March 2008

Direct Charitable ExpenditureArtist fees £87,508Other project costs £11,210Marketing & advertising £9,690

Management & AdministrationWages & salaries £78,780Staff training £613Business development £6,016Premises £4,177Other administration costs £22,384

TOTAL EXPENDITURE £220,378

NET DEFICIT £24,165

LEGEND FOR BOTH OF THE ABOVE GRAPHS

INCOME & EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT, 2007-08

G. 40%

N. 10%

H. 5%

I. 4%

J. 36%

F. 1% Other incomeG. 40% Artist feesH. 5% Other project costsI. 4% Marketing & advertisingJ. 36% Wages & salaries

K. 0% Staff trainingL. 3% Business developmentM. 2% PremisesN. 10% Other administration costs

K. 0%

L. 3%

M. 2%

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SAA-uk ANNUAL STATISTICS 2007-08

ANNUAL STATISTICS 2007-08

Total Performances 156

Audiences Reached 8,788

Participants Reached 13,407

Artists Employed 251

Session Days* Delivered 685

* A session day is a measurement used by the Arts Council in which a day is divided into three sessions – morning, afternoon and evening. A ‘session’ is any one of, or part of one of these.

WHERE WE WORKED

West Yorkshire:Batley HalifaxBradford HeptonstallBrighouse Huddersfi eldElland LeedsFeatherstone Pontefract

Rest of Yorkshire:Appleton-le-moors MashamBarnsley North FerribyBoroughbridge Pately BridgeDoncaster RotherhamHarrogate Sheffi eldHessle SkiptonHull YorkKirkbymoorside

National:Burnley ManchesterCarlisle MatlockEdinburgh MorecambeGateshead Newcastle-upon-TyneLeicester RochdaleLiverpool WatfordLondon

International:Venice, Italy

FINANCIAL REVIEW

The end of the year saw a 3% rise in turnover from £190,586 to £196,213. However expenditure rose by 25% from £176,446 to £220,378. These changes refl ected the planned higher level of performance activities to enable the organisation to increase its audience numbers and profi le.

56% of turnover was earned income in comparison to 50% in 2006/07, which is refl ective of SAA-uk’s ongoing strategy to reduce its dependence on public funding. The business side of the organisation saw tremendous growth during this year. In particular, SAA-uk’s service of management and delivery of sub-contracted outreach projects was a major growth area. SAA-uk also continued to strengthen its relationships with core funders during the year and increased funding was allocated by both Arts Council England and arts@leeds.

The end of the year (2007-08) saw a defi cit of £24,165 compared to a surplus of £14,140 at the end of the previous year (2006-07). This left reserves of £27,945 which are in line with SAA-uk’s Reserves Policy.

Clearly, the defi cit for the year is of concern to the organisation, but the causes are well understood, being the subsidy of the Summer School, the continued maintenance of the Education & Outreach Co-ordinator’s post and the subsidy of the new Concert Series. We consider these additional costs to be investments for the future and are confi dent that we are in a position to remedy the defi cit in 2008-09 and future years.

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Core Investment: Performance

SAA-uk created its own Concert Series which kicked off with ‘Mehfi l’ – SAA-uk’s 10th birthday celebration concert on 28th September 2007, through which we were able to take the audience on a journey from classical music by the founder of the organisation, Dharambir Singh, and his talented family, to contemporary music by Bandish (Indo-African) refl ective of the multi-cultural society we live in today. This was linked together by a special dance performance combining the dance forms of Bharatanatyam, Bollywood and Bengali Folk with Devika Rao, Chiragi Solanki and Rushia Uzmi. ‘Mehfi l’ was swiftly followed by the return of Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty in October 2007 after his sold-out concert the previous year. These two shows were a precursor to the launch of SAA-uk’s regular monthly concert series, ‘Seven@7’, in January 2008.

