The project Salzburg Improvisation Evenings (SIE) was initiated by Nayana Keshava Bhat in 2019 as a platform for ongoing research into multidisciplinary improvisation and Instant Composition in performance for professional performing artists in Salzburg City. The project consisted of regular studio sessions in Toihaus Studio as well as a performative practice in Toihaus Theater under the title SIE Open Stage.

Artists from different disciplines (dance, acting, clowning, music, text) met once every two weeks to share their practice in Instant Composition. Initially entirely led by Nayana, the studio sessions were eventually facilitated by a different artist each time.  With an intention of creating a lively exchange between the various disciplines, the studio sessions focused on different aspects of improvisation.

Besides the artistic practice, SIE acted as a forum for artists of the Salzburg performance scene to step out of the bubbles of their individual disciplines, to meet and engage with other artists in the city.

The emerging results of this research has been shared on various other platforms in the city, such as Jazz & the City Festival, Zwischenräume Festival, PERFORMdANCE Festival, to name a few.

In its five years of existence, SIE has given birth to several sub-projects that have eventually gained autonomous status.

The project was concluded in 2024.