The idea of the Vikram Sarabhai Festival was born a few years after his tragic and early death in 1971. He was the co-founder of Darpana with Mrinalini Sarabhai, and its main supporter. He was a great lover of the arts, and a connoisseur. It was felt that the best way to remember and pay homage to him would be to have a yearly multi- arts festival in his home town, Ahmedabad.
From a modest beginning in 1974 in the Tagore Hall, till 1994, the festival highlighted major national and international artists like Prabha Atre, Bhimsen Joshi, The Battery Dance Company, Gruppa from Sweden, Pratap Sharma and Aleque Padamsee and Darpana’s own new productions.
With the birth of Darpana’s own unique theatre, Natarani in 1994, the festival shifted gear and became the Vikram Sarabhai International Arts Festival, with a thrust towards highlighting and producing major new collaborative work. These have included collaboration between countries, between artists of different styles and between performing artists, painters, sculptors and installation artists.
List of Past Festivals 1994-2012
1994, 19th Vikram Sarabhai International Arts Festival
28th - Daksha Sheth – Yagna
29th - Mallika Sarabhai – Passing Cloud and Shadows on Earth
-Mrinalini Sarabhai, Mallika Sarabhai and Darpana Group
30th - Dadi D Pudumjee - IMAGES OF TRUTH
1995, 20th Vikram Sarabhai International Arts Festival
28th - Lousis Bank - Jazz Fusion
29th - Ninaz Khodaiji, Pervez Merchant Charivari – play on Ayodhya Riots by
30th - Mallika Sarabhai - Rites to the Spirits of Nature
1996, 21st Vikram Sarabhai International Arts Festival
27th - Louis Banks & Mrinalini Sarabhai - Krishna the Musical
28th - Rapunzel - Garlic Puppet Theatre
29th - Aditi Mangaldas - Kathak
30th - Tripura Kashyap & Apoorva Dance Theatre Group
1997, 22nd Vikram Sarabhai International Arts Festival
28th - Zakir Hussain with Sultan Khan
29th - Rahul Bose & Anahita Uberoi - Seascape with Sharks and Dancer
30th - Mrinalini & Mallika Sarabhai - Silappadikaram
1998, 23rd Vikram Sarabhai International Arts Festival
28th - K. Pandya & Betty Bernard - The Leopard
29th - Symon Macintyre – City Scapes
30th - Mrinalini Sarabhai & John Martin - The Conference of the Birds
1999, 24th Vikram Sarabhai International Arts Festival
27th - Mallika Sarabhai & Peter Badejo - IK2 of Myths and Gods
28th - Nicholas Mcbride - Art Beats – The evolution of sound
29th - Kalamandalam Shivan Nambhothiri – Koodiyattam
30th - Dr. Raja Ramanna - Piano Recital
2000, 25th Vikram Sarabhai International Arts Festival
28th - Fazal Quereshi, L Shankar and Vikku Vinayakam
29th - Mrinalini Sarabhai - Nalakyan
30th - Priti Patel – Manipuri
2001, 26th Vikram Sarabhai International Arts Festival
28th - Mallika Sarabhai - The Journey Inward Devi Mahatmya
29th - Shubha Mudgal- In Concert
30th - Astad Deboo - In Celebration
2002, 27th Vikram Sarabhai International Arts Festival
28th - Massimiliano Troiani The Aeneid
29th - Mallika Sarabhai & Daskha Mashruwala - An Idea Named Meera
30th - Luuis Banks , Shivamani & Niladri
2003, 28th Vikram Sarabhai International Arts Festival
27th - Mrinalni Sarabhai , Mallika Sarabhai - Two Lives in Dance and Two More
28th - Indian Ocean - Live concert
29th - Karine Saporta - Inner Battles
30th - Rita Maffei , Italy- The Bacchantes by Euripides
2004, 29th Vikram Sarabhai International Arts Festival
28th - Symon Macinture - The Dancing Princess – Indo Scottish performance
29th - Naomi Ackerman – Israeli Actress’s Flowers aren’t enough
30th - Mrinalini Sarabhai & Mallika Sarabhai - Dance of Life
2005, 30th Vikram Sarabhai International Arts Festival
28th - Rita Maffei and Mallika Sarabhai – Western Woman
29th - Shivani Tibrewala – Staying Alive
30th - Dadi Pudumjee – Journeys
2006, 31st Vikram Sarabhai International Arts Festival
28th - Dianne Reid in collaboration with Mallika Sarabhai – Unfixed
29th - Bickram Ghosh’s – Rhythmscape
30th - Oscar Naters – HUACA
2007, 32nd Vikram Sarabhai International Arts Festival
28th - Jean Racine’s An Indo French collaboration – Phedre
29th - Mallika Sarabhai’s – An Indo-US-Australian Collaboration
– The Journey Inward: Devi Mahatmya
30th - Linda Wetherill in Concert Jerry Snell and New Circus Asia
2008, 33rd Vikram Sarabhai International Arts Festival
28th – Sampradayam, A salute to the joie de vivre that the music of bhajans
29th – Viaje, An interaction between dance, painting and video.