“It was a wonderful musical evening. I enjoyed every bit of it. Best wishes for SAA-uk.” (M.A.Q, Leeds)

“It was more than brilliant!” (E.S, Bradford)

“As always, SAA-uk has produced some wonderful performers along with an evening we will never forget – educational and beautiful – Love it, Love it!” (K.I, Leeds)

PROMOTING ARTISTIC EXCELLENCE THROUGH PERFORMANCE & EDUCATION

“It was wonderful. One way to unite the world.” (V, Leeds)

“A wonderful evening of music performed by Pandit Chakrabarty and his assistants in the intimate seating of the College of Music. An event that I shall remember for many years to come.” (A.M, Leeds)

SAA-uk also prides itself on promoting UK based artists like Dr. Vijay Rajput and his students Kaviraj Singh and Jasdeep Degun (‘Celebrating the Male Voice’, January 2008). This was followed by ‘Celebrating the best of South Asian Dance in Yorkshire’ which featured Devika Rao and students from SAA-uk’s Supradha Minis and Teens Bharatanatyam Dance classes, Chiragi Solanki and Rangeela Group and Rushia Uzmi and the outcome from her Notraz Dance Drama project. It was a distinctly colourful February evening in front of a sell-out Seven Arts crowd.

“Absolutely awesome!!! Mind blowing…Totally inspired…Do it again & again.” (M.K.B, Leeds)

Since the organisation’s inception in 1997 , we have always been driven by a belief that arts is for everyone, whether it is to perform or actively participate as arts managers, participants or audience members. This can only happen through providing well thought out programming, education, training and experience. From audience feedback collated in 2006-07, SAA-uk had the opportunity and the excuse to create a diverse performance and education programme that offered everybody the opportunity to attend performances by young people right through to professional artists of international stature and receive training under the guidance of some of the best of tutors in our region.

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“Incredible, thanks so much – can’t believe that sound can come out of a person!” (anon.)

“A brilliant set of performances! All very graceful and beautiful.” (P.R, Leeds)

“Fantastic, creative, inspiring and alive!” (H.S, Huddersfield)

The year 2007-08 was brought to a close in March through a concert by international artists Rakesh Chaurasia and Kousic Sen (‘Celebrating the Flute’).

“I did not have an idea that a person can produce such a sweet, enchanted sound from a piece of bamboo. Allah blesses him and gives him long life so he can make the people swim with the wave of music.” (S.H, Leeds)

“Wonderful! I love the range of sounds, the interplay between the players and the humour mixed in with profound seriousness. I also liked the slow build-up compared with most ‘Western’ music, e.g. Jazz and the lack of egotistical behaviour (which as a musician myself – is a refreshing change).” (P.G, Leeds)

Core Investment: Education

SAA-uk is committed to facilitating access to high-quality participatory experiences of South Asian music and dance – both in schools and in the wider community. This has been achieved through SAA-uk’s own educational initiatives including weekly classes and the Annual Community Music Summer School.

Music and Dance Training in the Community Adult Sitar and Tabla, Bharatanatyam Dance and Youth Tabla Classes are SAA-uk’s own initiatives which have organically developed through listening to the needs of the community. These are invested in through staff time and support from local venues and are also self-sustaining. In 2007-08, the number of students in the Supradha Minis (age 4 to 8) doubled from 6 to 12 and both the Minis and Teens groups took part in the Northern School of Contemporary Dance (NSCD) Community Dance Platform.

SAA-uk’s Annual Community Music Summer School The Summer School takes place each summer holiday and attracts 40 to 50 participants from Leeds and Europe. Each year, this activity is tweaked to take into consideration feedback and evaluation received from the year before to ensure that we are always striving to meet the needs of the students and tutors involved. In the 9th edition of the Summer School in 2007, the main changes made were adjustment of the schedule, focus on the ‘journey’ rather than the outcome, a simplified theme and awards for participants to work towards. Tutors were encouraged to be facilitators rather than teachers and the feedback received was that many considered this year’s Summer School to the ‘Best’ since the initiative began in 1998.

