My name is Sangeetha Ekambaram. I’ve been based in Nashville, TN since 2019, but at this very moment I am in transition and living as a nomad, mostly between Spain and the U.S.
© Sangeetha Ekambaram
I am a multi-cultural/multi-dimensional singer and dancer (with a little percussion thrown in). My main artistic focus for the last decade or so was opera/classical singing, but I have simultaneously picked up skills in a wide variety of cultural dance and song styles from around the world since I was young. This put me on an artistic path that is both collaborative and innovative as well as “mainstream”/traditional. I have also always been interested in human culture and community-building (and was formerly in academia exploring this), so that lens informs the contexts I seek out or create as an artist as well.
What are your main themes?
The themes I explore are as varied as my experiences. For example, this last year, I personally produced two projects. The first was a creative re-interpretation of the 19th century French composer, Maurice Ravel’s “Shéhérazade” in collaboration with a renown Iranian musician and Egyptian actor/storyteller. Informed by the seminal work of Palestinian scholar Edward Said’s Orientalism, we commented on the problematic text through various musical elements, Iranian/Persian and contemporary choreography, and visual art. The second was a piece I composed called “Tejas”, based on the Devimahātmya, a Hindu text about the goddess. It is a solo performance that involves both singing and original choreography, both contemporary and inspired by Indian classical dance. The intention was to help process the rage at the injustices witnessed at a personal and collective level.
© Sangeetha Ekambaram
Who are your influences?
I feel like I’m in a continual state of drawing influence and inspiration by so many artists and non-artists—in a way that naturally flows into my own artistic work.
What cause or charity do you support?
In addition to the arts, I have always had a keen awareness about certain issues pertaining to minority and indigenous rights, colonization, resistance movements, and personal and collective empowerment in various cultural contexts. I even pursued these interests professionally for a short while before dedicating myself full-time to the arts. In the recent past, however, I have been most involved in work related to antiracist equity in the arts. This includes how various sources of funding are distributed and its relationship to the cultural values being enacted. All this work has greatly fed the desires for my own work as a community-oriented artist.
Your favourite quote:
“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”
Howard Thurman
© Sangeetha Ekambaram
Visit Sangeetha’s website : www.sangeetha-ekambaram.com