Anant Singh announced today that Videovision Entertainment and Sibaya Casino and Entertainment Kingdom and Carnival City Casino and Entertainment World in association with South African Airways, will promote the South African tour of Bollywood’s leading dance company, Shiamak Davar and his troupe. The tour, entitled, Shiamak: The Spirit Of Song And Dance, will comprise of four performances with two each in Johannesburg and Durban and will begin at Carnival City in Johannesburg with shows on 6 and 7 August and then move to the International Convention Centre in Durban on 8 and 9 August.
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Shiamak Davar is known around the world for choreographing pulsating dance extravaganzas that are complimented with incredible sets, dazzling costumes and energetic dancers, while the use of extraordinary props brings the stage to life. He is the pioneer of the Jazz Dance concept in India and has worked widely in film, television and stage and is largely responsible for changing the way the Indian film and entertainment industry looks at western dance forms. He is also responsible for making popular the fusion of Indian and western dance forms that have captured the imagination of people around the world.
Shiamak is India’s No. 1 choreographer, whose award winning work can be seen in Bollywood films Dil To Pagal Hai, Taal and Kisna, Bunty Aur Babli and a number of high profile events, including film industry awards, among which are FilmFare Awards, Sansui Awards, Stardust Awards and the IIFA Awards, including the recent event in Amsterdam. Shiamak also performed in the productions of Evita, Phantom Of The Opera and became the first Indian to choreograph an Italian Opera when he worked on the production of La Traviata which was directed by Maurizio Di Mattia in New Delhi last year. Davar has also performed with the popular western musician, Sting.
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Singh also announced that that Sun International’s Sibaya Casino and Entertainment Kingdom and Carnival City Casino and Entertainment World will be the headline sponsors of Shiamak: The Spirit Of Song And Dance in South Africa.
Videovision Entertainment previously brought to South Africa the most successful live entertainment events from Bollywood, including the Now Or Never Live! concert in December 2002 which saw legendary Indian actor, Amitabh Bachchan lead a star-studded troupe that featured Bollywood’s top stars Shahrukh Khan, Hrithik Roshan, Sanjay Dutt, Karisma Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor, Sushmita Sen, Preity Zinta, Shilpa Shetty and Rani Mukherjee. The company also promoted the South African leg of Amitabh Bachchan’s World Tour in 1991 which was seen by more than 100 000 people in Durban and Johannesburg and was the first ever stadium extravaganza held in South Africa.
Sudhir Pragjee, Videovision Entertainment’s Head Of Business Affairs, commented, “We are thrilled to be bringing Shiamak and his energetic troupe to South Africa. Shiamak is a talented choreographer, dancer and singer whose shows are absolutely spectacular. Audiences can expect to have their socks knocked off as Shiamak: The Spirit Of Song And Dance will be a dazzling visual spectacle. We are also delighted to be working with Sun International and Sibaya Casino and Entertainment Kingdom and Carnival City Casino and Entertainment World as sponsors of this event.”
Melville Vogel, General Manager of Sibaya Casino and Entertainment Kingdom said, “It is a great pleasure for us and Carnival City, to be associated with the Shiamak: The Spirit Of Song And Dance tour. Having had the privilege of watching Shiamak’s bouquet of work, I have absolutely no doubt that Durban and Johannesburg show-goers, will enjoy this music and dance spectacular. Our association with the Tour and Videovision Entertainment is part of our overall strategy of providing the best entertainment events for our patrons.”
Ticket sales will open on Sunday, 10 July at Computicket branches countrywide at the following prices: R80, R160, R260 and R360, inclusive of VAT and Computicket charges. The purchase of R80 tickets is limited to 10 per person.
Shiamak: The Spirit Of Song And Dance is a Videovision Entertainment presentation in association with Sibaya Casino and Entertainment Kingdom and Carnival City.
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On Shiamak…
“Excellent. You don’t need to hear that from me. The fact that Shiamak Davar is as synonymous as can be in our country. It is a new language that I speak when I convey his form, but its wonderful. It is a wonderful physical experience as well as its almost spiritual. He has got a very spiritual touch to his dance which is high energy and fun.”
– Aishwariya Rai –
“It is an understatement to say that Shiamak’s choreography is different. He is one of the few choreographers who have a very macro vision. He is a choreographer, in genuine terms he is a choreographer.”
– Shahrukh Khan –
“Each and every time I have worked with him, I have always not failed to see the brilliance of his mind.”
– Hrithik Roshan –
“Working with Shiamak always has been a wonderful experience because the best part about Shiamak is that he choreographs with his heart.”
– Rani Mukerjee –
“Indian cinema has followed a very repetitive routine in almost all its song and dance ideas and it was very refreshing to see Shiamak and his dancers and the way the interpreted the songs in the films. I have noticed that he has been very successful in fusing both the Indian and the west. It is would have been easiest to do either – just the western or just the Indian, but I think when you are able to fuse the two dance forms and still make it look attractive, that is truly great. It is really an artist’s dream to be associated with Shiamak.”
– Amitabh Bachchan –
Fact Sheet
Show Dates: CARNIVAL CITY, JOHANNESBURG
6 August 2005
7 August 2005
INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION CENTRE, DURBAN
8 August 2005
9 August 2005
Show Time: 8.00pm sharp for all shows
Ticket Prices: R80, R160, R260, R360
Ticket Sales: Opens on Sunday, 10 July at Computicket branches countrywide
Inclusive of VAT and Computicket charges
The purchase of R80 tickets is limited to 10 per person
