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GUJARAT A CELEBRATION Saturday 26 March 2005 Royal Albert Hall Kensington Gore London SW7 2AP Show starts at 7pm sharp Ticket prices: £10 to £50 Box Office: 020 7589 8212 Email: info@amc.org.uk www.amc.org.uk

For the first time ever, Gujarat comes to the Royal Albert Hall in an extravaganza of spectacular traditional Raas, folk songs and music on Saturday 26 March 2005. The folk dances of Gujarat are well known for their vigour and grace. The Bharwads will perform a Hudo Rass (Shepherd Dance) in which the dancers clap their hands with force and rhythm depicting the clash of sheep ramming their heads together and the Mers of Porbandar will present the famous Mer Raas, a warrior dance.

PRAFUL DAVE

The rich tradition of folklore and music was brought to the forefront by Gujarat's most celebrated writer and folklore, Zaverchand Meghani, whose lyrics and story telling continue to inspire people of all ages. Praful Dave's voice and style epitomizes Gujarat and its folk heritage and his songs are known to swell emotions in people. He is one of the most talented folk singers, who was honoured by the Gujarat Government for his contribution to folk music.

TRILOK GURTU

In the West we have been listening to the popular art of RAP. It is less well known that in areas such as Gujarat and Rajasthan there has existed for centuries, the tradition of a Chhand - similar to rap. A famous master of rhythm and world music Trilok Gurtu has agreed to work with such poetry and set it to his own inimitable style of contemporary music. The world premier of the new and innovative work will be one of the highlights. contribution to folk music.

HARISH BHIMANI (Samay - Mahabharat fame)

Will be the compère for the evening. A radio broadcaster, Harish is credited with conceiving, writing, presenting and producing close to 1,500 innovative radio shows. What stands out as a work of permanence is the biography of Lata Mangeshkar, 'In Search of Lata Mangeshkar' (Harper Collins). He has compèred concerts of most major Indian artistes including Lata Mangeshkar.

SANDEEP RAVAL

As one of UK's foremost percussionist, Sandeep has performed with A R Rahman in Andrew Lloyd Webber's Bombay Dreams and with the great Shivamani. He is presently working on the stage musical 'The Far Pavilions'. For this event, Sandeep has conceived a traditional folk dance using the garba rhythm to create a vibrant experience for the listener. The vocals, percussion and choreography is by young Gujarati students of the Shishukunj , an institution dedicated to the holistic and cultural development of children. www.shishukunj.org.uk