Leith and North: Edinburgh MELA, August 2010

Something for Every One of You: Edinburgh Mela 2010 Hazel and Sarah of Pulse of the Place in red and black seated on a cannon, with Louise Marshall Millington (centre) raising their glasses after an evening's musical performance

Hazel and Sarah of Pulse of the Place in red and black seated on a cannon, with Louise Marshall Millington (centre) raising their glasses after an evening's musical performance

Back to the second page of Edinburgh Mela 2010 on Leith & North >>>

Dance Ihayami is a Scottish based Indian dance company with its aesthetic roots in South Indian dance, in its classical and modern forms.

Artistic Director and Chief choreographer Priya Shrikumar leads this multi national company of dancers. Founded in August 2003 (as successor to Dance India Scotland, founded in 1998).

Edinburgh's Dance Ihayami web site >>>
Edinburgh International Climbing Arena (pictured right) >>>

Line of four women dancers in stooping and reaching pose

Line of four women dancers in stooping and reaching pose

Dancer in purple costume in a kneeling pose with left leg extended

Left <<<: Dance Ihayami.
Right >>>: Dance Ihayami. Four women dancers in a kneeling pose resting their heads on their hands and smiling

The 16th Edinburgh Mela Festival ran from August 6th to 8th, and after several years of wandering, finally arrived at its new home on Leith Links.

Leith and North presents pictures from the Saturday and Sunday of the Mela. Artists featured include Edinburgh's Dance Ihayami School, Jaipur Kawa Circus, Swaryatra, Pif Paf performing "Trunk", and Iron Oxide performing the spectacular specially commissioned show, "Cargo".

Smiling man with flyers and a collecting tin

Smiling man with flyers and a collecting tin

Two men playing guitars with two women singing between them

Left <<<: Two small children lying on their grandfather's back as they listen to G Band warm up.
Right >>>: G Band performing on the Garden Stage on Sunday. Three men dancing with woman in orange top watching and laughing

Three men dancing with woman in orange top watching and laughing

Above ^^^: Garden stage hosts G-Town Desi keep the audience entertained in between acts, as stage manager Yasmine Bushby watches on

GTown Desi web site >>>

Woman in a pink shirt talking on her mobile

Woman in a pink shirt talking on her mobile

Giant yellow barrel with two people sitting on top of it and others gathered round

Left <<<: Garden Stage Manager and star belly dancer Yasmain Bushby.
Right >>>: Iron Oxide in rehearsal for their afternoon show. A woman gets out of a crash simulator as men eating takeaway food watch on

A woman gets out of a crash simulator as men eating takeaway food watch on

Above ^^^: A member of Lothian and Borders Police community safety team demonstrates the importance of wearing a seat belt

Laughing man barbequeing chicken tikka

Left <<<: Shana all the way from Wembley.
Right >>>: A shoe stall in the market area. Six men in purple tunics and white breeches with brass and drums with the lead trumpeter dancing

Six men in purple tunics and white breeches with brass and drums with the lead trumpeter dancing

Man playing the trombone to two children in a buggy

Three men playing a trumpet, a clarinet and a trombone

Left <<<: Member of the Jaipur Kawa Brass Band on one of their walkabouts.
Right >>>: Three members of the Jaipur Kawa Brass Band.

Jaipur Kawa music web site >>>

Two women in black and red costumes dancing with veils back to back outside Hotel Malmaison

Two women in black and red costumes dancing with veils back to back outside Hotel Malmaison

Smiling woman in black and yellow showing children plates of spices

Painting of women looking at stones along a representation of the Water of Leith

Left <<<: Herbs and spices on display in the Forest Workshop.
Right >>>: Detail of the Community painting involving Sikh Sanjog.

Below: Six panel Community painting produced as part of Mela Festival's year long Engage project, this year taking up the theme of "Feast for the Senses".

Funded by Scottish Natural Heritage & Forestry Commission Scotland the project incorporated outdoor trips , food foraging and arts activities, involving different intergenerational, multicultural groups, and took place from March through June 2010.

Parents and young children in front of the communal panaorama some 20 metres long by 1.5 metres high

Parents and young children in front of the communal panaorama some 20 metres long by 1.5 metres high

Acts not featured here included Jaz Dhami (winner of Best Male at the 2010 Brit Asia Awards), Taz (Stereo Nation), Ceol Mor, from Aberdeen, the Patiala Pipe Band (from Lahore), the Manushi Dance Company (Kathak dancers from North India), the Lothian and Borders Police Choir and - featured last year - the Zawadi Choir (from Edinburgh's Africa Centre and Leith's very own Pulse of the Place sanba band.

Back to the second page of Edinburgh Mela 2010 on Leith & North >>>

Edinburgh Mela web site >>>
Sikh Sanjog web site >>>

® Nick Gardner Design 2011