ABOUT ​​CIRCLES OF CONVERSATION

Circles of Conversation is a post-show discussion format following the performance of Copy of the Copy, by Dr. Priya Srinivasan. Audiences are invited to share their perspectives about the work and engage in meaningful dialogue with community leaders and experts to ask how we can find ways to connect to each other.

These conversations aim to foster dialogue about themes presented in the performance, such as the culture wars, the false divisions between Indian and western forms of art, histories of unequal exchange, to show how we are fundamentally connected. The ‘Circles of Conversations’ is held in a round-table format, led by community leaders and experts, encouraging audience members to share their perspectives and engage in meaningful dialogue to ask how we can find ways to connect to each other to be a part of shaping a shared vision to protect and uplift diverse arts and communities.

Key aspects of the Circles of Conversation:

— Purpose: To provide a space for audiences to process the performance’s themes and engage in discussions about real-world issues related to the culture wars, lies, and untruths that divide us and how we can create social change.

— Format: Round-table discussions with community leaders, artists, and experts.

— Content: Topics include identifying the key responses to the show, what does dissecting our past offer us, finding common threads that link diverse arts and cultures together, to ask how we can create new futures that help us form collective action to protect arts and artists from diverse communities.

— Engagement: Encourages audience participation, allowing individuals to choose conversations and move between them.

— Support: Conversations Host will be present throughout to help guide the discussion

— Community Focus: The conversations aim to build community awareness and encourage collective action against the false binaries and lies that divide us.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Priya Srinivasan is a multi award winning independent scholar / choreographer/dancer who combines theory and dance practice for social justice issues across the globe. Trained in Indian classical and experimental Asian forms, her large span of intercultural work focuses primarily on collaborations that examine power and highlight minority voices including First Nations artists, intercaste communities, LGBTQIA+ artists in working towards social justice and equity in different geo political locations. Together with her collaborators, composers and musicians Hari Sivanesan and Uthra Vijay and other multidisciplinary collaborators, Dr. Vicki Couzens, raymond d blanco, Benjamin Northey, Philippa Rothfield, she has created several groundbreaking works. This includes “Serpent Dreaming Women,” “Churning Waters” – A feminist Indigenous Australian / Indian work which was selected to tour India for Australia Festival, Bunyi Bunyi Bumi an Asian/ First Nations work she co directed with Raymond Blanco (Yadhagaina/Erub) that premiered at Asiatopa festival in 2025. The remarkable dance/music collaboration “Agam” with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl to audiences of 10,000+ and the upcoming work La Bayadere Reimagined, a groundbreaking collaboration she is co-directing with Rachel Beaujean, Ted Brandsen and Kalpana Raghuraman to decolonise the famous orientalist Russian ballet by Marius Petipa will premier in Amsterdam in March 2026. She has won numerous awards including “The Durga Chronicles” – A dance/theatre work that premiered at Arts House in 2022 to confront gendered violence. The work was nominated for 3 awards & won ‘Breaking Ground’ Green Room Award in 2023 and Dance and the Transformation of the Public Sphere in 2024 (Dance Studies Association, USA). She also has received Asia Society’s “Game Changer Award” for Culture and Art, and the inaugural Award for “Asia Pacific Impact” from Creative Australia. She is the Artistic Director of Sangam which she co-created with Hari Sivanesan and Uthra Vijay in 2019 to address the systemic imbalance and lack of representation of South Asian art in Naarm and as a platform and festival they have featured 400+ artists. Sangam Labs Leadership Exchange is an idea she spearheaded that brought together intersectional, emerging and established artistic leaders and organisations between India, the diaspora and Australia in Melbourne, Bengaluru and San Francisco. She believes in the power of art to create meaningful interactions between communities of artists and to move away from the polarity of the world we are currently facing.

Danielle Micich is a highly-awarded choreographer, director and performer of dance theatre and is the Artistic Director & CEO of Force Majeure. She makes new work for festivals, theatre productions, opera and film, alongside site-specific and community work. After graduating from the Victorian College of the Arts and relocating to Perth as a company dancer for 2 Dance Plus, she was appointed Artistic Director of STEPS Youth Dance Company. Her independent work extends nationally and internationally, working with companies such as Sydney Theatre Company, Belvoir, Black Swan State Theatre Company, Perth Theatre Company, Night Train Productions, Steamworks Arts Productions, Dwhani Dance Company (India), Barking Gecko Theatre Company, Pinchgut Opera and Monkey Baa Theatre. Danielle’s ambition is to contribute to making new Australian work through storytelling that reaches audiences by exploring themes and issues relevant to contemporary culture; reflecting, embracing and challenging community attitudes and ideals.

Composer and multi-instrumentalist, Hari Sivanesan is a unique representation of the new generation of Indian classical-contemporary artists of international acclaim. Hari was born and trained in the UK and brings his Sri Lankan, Tamil heritage, South Indian and Western classical music training together. Years of classical training, and contemporary mentorship have evolved his practice, performance style and mindset to negotiate both the austere classicism of the South Asian arts with researched, experimental and contemporary work in the UK and internationally.