Below from left to

right; Supradha Teens

(February 2008)

Photo: Emily French,

Supradha Minis – NSCD

Showcase (June 2008),

Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty

(October 2007)

Photo: Helen Moore,

Rakesh Chaurasia &

Kousic Sen (March 2008)

Photo: Amit Kukadia

Pictured above;

Singhstrings – Dharambir

Singh & Family, ‘Mehfil’

(September 2007)

Photo: Seetal Kaur Gahir,

SAA-uk Summer School

2007 Photo: Helen Moore

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FUNDED PROJECT: ORGANISATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

G4A Arts Council Funded Project

The previous year (2006-07) saw SAA-uk successfully secure funding through Arts Council England’s Grants for the Arts scheme. The Organisational Development project allowed for SAA-uk to facilitate developments in two key strands; HR policy and marketing.

HR Policy Development

The funding allowed for the hire of consultant Jill Kibble who devised fi t-for-purpose HR policies that will provide a solid base for the planned growth of the organisation over the next fi ve years. New or re-drafted documents include Artistic Policy Commitments, Statement of Good Practice for Board Members, Policy for the Protection of Children and Vulnerable People, Complaints Policy, Confi dentiality and Data Protection Policy, Environmental Policy, Equal Opportunities Policy, Financial Policy, Health and Safety Policy and Telecommunications Policy.

Marketing Developments

Part of the purpose of the funding was to invest in SAA-uk’s marketing capabilities through developing a corporate pack, re-developing the website, cleaning and re-segmenting our database, working on taking SAA-uk’s branding to the next level, establishing a back-end e-letter system plus more. For this, SAA-uk enlisted the services of the H2 Company and we are particularly thankful to Chris Sands and his team for his expertise in developing the new SAA-uk brand.

The result saw the development of a strong SAA-uk brand together with a Branding Guidelines document. September 2007 saw the launch of the new-look SAA-uk website which is now managed in-house and there were changes galore in the sationery department with new headed paper, business cards and compliment slips in-line with the new branding. The aim of the marketing developments is to allow SAA-uk to generate more demand for our services and increased audiences for our events.

Here are a few examples of some of the outcomes of the marketing developments:

Corporate pack

Pull up banner

and fl yers

New logos

Seasonal brochure

Website

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SOCIAL ENTERPRISE – LOCAL & REGIONAL PARTNERSHIPS

The social enterprise arm of the organisation provides a service to other organisations, schools and community groups across the country looking for a truly unforgettable experience of South Asian culture, be it through music, dance or visual arts.

Community Performances

Alongside SAA-uk’s own programming, we regularly programme performances for other organisations and private clients.

We continued to programme as part of the World Music Series and Leeds International Concert Season at Leeds College of Music, which featured brilliant performances like Sitar and Tabla by Mehboob Nadeem and Shahbaz Hussain (‘Shashvat’, May 2007) and another from SAA-uk’s celebration series in ‘Celebrating the Santoor’ (October 2007), which featured SAA-uk Resident Artist Harjinderpal Singh. There was also an ‘Introduction to Carnatic Music’ and a celebration of world music and poetry as part of ‘Into the Light 2007 – The World In Yorkshire’ (both December 2007).

“This was my fi rst Indian Classical Music concert…a master class into the world of the Santoor and the Tabla” (anon.)

“Truly heart warming – beautiful rainbow youth. More! More! Love and Peace” (anon.)

Through the Yorkshire Orchestral Network, SAA-uk was fortunate to be invited to programme two additional concerts which were part of Sheffi eld City Hall’s ‘Five40Five’ Series, designed for people to visit immediately after work. In this new partnership featuring a new audience, SAA-uk was delighted to get the opportunity

to arrange programming in the Victorian building’s beautiful Ballroom. Swaranjali and Samay wowed the Sheffi eld crowd with their contrasting performances. Swaranjali, led by Jayasree Sen Gupta performed traditional Hindustani Vocal whereas Samay, featuring the combination of Saxophone (Jesse Bannister) and Tabla (Bhupinder Singh Chaggar) as well Sarod, Guitar and Bass, produced their eclectic fusion of Indo-European music.

“Fantastic. I was born in India and love Indian music. I enjoyed the music, great musicianship, very enjoyable.” (P.H, Sheffi eld)

“Brilliant! Really enjoyed this. Excellent musicians, beautiful venue.” (M.V, Sheffi eld)

As part of our commitment to creating performance platforms for dance, SAA-uk, in partnership with The University of Leeds, invited Sonia Sabri and Company to give a graceful yet powerful Kathak Dance performance that introduced the relationship between dancer and musician in ‘Rekha’. The theme continued through a concert organised by SAA-uk in October to support new dance artist in the region, Aditi Sen, in ‘Atmaja’, an evening that explored the relation between dance and music through the majestic technical aspects of Kathak Dance.

