A leading arts charity will be launching two innovative projects later this month to celebrate the importance of women in arts.

YERMA: On 29th March, ‘Yerma’ will be performed at Leeds’ Northern School of contemporary dance. It is a performance showing a mother (played by choreographer Amina Khayyam – pictured), desperate to have a child, going to extreme lengths and committing crime in order to accomplish this
YERMA: On 29th March, ‘Yerma’ will be performed at Leeds’ Northern School of contemporary dance. It is a performance showing a mother (played by choreographer Amina Khayyam – pictured), desperate to have a child, going to extreme lengths and committing crime in order to accomplish this

The South Asian Arts-uk (SAA-uk) will be launching the Women in Arts programme in Leeds on the 29th and 30th March with a pair of unique performances.

In the classical world of Indian music, dance and arts it is typically men who are celebrated and rewarded for their musical talents.

For the first time ever, SAA-uk is providing women musicians with a series of concerts throughout the year, in recognition and celebration of their musical achievements.

Keranjeet Kaur Virdee, (Keran) Chief Executive of SAA-uk explained what the project was all about.

“For years women have played an integral role in the arts and we are delighted to highlight the artistic passion and ability they have by dedicating a whole series of events and concerts to them,” she said.

“The arts are an amazing vehicle, which transcends cultural boundaries and allows freedom of expression and we have some very talented female performers whose artistic excellence deserves recognition.”

SAA-uk’s celebration of Women in Arts will begin at the end of March with two very different productions.

Firstly, Yerma, hosted on Saturday 29th March, 7.30pm at The Northern School of Contemporary Dance, Leeds, deals with the oppression Asian women experience in today’s society.

UNTOLD STORIES: On 30th March, ‘Untold Stories’ will be performed in Trinity Leeds where dancers Seetal Kaur Gahir and Dilrani Kaur Lall (pictured) will interpret four children’s stories through dance
UNTOLD STORIES: On 30th March, ‘Untold Stories’ will be performed in Trinity Leeds where dancers Seetal Kaur Gahir and Dilrani Kaur Lall (pictured) will interpret four children’s stories through dance

This will be followed the next day by, ‘Untold Stories’, which makes its debut performance on Mother’s day at 3pm, in Trinity Leeds, and is a family event that brings stories alive through animation.