{Live} – Ujazdowski Castle Centre for Contemporary Art

How can dance become a tool for building connection, agency and resilience — even beyond the stage? As part of the Live series, we invite you to a conversation with Hrishikesh Pawar — an Indian dancer and choreographer, and a leading figure in contemporary dance in India.

• Pawar’s practice combines classical Kathak with contemporary dance language and artistic activities developed in collaboration with communities. He is the Artistic Director of the Centre of Contemporary Dance in Pune, a platform dedicated to creative exploration, performance, education and community-engaged practice.

During the session, he will discuss over a decade of work with older adults living with Parkinson’s disease, and how movement can support dignity, autonomy and a sense of community. Participants will gain insight into the structure and philosophy of Dance for Parkinson’s practice, including how trust is built and how artistic discipline can coexist with care within a contemporary dance setting.

• The session will also feature excerpts from the short documentary Rhythm of Resilience, produced as part of the Lucy Bowen Award, alongside selected case studies from Pawar’s practice. The meeting will conclude with a brief, open movement activity, inviting participants to experience the work somatically.

Hrishikesh Pawar (b. 1983, Pune, India) is a dancer and choreographer developing an original movement language rooted in Kathak and contemporary practice. He trained under Pt. Rohini Bhate and Guru Neelima Adhye and was a guest student at the Palucca Hochschule für Tanz in Dresden. His work has been presented at major international platforms including Documenta in Kassel, the Kochi Biennale, and the Fringe Festival in Canada. He is the recipient of the McArthur International Exchange Grant, Sancheti Silent Hero Award, and Lucy Bowen Award. He recently completed a fellowship at the Akademie der Künste in Berlin, where his research focused on the relationship between dance, ageing, memory, and community-based practice.

• The session is open to all — dancers, students, educators, carers, and anyone interested in the social dimension of artistic practice, as well as anyone curious to explore and discuss art.

{Live}

• Every week, we meet live with artists to talk about art: creative processes, works, and current experiences. 
  • We host both artists who have previously taken part in Ujazdowski Castle’s programme and those making their debut. In this series, we would like to focus on individual approaches and artistic practices. 
• Why take part?   
  • The events will be recorded for archival purposes, and the recordings will be made available online through the Mediateka. 
• In times of tensions and crises, thinking and talking together about contemporary art – which responds to today’s challenges in unconventional ways – helps strengthen social resilience. Art is not only the object – just as important are the process, the thinking, the emotions, and the relationships that accompany it. The meetings offer a closer look at how art is created and, most importantly, who creates it.   
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• We do our best to make the Ujazdowski Castle Centre for Contemporary Art accessible to everyone – we would like to adapt the event to you and your needs. To help us do that, please contact our accessibility coordinator: dostepnosc@u-jazdowski.pl, no later than the Monday before the event.