“What a wonderful experience – music & dancing, wow!” (E.P, Leeds)

“Glorious interplay of inspired music and dance – intricate and powerful” (P.C, Leeds)

Below from left to right;

Samay – Sheffi eld City

Hall (March 2008)

Photo: Helen Moore,

Mehboob Nadeem &

Shahbaz Hussain –

‘Shashvat’ (May 2008)

Photo: Rana Hossain,

Sonia Sabri

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Exciting New Partnerships

SAA-uk, Sheffi eld City Hall and Hallé Orchestra

In 1889, Paris held the ‘Exposition Universelle’, celebrating new and traditional ideas in the world of Art, Design, Music and Science………infl uencing artists and composers of the likes of Debussy and Stravinsky. With this new musical identity they were able to bring new melodic moods and challenging rhythmic structures.

History repeated itself in March 2008; Manchester, Sheffi eld and Leeds lead the charge in the UK for second generation British Asians changing the way music is translated – in an organic way… from voice to ear to instrument to manuscript. The start of this revolution was ‘Freedom of the Soul’. Refl ecting on Igor Stravinsky’s ‘Firebird’, Bhupinder Singh Chaggar and Jesse Bannister were commissioned by Sheffi eld City Hall and SAA-uk to write and produce a new orchestral composition to combine the Hallé Orchestra and South Asian musicians. From an early age, these esteemed musicians have grown and fl ourished through the artistic ranks of SAA-uk to become two of the most profi cient performers of Indian Classical Music in this country, and thus epitomising Yorkshire’s claim as the standard bearer of South Asian music in the UK.

The piece received critical acclaim and led to the Hallé’s Music Director, Sir Mark Elder, to recommend that the piece be repeated later in 2008 in Hallé’s own 150th birthday celebrations. Partnerships like these have helped to enhance SAA-uk’s profi le in the region. With high quality work delivered by the artists and SAA-uk team involved, we are confi dent of developing these relationships further and being proactive in creating new projects empowering UK-based artists.

“Very successful marriage of two musical traditions / disciplines. Great compositions.” (J.A, Sheffi eld)

“I am so pleased to have been here this evening – most exciting music. Please let me know when a recording is available. Brilliant – well done!!” (D.T, Rotherham)

Exciting New Opportunities

Each year, SAA-uk receives information about a talented artist visiting the city and each time we have seized the opportunity and created an evening not to be missed… 2007-08 was no different. Ragini Rainu, ‘Songbird’ of Jammu and Kashmir, gave an enlightening performance of Sufi poetry in song at Seven Arts Centre in September 2007.

“Beautiful spiritual music from a beautiful Kashmiri singer. We like her and we like Bullah Shah. Thanks.” (Y, Leeds)

SAA-uk continued to be involved in musical activity beyond its Yorkshire base. Highlights included a performance by SAA-uk resident artist Harjinderpal Singh at the Darbar Festival, Leicester in April 2007 and an invitation for Kamaljeet Ajimal, Surmeet Singh and Upneet Singh to provide music on Santoor, Sitar and Tabla for Hollywood fi lm stars at the premier party for ‘The Darjeeling Limited’ in Venice, Italy in September 2007.

Below images from

top to bottom; Tabla,

Cello, Harp and Voice

– ‘Freedom of the

Soul’, Sheffi eld City Hall

(March 2008) Photos:

Gerard Brogan, Ragini

Rainu

Community Education

Working across the generations, from children to older people…

As an organisation we pride ourselves in being able to tailor workshops and projects to meet the need of the client. SAA-uk is regularly called upon by schools, city councils and community groups to design and deliver projects that are about using the arts to enhance academic achievements, motivate and inspire, celebrate, train, educate or simply to explore minority ethnic cultures.

