TESTIMONIALS & FEEDBACK
Below are just some of the comments we have received from our users.
24/10/23 workshop
Such a pleasant session on painting your lamp/lantern (Benz Alexander)
Very relaxing painting, great result! (Elaine Millescamps)
Really enjoyed this workshop (Ingrid)
Thank you this was very enjoyable and a lovely way to spend a lunch break. Happy Diwali!
We came to do some team building activity, this was so much fun! Thank you so much for organising such a great crafting activity! (Jess)
25/10/23 workshop
Lovely experience, thank you (Lydia Westcombe)
Had a good time and great learning, loved the dance practice. Enjoyable with 2 kids, 3 and 5 years old (Swati)
Fun activity for kids (Shruti)
It was one of the best experiences for my 5 year old (Prachi)
Had a lovely time with the boys, enjoyed the lantern making and the dancing, thank you
Lovely activity making beautiful lanterns. My daughter enjoyed the dancing too
Had a good time, thank you Kala the Arts
Lovely craft activity. Thank you
Fantastic lantern activity and opportunity for the children to take part in the parade (Nirma)
We had a lovely time making lanterns today. Thank you so much for hosting us.
Nice and kids enjoyed the programme
Nice and very entertaining
Kids enjoyed a lot and had fun making with kids
My kids enjoyed a lot. Thank you so much for conducting the workshop (Mohini)
Very nicely organised, kept my little girl occupied for a while, she found it interesting and different. She loved it 😊
Lovely activities on offer, lots to keep the children entertained. Nice that they could take something home to show to friends and family (Phyllis)
Arion enjoyed doing colouring and choosing the colours he likes. A very lovely opportunity to meet other culture and leave own mark. Thank you for your offer and time (Viktoria and Arion)
It’s so lovely to have creative activities to get involved with. Creating something as a group brings people together. More of this please! (Annabelle)
Thank you for organising such a fun and educational event. My children loved it (Sonia)
Thank you so much for the opportunity to do this with my 2 year old. She loved all the colours and being able to get involved. Everyone was so friendly too. GREAT (Alex)
It’s so nice to do such activities. Thank you so much, lovely experience it was! (Romir)
12/05/2018
Absolutely superb performances. Thank you (AWCA)
What a fabulous experience! We loved watching the performance. Thank you for your hard work and commitment (Scantabout Primary)
Brilliant exhibition and dance about Odissi (Samit and Sarbani)
Superb!! Dances and the journey (Sushma)
Mindblowing exhibition, the journey was absolutely lovely. So impressed on seeing what Sushmita has achieved. Lovely performances.
Very nice exhibition. The show and dances were amazing. (Shikha)
Excellent program. Enjoyed great dance performances (Shyam)
I have dropped in from time to time but today I had a good look round and read various reports by others. This is a wonderful exhibition and well worth spending time to absorb the involvement of staff and displays (Ivor)
Thank you for the great opportunity to know your wonderful culture! Thank you for being kind, friendlu and patient to all the kids. We did have fun and a fantastic experience (Julia)
Lovely exhibition, very festive! (Emese)
Very wonderful and very interesting, thank you
Once in a lifetime opportunity to come across an intense exhibition of Odissi dance and the artifacts. I would largely appreciate the hard work put into the whole idea of enlarging the knowledge in this country. We loved the workshop and little dance put forward by kids. Looking forward to many more in the near future
Wonderful to return to the Odissi journey exhibition after enjoying the opening and attending a couple of workshops. The documentary DVD is well worth watching, the movements are captivating. Best wishes to you Sushmita and dancers at Kala the Arts
A very interesting presentation documenting an important contribution to the flourishing of Indian dance in the UK (Ray)
A lovely exhibition. Thank you Sushmita for doing this lovely film and exhibition. A lovely tribute to the great Sanjukta Panigrahi, and to our wonderful passion – Odessi dance (Piu)
Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Celebration – 01/06/22
The girls (8 & 3 years old) really enjoyed the activities on offer. My daughter loves arts and colouring.
They were really nice, received us in a very good way. We had a good time and my two daughters enjoyed so much. Also me and my daughters had the opportunity to listen to our country’s music Cape Verde) which is very good (Sonia Ribeiro)
My boys (7 & 13 years old) enjoyed drawing and stitching them on the sheet a lot. It’s a good learning experience for them. Please do more events like this (Ritu)
I had a lovely time! Got in touch with my inner child 😊 Thank you for this opportunity. (Noor)
It’s a great experience for kids and adults. We would like to thank Kale the Arts for organising such a great workshop. The organisers are so friendly and engage kids all the time and make this workshop so pleasant. I love to attend these events more and more and volunteer as well. Thank you do much again & much appreciated. 5* (Srikanth)
2/6/22
It was a wonderful experience with me and may daughter, we did enjoy it. A big thank you to Kala the Arts and the organisers. Looking forward to seeing some more events ahead, my best wishes to all of them (Rakhe)
Thank you for your time, all the best (Mokika and Wojtek)
Great time spent with the kids, wonderful initiative (Karthik)
Thank you for your valuable time, we loved it (Birundha)
Lovely idea and really good fun. Please keep up the good work (Joe Milburn)
Spent great time with my two kids, they really liked a lot (Jayanth Kumar)
I came to this event with my two daughters and they had a great time, with dance and craft. Thank you for this event (Jagadeesh)
3/6/22
I really liked, it was fun
Good to see these kind of events are organised. It is quite relaxing
Very therapeutic!
