ANN
AFREEN
ANN AFREEN
Creative Director. Filmmaker. Music Producer. DJ. Artist.
Working across creative technology, film, classical dance and electronic music, Ann Afreen builds ideas into experiences that move between disciplines, cultures and creative languages.
She is the Chief Creative Officer at HiVoco Studios and the Managing Director and Creative Director of Shreshtha L’Artiste Ballet House. Alongside her leadership in the creative industry and cultural sector, she works as a filmmaker, Odissi dancer, music producer and DJ.
Her practice moves between the structure of a film frame, the discipline of classical movement, the construction of sound and the possibilities of creative technology.
Rather than belonging to a single medium, her work is shaped by the intersections between them.
Chief Creative Officer — HiVoco Studios
At HiVoco Studios, Ann works at the intersection of creativity, technology and communication. Her practice spans creative direction, filmmaking, visual storytelling and the development of ideas into compelling audio-visual experiences.
Her approach brings together conceptual thinking, narrative, design and emerging creative technologies to shape work across formats and platforms.
For Ann, creative direction is about more than aesthetics. It is about finding the central idea, understanding its audience and building an experience around it.
CULTURE & INSTITUTION BUILDING
Managing Director & Creative Director — Shreshtha L’Artiste Ballet House
At Shreshtha L’Artiste Ballet House, Ann contributes to the development of a multidisciplinary arts and cultural institution.
Rooted in an early body of work in Indian classical dance and performance, SLBH is evolving towards a wider cultural vision encompassing exhibitions, workshops, music listening sessions, photowalks, talks, gatherings and interdisciplinary artistic experiences.
Her role brings together artistic vision, creative development and institution-building, with an emphasis on creating opportunities for artists, ideas and communities to mee
FILMMAKING & VISUAL STORYTELLING
Stories in Moving Images.
Ann's filmmaking practice explores the relationship between image, sound, performance and narrative.
With a postgraduate background in mass communication and filmmaking, she works across visual storytelling, creative direction and performance. Her interests extend from the development of a narrative to the way it is framed, experienced and remembered.
Film offers her another language through which to explore ideas — one that complements her work in dance, music and creative production.
ODISSI & CLASSICAL PRACTICE
Ann began learning Odissi at the age of five. Years of training and performance have shaped a practice grounded in rhythm, gesture, expression and the discipline of Indian classical dance.
Her Rangapravesam in March 2023 marked a significant milestone in her journey. Her subsequent productions have continued to explore the possibilities of classical performance in relation to identity, philosophy and contemporary life.
Through works including DVI: Two Paths, One Pulse and TRĪṆI: Conversations in Three, she approaches dance as both an inherited artistic language and a space for ongoing inquiry.
A Dialogue
with Tradition
MUSIC PRODUCTION & DJING. Sound as a Creative Language
Ann's relationship with music extends from listening and selection to mixing, production and performance.
As a DJ and music producer, she explores a broad musical landscape spanning R&B, house, UK garage, drum and bass, dub, Jersey club, baile funk, amapiano and Afrobeat.
Her interests lie in rhythm, texture, atmosphere and the ways sounds from different cultures and scenes can coexist in a set or composition.
Her musical practice also connects with her wider interest in movement and visual storytelling. Across dance floors, studios and performance spaces, she explores how sound can shape energy, emotion and physical expression.
ONE CREATIVE PRACTICE, MANY EXPRESSIONS.
Film. Dance. Sound. Technology. Culture.
These are not separate identities competing for space. They are different parts of an evolving creative practice.
Ann's work moves between directing ideas, performing them, building them into images and translating them into sound. Each discipline offers a different perspective, while all share an interest in expression, experience and the possibilities of bringing ideas to life.
Her journey continues across professional creative leadership, independent artistic practice and the development of cultural spaces.