In 2007-08 SAA-uk continued to deliver regular Bollywood Dance classes and re-introduced Kathak Dance on a regular basis to the City of Leeds through our long term partnership with Yorkshire Dance.

In addition to these, SAA-uk had the pleasure of delivering a very diverse range of workshops for schools and community groups which included a two day residency focusing on Maths through Music and Dance, a day-long celebration of ‘Faith Through Dance’, 10 weekly classes of Bollywood Dance delivered to the Heydays Group (creative opportunities to over 55’s) and Music and Dance workshops as part of the Leeds International Breeze Festival.

SAA-uk was also successful in securing contracts to deliver after school dance activity as part of the Government’s Extended Schools Programme in Temple Newsam, professional training and team building through Bollywood Dance for the HBOS offi ces in Scotland as well as a unique project with Music and the Deaf that started in January 2008 and continues into the following year (2008-09). The project is aimed at providing Deaf children and their parents in Bradford and Batley with a culturally relevant participatory experience of music and dance. The relationship found between British Sign Language and Indian Dance gestures is quite astounding as many of the animal and nature symbols are the same. Through this, a fantastic rapport has been built between the artists, children, parents and teachers. We hope that the partnership between SAA-uk and Music and the Deaf can continue to enable more of the deaf community to benefi t from South Asian Music and Dance. This is the fi rst time that SAA-uk has worked

with members of the deaf community and it has proved a huge success.

SAA-uk Resident Artist, Zoobin Surty, continued to deliver Bollywood Dance in Rochdale and York. In addition, we secured the opportunity to deliver one of eight of the city’s ‘Gallery 37 plus’ projects, a national initiative that hit the city in July 2007. SAA-uk was contracted to deliver a music fusion project for twelve 16 to 19 year olds Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET). Artists Jesse Bannister and Soumik Datta delivered an inspiring programme of South Asian and World Music as part of ‘Mumbai Mix’. The group performed at the Gallery 37 showcase performance at the Carriageworks Theatre and all the young people involved achieved the Bronze Level Arts Award.

In September 2007 SAA-uk was contacted by the Hull and East Riding Hindu Cultural Association to design, support and deliver music and dance classes in Hull. The ‘Music and Dance Club’ began with a pilot between October and December 2007 with three of SAA-uk’s artists travelling each Sunday to deliver classes in Sitar, Tabla and Bharatanatyam Dance to over 30 participants aged 5 to 18. After a successful showcase event at the new Albemarle Centre in Hull, SAA-uk was requested to continue with the initiative from February to April 2008 with the aim of continuing this highly successful initiative in 2008-09.

Above; Heydays

Bollywood Dance fi nal

performance (July 2007)

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the artists, children, parents and teachers. We hope that the partnership between SAA-uk and Music and the Deaf can continue to enable more of the deaf community to benefi t from South Asian Music and Dance. This is the fi rst time that SAA-uk has worked

national initiative that hit the city in July 2007. SAA-uk was contracted to deliver a music fusion project for twelve 16 to 19 year olds Not in Education, Employment or Training

Jesse Bannister and Jesse Bannister and Jesse Bannister Soumik delivered an inspiring programme

of South Asian and World Music as part of ‘Mumbai Mix’. The group performed at the Gallery 37 showcase performance at the Carriageworks Theatre and all the young people involved achieved the Bronze Level

In September 2007 SAA-uk was contacted by the Hull and East Riding Hindu Cultural Association to design, support and deliver music and dance classes in Hull. The ‘Music and Dance Club’ began with a pilot between October and December 2007 with three of SAA-uk’s artists travelling each Sunday to deliver classes in Sitar, Tabla

over 30 aged 5 to 18. After a successful

showcase event at the new Albemarle Centre in Hull, SAA-uk was requested to continue with the initiative from February to April 2008 with the aim of continuing

performance (July 2007)

Below; Students at Hull

Music and Dance Club

Photo: Helen Moore

Below; Gallery 37 plus –

Mumbai Mix

Carriageworks Theatre

(August 2007)