Amazing effort and well organised craft event. We had a great time with kids (Ashima)
Fantastic event, rally enjoyed the art and the friendliness of everyone (Martin)
It was a great experience which I really enjoyed!
Amazing event – loved the community involvement on the mural – something for the introverted! (Riya)
Nicely organised event. Combined with good food – Well done team!
So great event. Really enjoyed everything! Thank you (Gulzhan)
Thank you for your event. Really enjoyed everything
Thank you very much for a very beautiful evening (Sunil)
Thank you so much for a brilliant evening. Basingstoke’s diversity at its best (Simon)
Thank you so much Susmita, it was a pleasure to be a part of it. Best wishes to Kala the Arts (Rakhe)
The event was great and we look forward to more in Basingstoke. Well done to all the team
Very good from all (John Barnes)
It’s been a very good evening. Enjoying the entertainment and food. Well done.
Thanks to Kala the Arts for a special evening of Arts and culture in Basingstoke. Wonderful, colourful, very vibrant. Perfect way to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee in Basingstoke. Well done and a good turnout and CONGRATULATIONS! (Paul Hamilton – Black success initiative and cultural diversity consortium)
Sapta – 17th June Forge, Anvil Arts
I loved every single performance. It was enlightening and beautiful. The way everyone performed made a smile appear on my face. Thank you very much Kala the Arts. (Anjel)
Fantastic energy, gorgeously choreographed and beautifully presented. I felt more of a connection with this than I usually do with dance, so I really appreciate that. Very much looking forward to seeing what comes next! Suggestion for a pre-show talk to give context but stick to the heart of the performance. It’s about a way in so people (audiences) can do a bit of the work too! (Flis)
Absolutely stunning performances. Loved the way each style came together (Priya)
Very enjoyable performance! Please add visuals to online version to provide the brief interpretation to bridge across different cultures/regions to promote the beauty and impact of art to all! (Malcolm)
HAF
It was amazing to see the children go from being at different skill levels to being able to put together a routine that was a delight to watch!
Junk Jodie – 17/8/22
I have loved running these workshops for Kala the Arts. The children and been well engaged in the arts and crafts. Sushmita and Jiny very friendly, Assistants very helpful. You offer great diversity! Thank you.
18/10/22
Very enjoyable workshops, both my children had a great time with the activities. We are looking forward to the Diwali celebrations (Bruce Hibbert)
It’s always fun to take part in the community events organised by Kala the Arts. Junk Jodie is our absolute favourite (Carla & Daisy Pocock)
Thank you for great workshops, my daughter had a great time. She is very excited for Friday’s parade (Rebecca Johnson)
Lovely to prepare and celebrate as a community different cultures. Can’t wait for the parade, thank you! (Sarah Douglas)
Such a wonderful thing to do with the children in town. Thanks for organising this (Rachel Whitney)
We’ve really enjoyed making the rangoli plates, lanterns and sashes. It’s such a lovely, creative activity for both children and adults and has really brought us together. It would be great to do more things like this! (Sarah)
Very good workshop for children. Thank you (Pragnya Reddy)
Very good workshop for children. Thank you (Alpana)
Thank you for this lovely time. Great workshop (Oana and Alessia)
Thank you for this lovely activities, please make it in future. Well arranged
Lovely activities for all the family, thank you! (Jackie Brown)
This workshop made us feel like celebrations started. Woohooo 😊 Kids really enjoyed doing the lantern making and sashes. Happy Diwali, cheers!! (Vini)
It feels that we have started celebrating Diwali, diyas, colours and happiness. Thanks for making us part of the celebration
It was a wonderful experience. Kids really enjoyed doing the craft activities (Seema)
It’s an awesome experience to be here. I love all the activities of Junk Jodie and will continue to follow her in the future as well. Thank you so much Kala the Arts for this beautiful experience.
Lovely experience for the kids as well as adults
I really enjoyed creating the lanterns (Amber, age 10)
22/10/22
The dancing is so beautiful. Thank you for showing us. The movements were challenging – really the hand moves. I would have to video each one (eg the bird, the deer etc) so I could practice each slowly at home (Lizzy)
The dancing was very good and professional. Cute peacocks!
Thank you so much for offering these workshops to the community free of charge. I loved the story telling element in the dance and music. It was very joyful for the heart (Nirma)
Beautiful dancing, sounds and looks so pretty
They are good in dancing. This is the good start for my daughter, she is 6 and loves dancing with you guys. Thanks for showing us.
