Indika, Europe’s finest festival of Indian arts, returns for 2018, bigger and better than ever!
Celebrating its 8th year, the festival hosts the biggest names in Indian music and dance, as well as some of the very best rising stars taking the arts scene by storm. This year the festival is branching out into new venues across Liverpool, including the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, The Capstone Theatre, 24 Kitchen Street, FACT, LEAF and The Beatles Story, as well as going on tour to London and Manchester. With mind-blowing performances and ground-breaking premieres, it is not to be missed!
Indika kicks off on Wednesday 17 October with a very special celebration launch concert by world renowned Bansuri flautist, Pravin Godkhindi, at the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Hall. Through sheer passion, dedication and creativity, Pravin has taken the musical world by storm, winning numerous awards and high acclaim around the world.
The festival continues with big names such as Mandolin maestro, U. Rajesh, and veena superstar, Rajhesh Vaidya. This year’s Indika also sees the return of Arun Ghosh, the mesmerising clarinetist whose sell-out Liverpool Jazz Festival show was described as “positively rocking the house with its pile-driving rhythms” (Bido Lito, April 2018), marking Indika’s first collaboration with 24 Kitchen Street. Indika will also be heading to Liverpool favourite LEAF for the first time this year for a stunning musical concert from Guiliano Modarelli. The festival comes to a musical close with Woh Chand Khila, an incredible concert experience blending Indian classical with Bollywood, Punjabi Folk and Sufi music.
Alongside the exhilarating music line up, Indika will also present visually stunning performances from the biggest names in Indian classical dance. Husband and wife dance-duo Abimanyu and Vidha Lal are set to take audiences on a journey through the evolution of the stunning Indian dance style, Kathak. Pioneer of the beautiful Bharatanatyam dance form, Dr Rukmini Vijayakumar, will take to the stage with a poignant production about the unbreakable bond between parent and child.
New to Indika 2018 is our family-friendly Kids Concert on 25 October, a perfect way to introduce the younger members of your family to Indian classical music and dance! This double bill show features music from the extraordinary mandolin artiste U. Rajesh and dance from two of the greatest dancers on the Indian classical scene, Abimanyu & Vidha Lal.
Also new to this year’s line up, the festival joins up with the team at FACT to showcase two films from the powerhouse of Indian cinema, Salman Khan. First up is Bajrangi Bhaijaan, the second highest grossing Bollywood film of all time, on 23 October, followed by action epic, Veer, on 30 October.
Those who want to find out more about the intricacies of Indian music can head on down to The Beatles Story where, as part of their Beatles in India season, Indika stars Pravin Godkhindi and U. Rajesh will be holding free public talks about their art forms on 19 October and 1 November.
More Information
Can’t join us in Liverpool? One of Indika’s biggest stars, U. Rajesh, will also be performing in London’s Southbank Centre and Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall!
Whether you are an Indian music and dance aficionado or eager to experience new art forms, Indika is a multi-arts festival packed full of exciting events that are sure to bring a little bit of Indian spice to your Autumn calendar.
Full event schedule details to be announced and tickets to go on sale in Wednesday 30th August 2018. For more information, visit www.milapfest.com/indika.
Event Date: Wednesday 17th October 2018 - Saturday 3rd November 2018
Categories: #Liverpool2018 | Arts | Family | Film | Liverpool | Music | Ticketed