Photo: Helen Moore

1616

CONSULTANCY AND ADVOCACY

There were a number of exciting opportunities for SAA-uk and its artists starting with Rushia Uzmi, a.k.a. Dola, a local Dance Artist who was supported to secure funding from Scarman Trust Community Champions to realise a dance drama project that offered culturally relevant activities to Bengali Youth. Also this year was the opening of Leeds Metropolitan University’s state of the art media centre, Innovation North, followed by a Bollywood Dance presentation at the Arts Council England Arts Mark event, through to West Yorkshire Playhouse’s Bollywood Jane Production where SAA-uk Resident Artist Zoobin Surty was commissioned to provide choreography for the production. This took place in Summer 2007 and SAA-uk Acting Chief Executive, Keranjeet Kaur Virdee, provided costume consultancy and mentorship for the production.

As part of this commitment, SAA-uk continues to spearhead the South Asian Music Education Strategy Group. The group also includes Artforms/Education Leeds, LCM Saturday Music School, Yorkshire

Pictured below from left

to right; Rushia Uzmi and

her Notraz Dance Drama

Project, Bollywood Jane

Young Musicians and Space2 and has the aim of promoting opportunities to access South Asian Music learning in the City. SAA-uk also worked in partnership with Leeds City Council and Artforms to identify performance opportunities for Fused, a youth fusion music group that was born out of the FuseLeeds04 Festival in 2004.

SAA-uk Acting Chief Executive, Keranjeet Kaur Virdee, also had the opportunity to present a Case Study in Audiences Yorkshire’s networking event ‘Connecting Communities’ that took place at Lawrence Batley Theatre, Huddersfi eld, in 2007.

SAA-uk is committed to empowering artists and the wider arts sector to include and enhance South Asian Arts in their own artistic vision and practice.

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UK-Based ArtistsAditi Sen – Kathak DancerAvtar Lota – Dilruba PlayerBhupinder Singh Chaggar – Tabla PlayerChiragi Solanki – Bollywood DancerDevika Rao – Bharatanatyam DancerDharambir Singh – Sitarist and SAA-uk founderFida Hussain – Harmonium PlayerGiuliano Modarelli – Guitarist Gulfam Sabri – Vocalist & Santoor PlayerGunwant Kaur – Vocalist Hallé Orchestra – Western Classical OrchestraHannah James – Accordionist Harbhajan Singh – Vocalist & SitaristHarjinderpal Singh – Santoor Player & SAA-uk Resident ArtistHenrik Linnemann – Flautist Jag Kumar & Nachda Sansaar – Bhangra DancersJavier Geras – Bassist Jayasree Sen Gupta – Vocalist & SAA-uk Resident ArtistJesse Bannister – Hindustani & Jazz Saxophonist, Latin PercussionistJohn Ball – Santoor & Tabla PlayerKamalbir Singh – Hindustani ViolinistKarma Dance Company – Bollywood Dance TroupeKeranjeet Kaur Virdee – Costume DesignKousic Sen – Tabla PlayerLamin Jassey – West-African PercussionistLianne Lett – Youth Support WorkerMehboob Nadeem – SitaristMohamed Assani – Sitarist & Tabla PlayerNahid Khan – VocalistNavya Rattehalli – Bharatanatyam DancerNotraz Dance – Bengali Dance/DramaPurnima Chavda – Visual ArtistRangeela Dance Group – Bollywood DancersRushia Uzmi – Bengali Folk, Kathak & Bollywood DancerSarwar Sabri – Tabla PlayerSatnam Galsian – Vocalist Shahbaz Hussain – Tabla PlayerSian Manning – Scottish Harpist Sonali Jain – Bollywood DancerSonia Sabri – Kathak DancerSoumik Datta – Sarod PlayerSupradha Minis & Teens – Bharatanatyam DancersTehmina Shah – Visual ArtistVijay Rajput – Vocalist Zoobin Surty – Traditional, Bollywood & Contemporary Dancer