30th – Confluence, World cultures through choreographic work of 4 international artists
2009, 34th Vikram Sarabhai International Arts Festival
28.12.2009 - Ahmedabad Ki Aurat Bhali : Ramkali – by Mallika Sarabhai and Darpana Performing Group - directed by Arvind Gaur
29.12.2009 - Contemporary Dance performance The Dakshina / Daniel Phoenix Singh Dance Company , USA
30.12.2009 - Darpana Peforming Group presents Naada – A Happening
2010, 35th Vikram Sarabhai International Arts Festival
16.12.2010 - Citylights – Short Film Compition & Photo Compition
26.12.2010 - Painted Poems
28.12.2010 to
30.12.2010 - Kadak Badshahi, the Happening
2011, 36th Vikram Sarabhai International Arts Festival - Tagorenama
28.12.2011 – Rituchakra - Choreographed by Liz Lead and Revanta Sarabhai
29.11.2011 - Street of voices by Scottish puppetry theatre director Symon Machintyre
30.11.2011 - With Love… by Mallika Sarabhai and Steve Mayer Miller, music by Sandeep
Pillai.
2012, 37th - Vikram Sarabhai International Arts Festival - Tagorenama
28.12.2012 &
29.12.2012 -And Lalla Sang - By Mallika Sarabhai & Yadavan Chandran with Darpana
Performing Group
30.12.2019 - Women With Broken Wings – Elizabeth and Mallika Sarabhai
InterArt: The 38th Vikram Sarabhai International Arts Festival, December 2013
Synopsis
The theme chosen for this year’s festival is displacement. Today millions of people across the world are on the move. Some move for asylum; some for economic prosperity; some are fleeing war; others are fleeing desertification due to global warming; still others are fleeing economic or religious sanctions. Many, even when physically in the same spot, are psychologically fleeing realities in escapes into alcoholism, drugs, depression and other forms of mental illnesses.
The 38th VS International Arts Festival explores this large theme through three new commissioned works.
1. Mallika Sarabhai and Director Gowri Ramnarayan look at escape and flight in literature and mythology from across the world to create a multi dimensional performance to understand the phenomenon over time.
2. Naomi Deira, British choreographer works with Darpana dancers to create a contemporary dance piece looking at alienation and asylum, with a specially created soundscape and music score
3. Revanta Sarabhai creates a new piece of musical theater to look at urban migration and the emptying of rural areas.
The festival will create these new works with a hope that they will have wide appeal across India and the world as the phenomenon is a worldwide one. We hope to tour all three productions after they have been premiered at the yearend festival scheduled on December 28, 29 and 30, 2013 at Darpana, Ahmedabad.
1994, 19th Vikram Sarabhai International Arts Festival
28th - Daksha Sheth – Yagna
29th - Mallika Sarabhai – Passing Cloud and Shadows on Earth
-Mrinalini Sarabhai, Mallika Sarabhai and Darpana Group
30th - Dadi D Pudumjee - IMAGES OF TRUTH
1995, 20th Vikram Sarabhai International Arts Festival
28th - Lousis Bank - Jazz Fusion
29th - Ninaz Khodaiji, Pervez Merchant Charivari – play on Ayodhya Riots by
30th - Mallika Sarabhai - Rites to the Spirits of Nature
1996, 21st Vikram Sarabhai International Arts Festival
27th - Louis Banks & Mrinalini Sarabhai - Krishna the Musical
28th - Rapunzel - Garlic Puppet Theatre
29th - Aditi Mangaldas - Kathak
30th - Tripura Kashyap & Apoorva Dance Theatre Group
1997, 22nd Vikram Sarabhai International Arts Festival
28th - Zakir Hussain with Sultan Khan
29th - Rahul Bose & Anahita Uberoi - Seascape with Sharks and Dancer
30th - Mrinalini & Mallika Sarabhai - Silappadikaram
1998, 23rd Vikram Sarabhai International Arts Festival
28th - K. Pandya & Betty Bernard - The Leopard
29th - Symon Macintyre – City Scapes
30th - Mrinalini Sarabhai & John Martin - The Conference of the Birds
1999, 24th Vikram Sarabhai International Arts Festival
27th - Mallika Sarabhai & Peter Badejo - IK2 of Myths and Gods
28th - Nicholas Mcbride - Art Beats – The evolution of sound
29th - Kalamandalam Shivan Nambhothiri – Koodiyattam
30th - Dr. Raja Ramanna - Piano Recital
2000, 25th Vikram Sarabhai International Arts Festival
28th - Fazal Quereshi, L Shankar and Vikku Vinayakam
29th - Mrinalini Sarabhai - Nalakyan
30th - Priti Patel – Manipuri
2001, 26th Vikram Sarabhai International Arts Festival
28th - Mallika Sarabhai - The Journey Inward Devi Mahatmya
