We were lucky to catch up with Jayashree Ganesan recently and have shared our conversation below.
Jayashree, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.
The most meaningful project I’ve worked on with my team is an upcoming project that delves into the story of Swan Lake through the eyes of Indian classical dance. I’ve always loved ballet and its technical prowess and have always felt that ballet scores beckoned re-interpretation into various dance styles. My rendition follows the manipulative, powerful Black Swan as she returns for revenge against the unassuming White Swan in a final confrontation titled ‘The Black Swan’s Renaissance’. The piece explores themes of manipulation, innocence, and love through the eyes of our main choreographers and characters, Pavitra (the Black Swan) and Adya (the White Swan). The Black Swan dances in the rhythmic, specific dance style of Bharatnatyam reminiscent of South India displaying the Black Swan’s cunning and intelligence when it comes to how she wields power. The White Swan dances in a dance style called Odissi, characterized by graceful elegant lines and movement resembling her outlook on life and her being.. We finally get to see the result of if the Black Swan were to behave on her own accord this time around to see who would prevail in a final confrontation.
This was the first time I creatively produced a project and worked with as extensive of a video team to bring this idea to life, and getting to see the level of energy and love that everyone poured into this project was unabounding. Through the course of just a few months and with the help of amazing studios that housed our rehearsals, we created an ode to the winter through a diasporic lens – which has never been done before. Special thanks to Gopal Bala, Lucas Fowler, Pavitra Kumar, Adya Das, Shray Patel, Nathan Menser, Soumya Balakrishnan, Lorenzo Helm, and Reethika Kalindindi for helping bring this project from mind to stage.
Jayashree, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
My name is Jayashree, and I’m a current data scientist and art director in Dallas, TX. I got into art direction through writing actually, in a magazine in college. After seeing that I wanted to capture the broader experience of people in my South Asian community, I started saffron creative house my senior year of college. Although it started as a magazine at first, we are now a digital media collective that supports diasporic art and artists. I really wanted a space for diasporic communities to tell their stories authentically and through art. A lot of the editorial realm, TV, and cinema barrs a multidimensional representation of diasporic communities. You might be wondering: what is the diaspora? Well, the global diaspora signifies people that are away from their homelands and have moved away due to any type of reason. Usually, diasporic communities have their own culture and enclaves in the places that they live in now. We primarily support communities of color specifically the Asian diaspora. We rest on the pillars of art, reimagination, authenticity and fun to create a genuine virtual playground for art and artists. We provide a platform for a diasporic art and artists on YouTube, Instagram, and other media platforms and publish work with our community as our primary means of engagement.
We think our space is unique because it’s more than just a collective; it’s a world that we’re building around the diasporic experience and reimagining our current world in a diasporic lens. We’re most proud of being able to be a community that supports artists and we want people to know that we will continue to support diasporic art and artists for as long as possible.
Have you ever had to pivot?
Saffron Creative House was a pivot from a magazine to a digital media collective. At the time, it was a way to give us the best chance at growing the business and creating a sustainable environment for managing creatives. It was a tough transition, but in the end I’m happy with the direction that Saffron is going now.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
My mission which I’ve strived towards for a while is to create a world for people through diasporic art – to get people to reimagine norms in our current society.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.saffroncreativehouse.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saffroncreativehouse/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61561100940944
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/saffron-ch
- Twitter: https://x.com/saffroncreative
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@saffroncreativehouse
- Other: Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/saffroncreativehouse/
Image Credits
Image with 2 models and eating on the beach:
Creative Direction: Jayashree Ganesan
Models: Kani Manickavasakam and Pratik Bosale
Photographer: Jessie Curneal
Purple Image with one model in the front holding a lipstick:
Creative Direction: Jayashree Ganesan
Hair and Makeup: Srikha Chaganti
Styling: Esha Bajaj and Reethika Kalindindi
Photographer: Preston Rolls
Glass box with person inside:
Creative Direction: Jayashree Ganesan
Hair and Makeup: Srikha Chaganti
Styling: Avani Sunkireddy
Photographer: Jessie Curneal
Red model with fabric on the ground on blue background (male):
Creative Direction: Jayashree Ganesan
Hair and Makeup: Srikha Chaganti
Styling: Esha Bajaj and Avani Sunkireddy
Photographer: Amy Lee
2 models sitting on couch (one male one female):
Videography: Jessie Curneal
1 model sitting on couch in pink dress:
Videography: Jessie Curneal
Model with food on a table, wearing red on blue background:
Creative Direction: Jayashree Ganesan
Styling: Reethika Kalindindi
Photographer: Rachel Karls