Youth Artists/TraineesAlex Todd – Drummer Jas Singh – StorytellerJasdeep Degun – Vocalist & SitaristJohn Kenworthy – Guitarist Joseph Buckley – Poet Kaajal Mason – Vocalist Kamaljeet Ajimal – Santoor PlayerKaviraj Singh – Vocalist & Santoor PlayerKeertan Rehal – Vocalist Kieran Mbele – Bassist Muhilan Pathmamohan – Mridangam PlayerPrabhjeet Riat – Violinist & VocalistPritpal Rai – Tabla PlayerRenu Swamy – Vocalist Sangeetha Chandragopal – Veena PlayerSeetal Kaur Gahir – Vocalist Sukbir Kaur – Poet Sukhmani Rayat – Tabla PlayerSurmeet Singh – Sitarist Tejbir Singh – Tabla PlayerUpneet Singh – Tabla Player

Visiting ArtistsBrajeshwar Mukherjee – Vocalist (Kolkata, India)Deborshee Bhattacharjee – Vocalist (Kolkata, India)Indranil Bhadhri – Tabla Player (Kolkata, India)Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty – Vocalist (Kolkata, India)Ragini Rainu – Sufi Vocalist (Jammu, India)Rakesh Chaurasia – Bamboo Flautist (Mumbai, India)Roshan Abbas – Vocalist (Karachi, Pakistan)

ARTISTS

SAA-uk would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the contributions made by the artists involved in all of our projects.

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WHAT’S NEXT…SAA-uk will continue to build on past successes and continue to deliver a high quality Artistic Programme with sustainable outcomes to achieve the goal of becoming a Virtual Centre of Artistic Excellence.

MANY THANKS TO ALL THE PARTNERS WE WORKED WITH IN 2007-08:

THANKS TO OUR FUNDERS

Academy of Indian Culture and EducationAireville SchoolArchbishop Cranmer SchoolArtforms/Education Leedsarts@leedsArts Council EnglandAsian Womens Group, CarlisleAssociation of Blind AsiansBPP Law SchoolBradford MelaBreeze FestivalBrooksbank SchoolBrudenell Primary SchoolCarriageworks TheatreCarlton Bolling CollegeConnexions West YorkshireDacre Braithwaite SchoolDarbar FestivalEducation BradfordExtended Schools ClusterFalinge Park High SchoolFarsley Spring Bank Junior SchoolH2 CompanyHamara CentreHatfi eld Manor C of E Junior SchoolHalifax HighHallé OrchestraHBOS plcHeadingley School of Ballet

Hessle High SchoolHull & East Riding Hindu Cultural AssociationIntake High SchoolKirby Hill Primary SchoolLeeds City CouncilLeeds College of MusicLeeds International Concert SeasonLeeds Metropolitan UniversityLeeds VoiceLeeds Young AuthorsLingbob SchoolLloyds TSBMaazi Indian RestaurantMasham ArtsMid-Pennine ArtsMilapfestMinsthorpe Community CollegeMoortown Primary SchoolMore Music (Morecambe)Music and the DeafNDTANeighbourly Care BradfordNidderdale High SchoolNorthern School of Contemporary DanceNorth Ferriby C of E SchoolPennine SpringsRoyston Parkside Primary SchoolRufford Park Primary School

Ryedales Child and Youth ProjectScarman Trust Community ChampionsSchools Linking NetworkSeven Arts CentreSheffi eld City HallShrutinandan UKSikh Elders ServiceSitar-ukSouth Leeds Family Learning CentreSouth Leeds High SchoolSpace2Space@HillcrestSt. Josephs Catholic Primary SchoolSt. Matthews Primary SchoolSt. Wilfrids High SchoolStop Hate UKThomas Rotherham CollegeUniversity of LeedsWest Yorkshire PlayhouseWestern Primary SchoolWigton Moor Primary SchoolWoldgate CollegeWortley High SchoolYork Art ServiceYorkshire Audit BureauYorkshire DanceYorkshire Young MusiciansYork St. John University

…AND MAIN PARTNERS

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SAA-uk (South Asian Arts-uk)3 St. Peter’s Building, St. Peter’s Square, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS9 8AH

Tel: (0113) 244 5523 Fax: (0113) 244 1319 E-mail: info@saa-uk.org.ukwww.saa-uk.org.uk

SAA-uk is a Registered Charity (No. 1080292) and a Company Limited by Guarantee (No. 3391845)

“Preserving the traditional, facilitating the contemporary…”