29th - Shubha Mudgal- In Concert
30th - Astad Deboo - In Celebration
2002, 27th Vikram Sarabhai International Arts Festival
28th - Massimiliano Troiani The Aeneid
29th - Mallika Sarabhai & Daskha Mashruwala - An Idea Named Meera
30th - Luuis Banks , Shivamani & Niladri
2003, 28th Vikram Sarabhai International Arts Festival
27th - Mrinalni Sarabhai , Mallika Sarabhai - Two Lives in Dance and Two More
28th - Indian Ocean - Live concert
29th - Karine Saporta - Inner Battles
30th - Rita Maffei , Italy- The Bacchantes by Euripides
2004, 29th Vikram Sarabhai International Arts Festival
28th - Symon Macinture - The Dancing Princess – Indo Scottish performance
29th - Naomi Ackerman – Israeli Actress’s Flowers aren’t enough
30th - Mrinalini Sarabhai & Mallika Sarabhai - Dance of Life
2005, 30th Vikram Sarabhai International Arts Festival
28th - Rita Maffei and Mallika Sarabhai – Western Woman
29th - Shivani Tibrewala – Staying Alive
30th - Dadi Pudumjee – Journeys
2006, 31st Vikram Sarabhai International Arts Festival
28th - Dianne Reid in collaboration with Mallika Sarabhai – Unfixed
29th - Bickram Ghosh’s – Rhythmscape
30th - Oscar Naters – HUACA
2007, 32nd Vikram Sarabhai International Arts Festival
28th - Jean Racine’s An Indo French collaboration – Phedre
29th - Mallika Sarabhai’s – An Indo-US-Australian Collaboration
– The Journey Inward: Devi Mahatmya
30th - Linda Wetherill in Concert Jerry Snell and New Circus Asia
2008, 33rd Vikram Sarabhai International Arts Festival
28th – Sampradayam, A salute to the joie de vivre that the music of bhajans
29th – Viaje, An interaction between dance, painting and video.
30th – Confluence, World cultures through choreographic work of 4 international artists
2009, 34th Vikram Sarabhai International Arts Festival
28.12.2009 - Ahmedabad Ki Aurat Bhali : Ramkali – by Mallika Sarabhai and Darpana Performing Group - directed by Arvind Gaur
29.12.2009 - Contemporary Dance performance The Dakshina / Daniel Phoenix Singh Dance Company , USA
30.12.2009 - Darpana Peforming Group presents Naada – A Happening
2010, 35th Vikram Sarabhai International Arts Festival
16.12.2010 - Citylights – Short Film Compition & Photo Compition
26.12.2010 - Painted Poems
28.12.2010 to
30.12.2010 - Kadak Badshahi, the Happening
2011, 36th Vikram Sarabhai International Arts Festival - Tagorenama
28.12.2011 – Rituchakra - Choreographed by Liz Lead and Revanta Sarabhai
29.11.2011 - Street of voices by Scottish puppetry theatre director Symon Machintyre
30.11.2011 - With Love… by Mallika Sarabhai and Steve Mayer Miller, music by Sandeep
Pillai.
2012, 37th - Vikram Sarabhai International Arts Festival - Tagorenama
28.12.2012 &
29.12.2012 -And Lalla Sang - By Mallika Sarabhai & Yadavan Chandran with Darpana
Performing Group
30.12.2019 - Women With Broken Wings – Elizabeth and Mallika Sarabhai
InterArt: The 38th Vikram Sarabhai International Arts Festival, December 2013
Synopsis
The theme chosen for this year’s festival is displacement. Today millions of people across the world are on the move. Some move for asylum; some for economic prosperity; some are fleeing war; others are fleeing desertification due to global warming; still others are fleeing economic or religious sanctions. Many, even when physically in the same spot, are psychologically fleeing realities in escapes into alcoholism, drugs, depression and other forms of mental illnesses.
The 38th VS International Arts Festival explores this large theme through three new commissioned works.
1. Mallika Sarabhai and Director Gowri Ramnarayan look at escape and flight in literature and mythology from across the world to create a multi dimensional performance to understand the phenomenon over time.
2. Naomi Deira, British choreographer works with Darpana dancers to create a contemporary dance piece looking at alienation and asylum, with a specially created soundscape and music score
3. Revanta Sarabhai creates a new piece of musical theater to look at urban migration and the emptying of rural areas.
The festival will create these new works with a hope that they will have wide appeal across India and the world as the phenomenon is a worldwide one. We hope to tour all three productions after they have been premiered at the yearend festival scheduled on December 28, 29 and 30, 2013 at Darpana, Ahmedabad.