Star choreographer and dancer Seeta Patel, who is best known for her critically acclaimed Bharatanatyam interpretations, unites with Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra (BSO) to bring workshops celebrating movement and music to Dorset and Hampshire this month.

Care home residents, sixth form students and community dance groups are among those who will benefit from the events, which will be led by Seeta and music leaders from the Orchestra.

The workshops will take place in late September, both in the BCP region – in partnership with Bournemouth & Poole College and Pavilion Dance South West – and in Hampshire, in partnership with Anvil Arts, Basingstoke.

The critically acclaimed production of The Rite of Spring, which unites Seeta Patel Dance and Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra under its Chief Conductor Kirill Karabits, tours the region this November in Poole (15 Nov) and Basingstoke (23 Nov).

Care home residents, sixth form students, and community dance groups will try their hand at the intricate Bharatanatyam dance form this autumn, as leading choreographer Seeta Patel visits Dorset and Hampshire.

Patel, who is a former judge and mentor for BBC TV’s Young Dancer competition, has worked in partnership with the BSO to devise the workshops. The events are designed to encourage movement through music and will challenge and inspire both young and old.

In the BCP region the team will work with residents at a care home before visiting Bournemouth and Poole College to work with aspiring dancers in partnership with Pavilion Dance South West. In Hampshire, Seeta and the BSO will spend time with dancers in partnership with Anvil Arts, Basingstoke.

Members of the public will be able to watch Seeta’s professional dancers in action when Seeta Patel Dance returns in full to perform The Rite of Spring alongside Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra in November. The events will take place at Lighthouse, Poole (15 Nov) and The Anvil, Basingstoke (23 Nov) and follow performances at Sadler’s Wells, London this spring, which were hailed a critical success.

Choreographer and dancer Seeta Patel said: “The ongoing partnership between Seeta Patel Dance and Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra has been a creative relationship celebrating east and west. I look forward to sharing this with people in Basingstoke and Poole this month, as we take our workshops out on the road. I’m also excited to be returning to the region — with Seeta Patel Dance — in November when we reunite with the full Orchestra and Kirill Karabits to present The Rite of Spring once more.”

BSO Chief Executive, Dougie Scarfe OBE said: “Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra exists to bring music into people’s lives – and we can’t wait to do this in a brand-new way, in partnership with the brilliant Seeta Patel, this autumn. The community events, which will explore movement and music, will reach people both young and old across two days, and we hope they will both stimulate and inspire. Seeta’s fresh interpretation of The Rite of Spring – a work that has remained one of music’s most outrageous and exciting pieces – was hailed by press as a must-see earlier this year. Bringing it to audiences in Basingstoke and Poole in November, in what will undoubtably be a memorable experience, marks the pinnacle of the BSO’s artistic partnership with Seeta Patel Dance to date. We hope you’ll be able to join us.”

Seeta Patel leads workshops in partnership with community musicians from Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra across the BCP region and Basingstoke in late September.

Seeta Patel Dance and Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra perform The Rite of Spring with conductor Kirill Karabits, at Lighthouse, Poole (15 Nov, tickets from £8) and The Anvil, Basingstoke (23 Nov, tickets from £14). See bsolive.com — and anvilarts.org.uk — for further details.

-ENDS-

NOTES TO EDITORS

For more information please contact:

For BSO: Rebecca Johns | rebecca.johns@premiercomms.com | 07715 205 196 or Heidi O’Neill | HONeill@bsorchestra.co.uk

For Seeta Patel Dance: Diana Whitehead | diana@fourthwallpr.co.uk | 07939 149887      
For Anvil Arts: Andrea Bath | andrea.bath@anvilarts.org.uk | 01256 366909

Workshops will take place in the BCP region on Thursday 28 September and in and around Basingstoke on Friday 29 September. Filming access is available on request.