The workshop is a great efford for the beginners to know and understand Indian dance. Thank you
Beautiful dancing. Scarlett and Sienna would love to be part of the festival (Aby Cripps)
Gorgeous dancing and outfits (Janice Bryers-Robertson
So nice to see the dancing and for our daughter to be able to get involved. Looking forward to the parade (Carla Pocock & Daisy)
Good vibes & nativity feeling. Good attempt (Sujatha)
Wonderful dancing, now my 5 year old daughter wants to join the dance class. She got very much excited and interested to join. See you soon in the dance class!
Wonderful effort. Happy Diwali! (Saranya)
Amazing event. Love the colouring and story telling
This was an incredible experience with some absolutely appetizing food! 10/10 successful event (Suraj Pandey)
The food was so good and the experience was exhilarating (Harshad Godbole)
Excellent occasion. Very enjoyable experience with not just dancing but story-telling through dance. Wow! Amazing food. Thank you! (The Chapman family)
Enjoyed it very much (Sara Cave)
Lovely performance, I appreciate the performance
12/05/2018
Absolutely superb performances. Thank you (AWCA)
What a fabulous experience! We loved watching the performance. Thank you for your hard work and commitment (Scantabout Primary)
Brilliant exhibition and dance about Odissi (Samit and Sarbani)
Superb!! Dances and the journey (Sushma)
Mindblowing exhibition, the journey was absolutely lovely. So impressed on seeing what Sushmita has achieved. Lovely performances.
Very nice exhibition. The show and dances were amazing. (Shikha)
Excellent program. Enjoyed great dance performances (Shyam)
I have dropped in from time to time but today I had a good look round and read various reports by others. This is a wonderful exhibition and well worth spending time to absorb the involvement of staff and displays (Ivor)
Thank you for the great opportunity to know your wonderful culture! Thank you for being kind, friendlu and patient to all the kids. We did have fun and a fantastic experience (Julia)
Lovely exhibition, very festive! (Emese)
Very wonderful and very interesting, thank you
Once in a lifetime opportunity to come across an intense exhibition of Odissi dance and the artifacts. I would largely appreciate the hard work put into the whole idea of enlarging the knowledge in this country. We loved the workshop and little dance put forward by kids. Looking forward to many more in the near future
Wonderful to return to the Odissi journey exhibition after enjoying the opening and attending a couple of workshops. The documentary DVD is well worth watching, the movements are captivating. Best wishes to you Sushmita and dancers at Kala the Arts
7th July 2018
The exhibition on the ‘Journey of Odissi’ in Basingstoke was a feast for my eye. Being an Odia myself I take pride in seeing the representation of this classical form of dance and its spread into the western world. The exhibition was well organised, beautifully laid out and most of all represented the art in its full bloom with live performances and detailed timeline of its growth in the UK. I wish Sushmita and Kala the Arts an even brighter future
The exhibition was very informative and we all got to know a lot about art and culture. The whole documentary was beautifully depicted. Kids learnt a lot during the workshops and enjoyed every bit of it. We wish Sushmita and Kala the Arts and beautiful journey ahead (Mr & Mrs Bhat)
As a student of Odissi dance and volunteer for Kala the Arts, I feel this exhibition has expanded mu knowledge of both Odissi as well as Kala the Arts’ contribution to this unique and niche dance. We hope this exhibition will open up this dance form to the masses (Jini)
A very informative exhibition especially for those who were unaware of the dance form of Odissi. There was a lovely variety to experience today and a great awareness of this beautiful culture was raised. In was amazing to witness such diversity in the audience and interest by people of all different ages too. There was a marvellous sense of friendliness within the venue by the audience, volunteers and performers alike. The only helpful item could have been a sequence of events to be given our or displayed so people would know what to expect in their time of visit (Dr Anusha Singh)
As a student of Hindustani classical singing I feel Sushmita has achieved a lot of success and recognition through her work and passion towards Indian art. I have been a part of Kala the Arts for nearly 3 years and feel really proud of it. My daughter Aarohi is getting blessed learning Kathak and music here and I can witness her progress. All the very best to Sushmita for her further journey in spreading Indian dance forms and music worldwide (Shreya Bharat)
Wonderful day, amazing dancing & singing. A day I will always remember (Elaine)
Amazing performances, so beautiful and complex. Thank you so much for all you do (Terri Reid)
As a Kathak student it was wonderful to get an opportunity to dance to such a lovely audience. The feedback from the audience was amazing and very encouraging. A big thank you to Susmita for all the effort and encouragement (Sabina)
As a headteacher of a school near Basingstoke I found this dance performance enlightening. It was great to see people celebrating their culture and keeping traditions alive. Long may it continue, grow and thrive (Steve Rich)
I really enjoyed the performance and overall arrangements. It is really hard work to organise something of this scale. The effort and hard work of all involved were clearly visible throughout the performances. Well done
The performances were graceful yet beautiful. All thanks to Susmita the girls were very good (Medha)
Absolutely great organisation. I sincerely hope the journey continues for many years to come.
A very interesting presentation documenting an important contribution to the flourishing of Indian dance in the UK (Ray)
A lovely exhibition. Thank you Sushmita for doing this lovely film and exhibition. A lovely tribute to the great Sanjukta Panigrahi, and to our wonderful passion – Odessi dance (Piu)