Working Title: Ghadar Geet
Log line: Joti Singh, a visionary artist and Bay Area choreographer, digs deep into her South Asian roots to focus on the lesser-known stories of her community from the Desi perspective. Seamlessly blending diverse dance forms, she produces unique shows that explore critical social themes like heritage, history, immigration, and racism.
Project Stage: Pre-production/Early-Production
Expected Finish Date: April, 2024
Synopsis: It's showtime! The green room pulses with vibrant energy as a diverse crew of women don stunning Punjabi ensembles, preparing for the evening's performance. Among them stands Joti Singh, radiating confidence in her blazer, glasses, and pagadi—a headdress typically associated with men. In this moment, she channels the spirit of her revered great-grandfather, a guiding force in her artistic journey and an early influence in her life. The dance performance she has meticulously choreographed is an intimate tribute, drawing inspiration from her great-grandfather, Bhagwan Singh Gyanee's life, revolutionary poetry, and arduous struggles. This deeply personal piece holds profound significance for Singh.
As a young girl grappling with identity, her great-grandfather's written words and story empowered her, later helping her develop a unique voice as an artist and activist to create work that delves into critical social themes like heritage, history, immigration, and racism. Through her latest show titled Ghadar Geet, now, she is using that same voice to illuminate the little-known story of the Ghadar Party, a revolutionary group of Indian political activists founded in San Francisco and led by her great-grandfather, as they fought for India's independence from the British Empire.
This verite dance documentary examines Singh's rise and artistic evolution as a prominent Bay Area choreographer and storyteller who fights to push diasporic stories and dance forms from the margins to the center of the dance field. She is the artistic co-director of Duniya Dance and Drum Company. Over the past two decades, she created work highlighting themes like colonization, globalization, immigration, art, dance, music, and love. The film centers around the production of Singh's latest work, "Ghadar Geet," using it as a narrative element and a thematic thread that weaves the story together. In doing so, the film unfolds a multilayered and multigenerational story set within the South Asian cultural context while touching upon universal themes relevant to all minority communities. Through a combination of verite-style footage and archival videos, we observe her creative process, delve into her past work, and enable an exploration of Singh's life and artistic journey.