S P A C E Pro Showcase is a final presentation of our 2025 S P A C E Pro Studio Residency program with Resident Artists, Isabel Desmet and Radhika Karandikar. Through a 10-week artist residency process at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, Downtown, our selected Resident Artists delved into research and development of new works. Join us for the culminating event of this process, to see what their creative research and exploration has yielded. S P A C E Showcase is this Friday March 28 and Saturday March 29.

 

How has your approach to dance creation changed or been different during your residency?

 

In the past, I have always created dances by picking my music and then building the piece from start to finish. However, my residency with Disco Riot has allowed me to explore a different approach to choreography. I created each section of the piece separately, drawing inspiration from different animals, and then experimented with arranging them in various orders before finalizing the structure. Having the time and freedom to make mistakes and adjust my work along the way has been incredibly freeing. The result is a piece that I’m most proud of so far.

 

Other than dance, what mediums are important to the overall theme of your piece? This could be music, projection, spoken word, visual etc. What role will these aspects play?

 

A key element of my piece is the live video playback. When I started my residency, I asked myself, “When do I feel most connected to my body, and when do I feel least connected?” I feel the most connected to my body when I feel like an animal. I feel the least connected to my body when using screens. I wanted to show a contrast between these two feelings by giving the audience the option to view the piece both ways at the same time. I also love the idea of the audience being able to see the piece from both sides of the space.

 

What has been your favorite part of the process?

 

My favorite part of this process has been working with my dancers, Giovanna Francisco and Odessa Uno. It is hard to create alone. My collaboration with these two dancers has made the process fun and exciting, and their contribution to the work is beautiful.

 

How has this residency supported your artistic endeavors?

 

This residency has allowed me the time and financial freedom to create a piece that I love. Not being able to compensate my dancers and not having the means to rent out space has kept me from creating on my own in the past. Also, knowing that this residency is process-based, and that I do not need to create a “finished” product, has soothed my anxieties as a choreographer and helped me push through any self-doubt. I am so grateful to have spent my last three months creating in a beautiful space, and I can use this experience to further my artistic growth by using the piece to apply to more residencies.

 

What does your typical creation process look like? This could include pre-rehearsal idea development, rehearsal process, and any other relevant aspects of your process. 

 

TBH each creation process is different for me. For the ones in the past I had a very vague idea of what I wanted to present and the highlight points and choreography came up after the music composition. This time though, it has been a very planned and structured process. It involved creating the script first. Then coming up with movements and then getting the music composed for the dance. I feel more confident and grounded about this one for sure! The most interesting and vital contributor to my work ‘the Song of Life’ is the space I have been given to develop it. The use of multiple spaces has had a vital role in the design of the piece not just from a spatial POV but also for the emotional graph of the work. So glad to have Disco Riot give us this option to explore. 

 

Other than dance, what mediums are important to the overall theme of your piece? This could be music, projection, spoken word, visual etc. What role will these aspects play?

 

The literary base of my piece is poetry. Specifically Haiku and Tanka written by Kala Ramesh. Her poems have lent themselves to create a very compelling storyline that encompasses a gamut of emotions like love, excitement, trust, loss, trauma, fear, rage, disgust and hope. And the way these beautiful poems reach the viewers would be through spoken word and media projection(animation designed by Tanvi Ganu). To enliven this experience is music by two talented musicians and my collaborators Rohit Panchakshari(tabla) and Jesus Cervantes(violin) which weaves through the dance impeccably to create an immersive experience for the viewers. So to sum it up, my choreography and performance is heavily supported by all the above art forms.

 

What would you like the audience to know about your work in the showcase?

 

“The Song of Life’ is an experimental work binding multiple disciplines of art to culminate in storytelling. It throws light on the story of a woman in her twilight years looking back at her life filled with experiences of love, loss, abuse and trauma, and her resolve to break the chain of generational trauma from being passed on to her daughter. Poetry in the form of Haiku and Tanka, the Indian classical dance form of Bharatanatyam, Indian percussion (tabla), violin, animation and projection come together to create a compelling piece of art. The cherry on the cake is that this is a site-specific work. Meaning the viewers will be moving along with the artist leading to an immersive experience! This performance contains depictions of domestic abuse, emotional manipulation, and trauma. Viewer discretion is advised, as these themes may be distressing or triggering for some. If you feel that you may be affected by these topics, please take care of your mental and emotional well-being before engaging with the performance.

 

How has this residency supported your artistic endeavors?

 

The Disco Riot SPACE Pro Residency has been one of the most vital programmes in my artistic career till date, since they have provided me with all the important resources that an artist needs to pursue their creative practice – rehearsal space, time, stipend, production support, showcase, feedback sessions for constructive creativity, and most importantly a free hand of creating with complete artistic freedom without the stress of handling production/admin related duties. It is definitely what all creatives dream of and kudos to Disco Riot for identifying and supporting this through their Residency.

 

What are your hopes and dreams for the San Diego dance scene?

 

As an artist belonging to the South Asian community in the United States, it has often been challenging to thrive in the arts community in the country. But platforms like Disco Riot have played an integral part in identifying the power of art in other cultures and have helped reach out to a diverse community. My unwavering commitment is towards creating and contributing to a more inclusive and accepting community of artists, patrons and audiences who are appreciative of these arts and willing to experience them solely for the immense power they hold within them. I hope that the San Diego dance scene draws from the diverse artists who are a part of it and are working very hard to make art that matters, that touches and that is liberating.