My dreams are jewels of sparkling life, glow-worms flicker, in the silent depth of night, sparks of light dancing.
(Tagore)
Nila is an experienced actress, director, acting trainer and Feldenkrais practitioner. Born in Africa, she is of Indian-African decent and moved to England at the age of six. Her university education finally brought her to Germany (BA in American & English Lit/ Theatre Studies) and the USA where she received her MFA ( CWRU) in acting. Further journeys and studies took her to India and Hawaii and finally led to the additional qualification of a professional Feldenkrais practitioner. Nila was brought up with Bollywood movies: “They were my first exposure to the art of story telling, acting and performing and they were the reason I decided to become an actress at the tender age of 7! To this day, these influences strongly affect my feeling for visual aesthetics and my technique. My life has made me a global citizen but my work always reveals to me that my heart is Indian…”
Nila’s multi-cultural background as well as countless interdisciplinary influences inspired her to develop her training concept Synapsing. Synapsing awakens the natural creative forces, inspires to spontaneity and exciting discoveries and encourages to artistical and personal expression and development. For more than 20 years, she has addressed not only actors, dancers, singers and directors but also therapists and those, who are interested in developing and intensifying their own creativity, with her courses, workshops and performances. Nila currently lives in London where she works as an actress and continues giving Synapsing workshops and courses all over Europe. Her stage appearances include Andrew Lloyd Webber's West End production of Bombay Dreams, Silver Star West End production Instant Celebrity; most recent TV appearances include BBC’s Spooks, ITV’s A Touch of Frost and the BBC/HBO Five Days.
A Touch Of India Bollywood Acting Workshop ...
This acting workshop conveys the art of Bollywood films as well as Indian theatre tradition. We will concentrate on Bollywood role models which combine contemporary topics with archetypical stereotypes that still have influence on India’s day-to-day life even today. We will explore Asian storytelling techniques that include acting, movement, dance, music, singing, language and speech and silence. Our goal is to introduce the variety of artistic expression and to awake that actor who makes Bollywood films as unique as they are. With the help of Synapsing techniques acting, motion, Feldenkrais, music, writing and speech become intertwined. In this vibrant atmosphere we will discover what orient and occident have in common and create expressive magical moments by using mutual influences. Through group, partner and individual exercises a creative and productive atmosphere is guaranteed. Dynamic and the techniques of Synapsing encourage reaching to the core of acting. For this adventurous discovery, awareness, sensitivity, trust and teamwork will be intensified. We develop roles, monologues or drafts of the liveliness of Bollywood productions, just as we discover the depths of the Indian narrative tradition.
We will touch India as it touches us.
„Touch of India 1“ is a beginner’s course. An intermediate as well as an advanced class will follow at the beginning of next year.