Hari, as a soloist on Veena, accompanist, musical director, researcher, composer and curator, has pioneered projects in partnership with the MSO, ACMI, BBC Radio & TV, BBC Proms, UK WOMADs, the Royal Opera House, The Boite, Multicultural Arts Victoria and Bunjil Place. He is Co-Director of the South Asian Arts Pathways Program commissioned by The City of Casey and Bunjil Place. He is the co-artistic Director of Sangam: Performing Arts Festival of South Asia and Diaspora in partnership with MAV, Abbotsford Convent, Drum Theatre, Bunjil Place and Dancehouse enabling a single platform for classical, contemporary and experimental forms.

Luke Smiles creates highly detailed soundtracks for theatre, dance and film, working across all areas of music composition, sound design, foley and sound effects editing. Working under his business name motion laboratories Luke has composed and produced soundtracks for many Australian and International artists & companies. Various credits include: ʻGʼ (Australian Dance Theatre), Double Think (Byron Perry), Glow (Chunky Move), I left my shoes on warm concrete and stood in the rain (Gabrielle Nankivell), The Maids (Sydney Theatre Company), Wildebeest (Sydney Dance Company), Fugitive and School Dance & Girl Asleep (Windmill Theatre Company).

Sean Healy is a video director based in Melbourne, Australia. His interests include real-time video, and the relationship between sound and image, especially in a performance context. Recently this has emphasised exploring space and atmosphere through projection mapping, and multi-screen projections – for theatre, performance and installations. He has performed and produced video material for various events, artists and festivals in all Australian capital cities as well as Istanbul, Barcelona, Berlin, Los Angeles, Porto, Rome, Jakarta and many cities in Mexico. Recent projection mapping & video design work include Dictionary of Lost Words – Sydney Theatre Company, Trapper – Area Theatre, and In Between Two – CAAP.

Praised as a “percussion wizard” by Presto Classical, Pirashanna Thevarajah is recognized by the world music and Indian classical community for his great command over instruments such as Mridangam, Kanjira, Ghatam, and Morsing, as well as the art of Indian spoken rhythm, Konnakol. After years of studying and performing his art with his guru Sri M Balachandar, Pandit Ravi Shankar invited him to perform in the “Concert for George” at the Royal Albert Hall in 2002 alongside artists such as Anoushka Shankar, Eric Clapton, Jeff Lynn, and many others. The concert later became a Grammy-award winning album. Pirashanna then became an integral ensemble member in Ravi Shankar’s world tours up until his final concerts in India, America, and Europe. To this day he performs and records regularly with Anoushka Shankar, and has appeared on many of her Grammy-nominated albums.

Pirashanna has performed in such prestigious venues and festivals such as the Royal Albert Hall, Royal Festival Hall, Sydney Opera House, Carnegie Hall, Barbican Centre, Vienna Konzerthaus, Salle Pleyel, Hollywood Bowl, Paris Philharmonic, Prague Spring Festival, WOMAD, Glastonbury Festival, and London’s BBC Proms. His collaborations to date include classical and contemporary artists such as Pandit Ravi Shankar, Anoushka Shankar, Mandolin U. Shrinivas, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Aruna Sairam, Nitin Sawhney, dancer Akram Khan, Amaan and Ayaan Ali Bangash, Talvin Singh, Karsh Kale and many others. Today, from his home in Sydney, Pirashanna’s career echoes his desire to continuously nurture his artistry. He is currently a guest lecturer at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and is persistently investigating new sound worlds and opening his mind to different cultures’ musical traditions whilst staying true to his Indian Carnatic heritage.

Ranjitha Suresh is an accomplished Hindustani classical vocalist based in Melbourne, Australia. She is a senior disciple of Sri Koushik Aithal, Bangalore, and her musical journey began at the tender age of 4, nurtured by a family deeply rooted in music. Ranjitha’s formal training in Carnatic classical music commenced at the age of 6 under the tutelage of Vid. Asha Jagadish, who guided her through the completion of the Senior Grade. However, her deep passion for Hindustani classical music led her to further training under esteemed gurus, including Smt. Indrakshi Srivatsa, Smt. Meghana Kulkarni, and for the past 12years, under the mentorship of Sri Koushik Aithal. Her gayaki (vocal style) beautifully reflects the influences of the Kirana, Gwalior, and Patiala Gharanas. Currently, Ranjitha serves as the Artistic Director of the Naadasonic Foundation, an academy dedicated to the preservation and promotion of Hindustani classical music. Through her teaching and performances, she remains committed to nurturing the next generation of musicians while fostering a deeper appreciation for this timeless art form.

Marti Shlansky (they/them) is a lighting and video designer from Naarm currently living in NYC. Recent credits include Atlanta Ballet, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, The Whitney Museum of American Art, Waitress in Mexico City, Chicago in Montreal, I’M DONUT ? at Times Square and experimental dance/theatre in the US and UK.