Vancouver Kathakali Workshop and Performance POSTPONED

Pangaea Arts workshop & performance
in Kathakali theatre postponed due to Vancouver civic strike.

Pangaea Arts planned 3-Day Workshop in Kathakali Theatre has been postponed, due to labour action interfering with the Roundhouse workshop and performance venue. Visiting renowned Kathakali artist Ettumanoor P. Kannan has rescheduled to come to Vancouver in January of 2008 and lead the workshop and a Kathakali Theatre performance/demonstration. Exact dates and locations will be released as details become available.

IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 20, 2007

Vancouver, BC
Pangaea Arts has cancelled a workshop in the traditional Indian art form of Kathakali. The planned workshop was a partnership with the Roundhouse Community Arts and Recreation Centre, a Vancouver Park Board venue which is currently closed due to a strike by City of Vancouver workers.

Visiting renowned Kathakali artist Ettumanoor P. Kannan, from Kerala, India, was scheduled to arrive in Vancouver this week to begin the workshop on August 22nd. Mr. Kannan has rescheduled to come to Vancouver in January of 2008 and lead the workshop and performance/demonstration. Exact dates and locations will be released as details become available.

“It is a shame we are not able to proceed with the workshop, as we continue to receive calls about this amazing art form,” comments Heidi Specht, the Artistic Director of Pangaea Arts. Specht adds “Fortunately, we haven’t incurred any great hardships, other than the inconvenience to the participants and to Mr. Kannan. Most of the registered participants will be able to attend in January.”

Kathakali is an art form that originated in India over 400 years ago, and is a combination of drama, dance, music and ritual, in which characters with vividly painted faces and elaborate costumes re-enact stories from the Hindu epics, Ramayana and Mahabharata. The stories are enacted purely by the movements of the hands (called mudras or hand gestures), by facial expressions (rasas), bodily movements and footwork.

About Pangaea Arts
Pangaea Arts Society is an intercultural, interdisciplinary world arts organization serving the Lower Mainland and BC. Pangaea Arts was formed to promote cultural interaction and the exchange of ideas between diverse communities and artists, and to introduce Canadian audiences to performance traditions from around the world. More information about Pangaea Arts can be found at http://www.pangaea-arts.com.