Witness The Elemental Playground dance and arts festival this weekend

Can movement be restricted to dance Andheribased movement artiste Kunaal Sangtani believes not A theatremaker employs movement while performing as does a painter while creating on a canvas Similarly running or walking embody movement It is this freespirited outlook towards the art form that will shape the debut onground edition of The Elemental Playground a unique dance and arts festival that Sangtanirsquos platform The Movement Hub is hosting at a Lower Parel venue this weekendNeeraj LohaniFounded in June 2020 The Movement Hub creates an inclusive space for dancers and movement artistes from all genres and also conducts classes in Chembur and Santacruz Five editions of The Elemental Playground have already brought dancers together online in its sixth iteration the festival will take the form of a metaphorical playground where dance meets music poetry rap and crossreality ARVRMR among other disciplines The idea Sangtani shares is to explore and interpret dance and movement visavis other art formsShivanshu SoniThe daylong festival will kick off with a workshop led by Leonel Sequeira that will get participants into the groove At the next event Elemental X Change art music poetry rap and dance will fuse to create an interdisciplinary dialogue ldquoThere will be a musician who will be playing throughout and there will be three rounds of poetry and three rounds of movement This blend of movement music and poetry will act as a stimulus for a painter who will create a painting on the spot It will be like an open jam so viewers who are feeling the vibe can also join inrdquo he elaboratesMukta Nagpal and Ashish RaoSangtani will take the stage next for a live choreography session wherein the audience will quite literally dance to his tunes The artiste will assign movement and positions to some colours and shapes ldquoEvery participantrsquos entry band will have these colours and shapes that will help to create different formations I will compose the way they move into formations The participants will get to interact with each other and not just the friends they come withrdquo he points outKunaal SangtaniNext up The Platform will witness performances by artistes Sasha Shetty Russian classical ballet Neeraj Lohani contemporary Sangtani movement artiste Mukta Nagpal and Ashish Rao contemporary and Shivanshu Soni Kathak fusion with street It will be followed by a fun afterparty he reveals And for those of you wondering whether itrsquos all dance and no play there will also be a daylong flea market of small businesses where you can pick up clothing food accessories art and moreOne of the coolest elements of the festival is a virtual reality VR and technology space called Omniverse mdash a futuregeneration art museum directed by ShifuAsh that fuses dance art with different media including architecture photography video production crossreality music audio engineering narrative writing and more ldquoYou will see dance exhibits come to life for instance moving installations and holograms They have also created a VR experience around dancerdquo Sangtani revealsOn August 21 12 pm onwardsAt AntiSocial Mathuradas Mill Compound Lower ParelLog on to insiderinCost Rs 999 onwards