Balbir Singh Dance Company: The Leeds dancer who used rugby league and figure skating to push the boundaries

Punjab-born Balbir was first introduced to theatre through the literature he studied at school, where he developed a love for Shakespeare. However, it was only while pursuing law at university that he “stumbled upon” his true calling as a dancer during a foundation year run by the Northern School of Contemporary Dance. The 55-year-old said: “I always like to challenge myself, and not quite knowing what contemporary dance was, I auditioned and got in. It was like doing PE all day long, which was great. I'm not quite sure how I got into it. That was a starting point for me.”

It is one of the reasons why Leeds holds a special place in his heart. “Leeds is just kind of really special for me,” he said. “In terms of where I found my calling through the Northern School of Contemporary Dance and working from here with everything we do locally, nationally and internationally. I'm proud to be Leeds-based.”

Balbir went on to found his own company, Balbir Singh Dance Company (BSDC) in 1998, drawing upon his experiences of contemporary dance and Kathak, a north Indian dance form that he began to learn after graduation. The BSDC was created to incorporate the two worlds of contemporary dance and Kathak – but Balbir wanted to take it further. In 2012, the dancers of BSDC stunned audiences in the city as they performed Synchronised, a dance alongside more than 100 synchronised swimmers in a 50-metre pool at the Cultural Olympiad.

“That was kind of through naivety and ignorance,” said the 55-year-old. “There were no rules, I just kind of went for it, and that was the real shift in what I was doing as an artist, stepping out from just presenting dance work in theatres to collaborating on a higher level.”

The success of Synchronised led him to explore more avenues and different sports, such as ice-skating and rollerblading. In 2013, Balbir choreographed the piece Full Contact, a dance that celebrated the history and successes of the Rugby League, and it was performed at Leeds Library with Lofthouse Brass Band providing music. A later piece named The Strategist explored the women of the Rugby League. These performances aimed to show a different audiences, who may not otherwise have an interest in dance, how the two can work together, said Balbir.

"There was never a long-term plan,” he said. “I like to say we improvise, but the word improvisation for me does not mean ‘make up as you go along’, it means to think quickly and responsively. I think conceptually I come up with the ideas – and then bringing it to reality is the headache, but that’s the challenge for me. That's why I like to push myself. I think there's a natural curiosity which I've always had, and I always had an urge to challenge myself, and I think with dance and theatre and connection and crossovers, that's where it works the best. I guess without challenges we'd be bored.”

The artistic director has shaped his company to be more than just theatre and performance. In recent year, the emphasis has been on developing a “blue-green environmental strand”, said Balbir. This new focus looks at creating projects with care homes and social prescribing. One project saw dancers working with audiences who have chronic pain and exploring ways for them to “understand their relationship with their body” and gathers both science and “a soft human story” to deliver it.

With support from Arts Council England as a National Portfolio Organisation, Balbir said he is excited to see the developments of projects under the core aims of the company. "I never wanted to be a leader,” said Balbir, who has taken a pivotal role in guiding the Indian classical dance to an international level. “I've just ended up in certain situations where things have happened that I don't try and make too much sense of it. I would probably freak out if I did, in terms of the journey I'm on, and then where I'm going.

"The gift I've been given, and how I've progressed and grown and developed things along the way, I guess I've climbed so high now, I can't look down anymore – it's too far down. If you'd asked me three years ago, ‘Where will you be in three years time?’ No idea. We have a charm. We work with curiosity, a way of understanding creative processes, and a strong team behind me.”