"Optics" by Anjana Bala

“Optics” By Anjana Bala

This film is a contemporary South Asian dance work that draws upon Indian classical rhythms, shapes, and geometries. Created by Anjana Bala and a team of talented collaborators, the film uses optics as a metaphor for visibility, exploring how we pursue it and the emotional consequences it entails.

Set against shifting landscapes of light and the edges of visibility, this film explores our complex relationship with being seen and social worth—oscillating between competing for it and resisting it, between perfection and imperfection, between embracing dreams of recognition and discovering one's own light.

Credits:

Choreography, Artistic Direction, Writer: Anjana Bala
Dance Artists: Aishani Ghosh @_aishanighosh Adhya Shastry @adhya.shastry & Anjana Bala
Direction, Edit, Color: Wilkie Branson
Composer: Nicole Robson @nicolerobson
Director of Photography: Cathy Ye @cath.in.the_hat
Rehearsal Direction/Dramaturgy: Nandita Shankardass @nandidevi
Tabla and Production Support: Ritesh Sunnasy @riteshsunnasy
1st Assistant Camera: Angus Cheung @cheungangus
Veena: Booni Bala @balabooni
Audio Description: Shivaangee Agrawal @shivaangee & Elaine Lillian Joseph (SoundScribe) @soundscribe_accessibility
Photography: Vidya Patel @_vidyapatel
Special Thanks: Eva Martinez, Seeta Patel, Julien Kottukapally

Commissioned By:
Moving Online: Ontology and Ownership of Internet Dance @movingonlinecu
AHRC & Centre for Dance Research (C-DaRE), Coventry University
PI: Dr. Hetty Blades
Grant number:AH/W01002X/1
CC BY-NC 4.0

Further Support By:
Akademi - South Asian Dance UK @akademidance
East London Dance @east.london.dance
Rose Choreographic School - Sadler’s Wells - @rosechoreographicschool
Coventry University's ESRC Impact Acceleration Account