Summer treats

In the second edition of Summer Fiesta, a month-long cultural festival for children, the National Centre for Performing Arts offers 23 workshops on drama, dance, puppetry and circus acts, apart from plays and film screenings

You will need to revisit your ideas of the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) if you thought it was a place where old gentlemen and ladies hung about watching plays, or discussing fine art and its implications on life. This month, happy-noisy children will take over the Centre. Summer Fiesta, a cultural festival filled with workshops, plays and film screenings for children, starts this Monday.

Children at a workshop at last year's edition of Summer Fiesta

The festival kicked off last year, two weeks after author and former journalist Deepa Gahlot took over as head of Programming (Theatre and Film) at NCPA. With the aim of inculcating appreciation for the arts among children, the festival took off without much pomp and show. Two weeks of organising had led to a total of 10 workshops, in which 150 children participated.

This year, the organisers have had more time to plan events. The festival will run the entire monthu00a0-- it starts on May 2 and ends on May 29u00a0-- and a total of 23 workshops, five plays and four film screenings have been organised. Gahlot expects at least 600 children to participate.

There will be workshops on dance, drama, movement, puppetry, circus arts and theatre games; and popular theatre groups like Akvarious and Gillo will perform for the kids. Eminent filmmakers and theatre professionals such as Amol Gupte (of Taare Zameen Par fame), who will screen his film Stanley Ka Dabba, will also take part in the Festival. Some workshops will focus on socially relevant issues, like 'Solving Social Issues Through Improvisation and Performance', for instance, which will help kids identify social causes and encourage them to come up with solutions through short plays using acting, movement, and dance.

Gahlot lists other workshops of interest: Fun with Jazz Dance will see children learn jazz and stage a performance at the end of the workshop. According to Gahlot, NCPA started Summer Fiesta because of the lack of cultural festivals for children in the city. "Such opportunities are essential, for it may lead to a child deciding to pursue a particular art-form more seriously," she says.

"I have always felt the need for such a festival. So when I joined NCPA, I got working on it right away," says Gahlot. She believes that not much effort has been made to encourage children in the city to pursue the arts, and there are only a handful of committed people who are interested in the same goal as her. She cites the example of Sanjana Kapoor of Prithvi Theatre. "Kapoor has, through Summertime and other workshops, encouraged children to participate in cultural activities. But there are so many children and such few activities. We need a lot more."

Registration: Open till May 1
At: NCPA, next to The Trident, Nariman Point
Call: 66223802

kids' month out
Prithvi summertime
Summertime is just two weeks into its two-month long festival for children. This year's edition has over 40 workshops and 18 plays. Targetted at children aged six to 16, this year's workshops include juggling, classical Indian dance, theatre and puppetry.
At: Prithvi Theatre, 20 Janki Kutir, Juhu Church Road, Juhu
Call: 26149546

Plays from the Panchatantra
Open till May 31, children between the age group of four to 13 years can take part in the Back to your Roots workshop. In the workshop, apart from elocution, dance, theatre games, mime and improvisation, children will perform short plays from stories based on the Panchatantra and Akbar-Birbal tales.
At: ACE Productions Pvt. Ltd., Kulsum Terrace, 7 Walton Road, Colaba
Call: 22842845

3 great ways to spend your sunday
Choose between cheering children skating to the Gateway, a screening of Kurosawa's famous Seven Samurai, and a sound-and-light art show this eveningu00a0

Seven samurai in the city
In A bid to encourage Japanese cinema in the city, Enlighten Film Society presents one of Japan's most famous and finest films made by the master Akira Kurosawa. The film has had a lasting legacy and gone on to inspire many other famous productions including The Magnificent Seven and even our very own Sholay. In the film, set somewhere in 1587, a village of farmers hires seven samurai to combat bandits and stop them from stealing their crops after harvest. Before the screening, there will be a short introduction about the film and its contribution to Japanese and world cinema.
At: 12 pm, Cinemax, Infiniti Mall, New Link Road, Andheri (W)
Call: 42141414

Get, set, skate!
Three kids aged seven, eight and 10 will be covering a distance of 100 km on skates to spread the message of peace and harmony on Maharashtra Day. Drishika Gala, Mudit Kapoor and Hersh Saroday will be skating for Kalingastone Skatathon organised by Roll Models Skaters and Bubble. Having trained for over a year, the three will start their skatathon from Panvel at 5.30 am and aim to reach Wilson College on Marine Drive by 12 pm. They will then continue on the last leg of their skating till Gateway. Children between 12 to 16 years of age can join the skaters till Gateway. Or you could simply cheer for them by gathering at Wilson College.u00a0
AT: 12 pm, Wilson College, P Ramabai Marg, Girgaon

Bicycle to the light
Kala Ghoda Cafe located in a tiny by lane of Fort, has always been known for the support it extends to young artists, and today's event is no different. Art curator Gitanjali Dang (in picture) will exhibit her first work at the Cafe between 5 to 10 pm on Sunday and Monday. The sound and light installation, says Dang, "is designed to get under the skin of the viewer and crawl there." The show is titled Part One and is supported by Blue Frog. And if you're really keen to derive the most from the experience, cycle down to the Cafe, which is fitted with two bicycle-locking devices and offers a free coffee to customers who cycle over and lock their bikes outside on a Sunday.
From: 5 to 10 pm
At: Kala Ghoda Cafe, 10 Ropewalk Lane, Fort.
Call: 22633866