The Asian Education & Fine Arts trust is a registered charity (no 1060615) and was established in 1983 by its director Smt Kalaivani Indrakumar to educate first generation Asian children born in London in the classical Carnatic (South Indian) performance Arts and to promote these arts to anyone regardless of race and religion. The stars aim to raise awareness of the Trust’s activity and to raise funds for much needed musical equipment. The concert, which has been supported by The Arts Council of England, will also feature two young rising stars and graduates of the school as part of the evening’s unique programme. Tickets are available now from the Royal Festival Hall and cost between £12.50, £15 and £20. There are limited concessions of 50% available.

Shobana is the only actress in India to have featured in over 200 feature films whilst pursuing a career in classical ‘Bharatanatyam’ dancing. She is the niece of the legendary Travancore sisters. She runs her own school in India teaching the classical performance arts.

‘Vikku’ Vinayakaram is a Grammy award winning artist and his award winning percussive troupe Sapthaakshara have performed all over the world mixing classical Asian rhythms and spiritual verse with other ‘western’ styles developing new sounds based upon the ancient seven syllable system.

Carnatic music is the classical music of Southern India. One of the world’s oldest and richest musical traditions, there are 72 basic scales on the octave and a huge variety of rhythmic structures.

Bharatanatyam is one of the oldest, and most popular, classical dance forms of India. Performed traditionally by women, it is believed to be more than 3000 years old and was once performed by Hindu temple dancers. Today it is mostly found in southern India, although it is very popular with Western, particularly British, audiences. The dance style uses an extensive vocabulary of hand gestures and rhythmic footwork, set to complex rhythms.
For more information regarding the Asian Education & Fine Arts Trust please visit www.aefat.com

Tickets for the concert are available from the Royal festival Hall Website at www.rfh.org.uk/rhythmsticks or via the telephone booking line on 08703 800 400.