KALA: Experience Leeds in a New Light!
📅 28–29 October 2026 (Wed & Thursday)
📍 Parkinson Court, University of Leeds, LS2 9HB
what3words: fines.modest.hike
Performance Times: 6.45pm, 7.15pm, 7.45pm, 8.15pm & 8.45pm
As darkness falls across the city, Kala invites audiences to experience Leeds in a new light.
Created for Light Night Leeds 2026, this immersive performance brings together classical Indian dance, contemporary choreography, creative technology and original music in a powerful exploration of cultural identity, memory and belonging.
Through movement, light and sound, Kala animates 300 years of South Asian history in Leeds, reflecting on migration, colonial legacies, resilience and the ever-evolving stories that shape communities across generations.
Performers move through an interactive landscape where light responds to the body in real time, creating a striking visual dialogue between tradition and innovation.
Original compositions for violin are interwoven with sampled sounds from across Leeds, echoing the tension and harmony between heritage and change, past and present.
Inspired by research into 300 Years of South Asian History in Leeds, Kala transforms history into a living, moving experience. Rooted in place yet forward-looking in its artistic approach, the work celebrates the cultural contributions, lived experiences and enduring spirit of South Asian communities in the city.
Kala is also the creative technology performance project of Orisa Pather, SAA-uk's HeadStart Trainee, who has led the project's creative development alongside a team of artists, technologists and musicians.
The project demonstrates how creative technology can open new ways of telling cultural stories, connecting audiences to heritage through immersive and contemporary artistic experiences.
Vivid, reflective and visually captivating, Kala is a celebration of identity, connection and the many histories that continue to shape Leeds today.
Creative Team:
Produced by: SAA-uk
Creative Director & Project Lead
Orisa Pather (SAA-uk HeadStart Trainee)
Performers
Meghna Lokabhirama Nandini Raju
Akshay Sharma
Creative Technologists
Cara Proud (Technologica Collective)
Emir Johnston (Technologica Collective)
Composition Title
In a Land Far Away: An Immigrant's Story
Original Composition
Artistic and Music Director: Prathap Ramachandra
Associate Artistic Director: Nigel Thavasi
Music & Arrangement: B C Manjunath, Abhimanya Shreekanth
Mixing Engineer: Adil Nadaf
Original Artwork
Lily Flynn
A COLLABORATION BETWEEN SAA-UK AND LIGHT NIGHT LEEDS
