Shobana Jeyasingh

British choreographer Shobana Jeyasingh is Artistic Director of Shobana Jeyasingh Dance Company, which she founded in 1988. Her distinctive choreographic language draws on Bharata Natyam, combined with many other stylistic elements. Jeyasingh made her Royal Ballet debut in 2015 with Bayadère – The Ninth Life, a reimagining of Marius Petipa’s 1877 ballet La Bayadère.

Jeyasingh was born in Chennai and lives and works in London. Her company’s first production was Miniatures, to a score by Michael Nyman; this was later reworked as Configurations. She has since created more than fifty dance works, the majority for her company. A number have been made for unusual performance venues, including 2Step on the steps of St Paul’s Cathedral (City of London Festival), TooMortal in church pews (Venice Biennale and on tour) and Counterpoint in Somerset House courtyard (English National Ballet). [h]Interland (2002) was the first dance performance webcast live between the UK and India. Jeyasingh has received commissions from companies such as Wayne McGregor | Random Dance (Polar Sequences), Ballet Black (Breach) and Rambert (Terra Incognita).

The many composers with whom she has collaborated include Django Bates, Orlando Gough, Graham Fitkin, Gabriel Prokofiev and Kevin Volans.