Sita Popat

Choreographer/Researcher

Current Research and Work:

Sita is a lecturer in dance at University of Leeds. She achieved her PhD in January 2002, creating a model for interactive choreography on the Internet. The Hands-On Dance Project was the practical aspect of her doctoral research.

Sita is coordinating the Eurodans.net project, using the Internet to link dance students from higher education institutions across Europe in the process of choreographing a new work. The dancework will be performed at the ELIA Conferencing in Dublin, October 2002.

She is also currently working on the Crossing Bridges: Theatre and Technology project, linking actors and writers in Bosnia and Croatia with American playwright, James Mirrione from NYU.

Sita is the Dance Expert for the NotSchool Project at ULTRALAB, at Anglia Polytechnic University, UK.

Last but not least, Sita is also a full-time mother to Matthew (12) and Paul (10)!

Publications:

Popat, S., Interactive Dance-Making: Online Creative Collaborations, Digital Creativity, Vol.12 No.4, December 2001, pp.205-214

Popat, S., The relationship between creativity and interactivity in dance-making on the Internet: A model for choreography with Internet communities, unpublished doctoral thesis available at University of Leeds library, October 2001

Popat, S. & J. M. Smith-Autard, Hands-On Dance Project: Creative Dance Collaborations Online in the proceedings for the Computers in Art and Design Education (CADE) conference, Glasgow School of Art, Scotland, April 2001

Ng, K., S. Popat, E. Stefani, B. Ong & D. Cooper, Music via Motion: Interactions between Choreography and Music, in the proceedings for the Inter-Society for the Electronic Arts (ISEA) Symposium, France, December 2000

Popat, S., K. Ng, K. Popat & J. M. Smith-Autard, Interactive Composition: Sharing the Creative Process via the Internet with Kris Popat, Kia Ng and Jacqueline Smith-Autard, in the proceedings for the International Computer Music Conference, Germany, September 2000

Ng, K., S. Popat, E. Stefani, K. Popat & D. Cooper,Trans-Domain Mapping: A Real-time Interactive System for Motion Acquisition and Musical Mapping, in the proceedings for the International Computer Music Conference, Germany, September 2000

Popat, S., Interactive Awakening: Heightening Consciousness of the Dance Artwork for Artist and Audience Member, in the proceedings for the Consciousness Reframed 3 conference, CAiiA-STAR, University of Wales College Newport, August 2000

Major Choreographic works:

Pax Excelsis
Choreography with Jeffrey Gray Miller.
Performed for Platfform '01 Digital Arts Day, BBC Wales on 2nd April 2001
To be performed at the Time-Art Festival, Lisbon, Portugal in March 2002. The performers in Portugal and USA will dance via live Internet videoconference link.

Music via Motion - "a stunning new dance performance" (Yorkshire Evening Post)
Choreographed in collaboration with Christine Hughes (costume designer), Ewan Stefani (composer) and Kia Ng (technologist). Performed in Autumn 2000 at the Clothworkers Centenary Concert Hall, Leeds, West Yorkshire, and Powerhouse 1 Showcase Theatre, Wakefield, West Yorkshire. This project was funded by Yorkshire Arts.

TouchDown
Choreographed with Jeffrey Gray Miller for live Internet link-up for Satorimedia in 2000. Performed at the Dance for the Camera Symposium at University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA.

Touchdown2
A videodance work created from footage for TouchDown, shown at the 5th Annual World Festival of Videodance in Argentina, 1999.

Hands-On Dance Project performances: In Your Dreams, Reflections, No Fixed Plans
All three were created and performed via the Internet in 1999/2000

Little Angels
Final year undergraduate choreography, featured on BBC television in 1999 (see below).

Work with Momentum Youth Dance Company
Choreographed and reconstructed several pieces for this outstanding group of young dancers, including telematic works.

Media Appearances:

In 2001, Sita's choreography with Jeffrey Gray Miller, Pax Excelsis, shown at:

Platfform 01 Digital Arts day, BBC Wales

In 2000, Sita has also had her choreography for the MvM software featured on:

BBC's Tomorrow's World Plus
BBC News 24

In January 1999, Sita's final year choreography for her undergraduate degree, Little Angels, was screened on:

BBC's Talent 2000: A Showcase of Outstanding Student Contemporary Dance and Choreography.

Background and Training:

Sita began her professional dance training in 1985 at London College of Dance and Drama, Bedford, England. During 1989 she worked as Education Secretary for The Royal Ballet and The Royal Opera at the Royal Opera House, London.

Sita married Kris in 1989 and had her two sons, Matthew and Paul, in 1990 and 1992.

She returned to dancing in 1995 when she started her undergraduate dance degree at Bretton Hall College, Wakefield, England. In 1998 she graduated with a First Class honours Degree in Dance, inspite of a serious back injury. She achieved her PhD in January 2002 at University of Leeds, after studying for three years as a full-time student funded by AHRB.