A development initiative for South Asian Dance in the North West

Fellow travellers

As my life flows through time, moving from shore to shore, as waves rise and fall, flowers bloom and wilt,my thoughts on dancing keeps changing but my passion for dance remains steady. During my fellowship I decided to collect views of other dance practitioners on this subject.

Jacci Collins

Jacci Collins is an independent dance artist, choreographer, yoga instructor and dance educator based in Vancouver. Jacci 's current practice brings dance to all ages and abilities. For several years she has been running a dance class for seniors.

Jacci’ is a dedicated Yoga practitioner. She discovered that yoga was not only the perfect way to balance out the body’s strengths and weaknesses, but it also left her feeling peaceful and at ease.Her classes emphasise a strong awareness of physicality along with self-acceptance and trust in the innate intelligence of the body. This is what touched me when I worked with her to create a new choreography for myself,
a new entry for my "late style" of dancing.

After our choreographic collaboration she commented that she found it easier to work with a mature artist.

I met Jacci when she came to see Dr Richard Coaten. Jacci was my main dance contact in Vancouver.

Jai Govinda

"You must give up dance before it gives up you. " said Jai Govinda,the well known French -Canadian bharatanatym dance artist from Vancouver during a causal conversation. Before meeting him in person I had seen a photograph of him in the cover of a dance book written by dr Mandakranta Basu .A beautiful image of an young dancer that told me what a wonderful dancer he must have been.
He believes that there is. Time for everything. He made the observation that bharatanatym is primarily a solo dance form so there are no obvious roles for mature dancers to move to.
He then went on to say that in Ballet there are character roles so after the days of being the principal dancer one can move to the character roles. (Although I have heard many heart wrenching stories of that transition )

I attended a students showcase of his dance school. His excellence as a dance artist,teacher and choreographer was evident in the performance.

He has channelled his energy in teaching and gets great satisfaction from training his students.

Though he did say that one can dance in advanced ages if one can be in the present. I think he meant that if one can find the right context and content that reflects the present time.

Barbara Karmazyn

Barbara offers lively drumming sessions and is trained in running workshops with Brain Dance.

With programs that are designed for all populations, Barbara offers workshops, playshops, events and courses to suit a wide variety of groups, with varied needs and goals. She also designs an innovative program that are based on creative expression using Visual Art, Dance, Storytelling and Rhythm. She set up a number of workshops for me at different community and residential centres in Vancouver.

[See her comments]

We shared a session for Jacci's seniors group where she delivered her Brain dance workshop. It was very good. I learnt about the importance of certain movements that can contribute to our general Wellbeing. Barbara accompanied me and introduced me to the centres where she works. It was very useful to observe each others practice and learn from that. On few occasions we danced together an through that came closer.

Andreah Barker

completed her Master’s degree in dance at York University. After turning 30 She did a soul searching and wanted to o something different.She took an interest in in dance/movement therapy where she feels that she can dance and stay connected. At present she is working at Toronto’s Baycrest Centre When she first started she had a supervisor,that helped her to gain confidence. She is writing a thesis on dance movement therapy in Canada. She explained why she thinks Dancemovement therapy is important. She said"In dance movement therapy work you can find a way to be you,move as you are,find where you are and move to a better place." She strongly believes that there is a need to come together and see each others work,knowledge share. She has taken the route of dance therapy and community dance to continue with her dancing.

See her comments]

Sarah Robichaud

was a professional dancer.she is also a personal trainer, researcher,writer and presenter. She found out about Mark Morris company's dance for PD program in USA and went to train with the company. Initially she was mentored by a doctor in the hospital.she has started with 15 participants and now in its 5th year she has 7 teachers and runs one main and several smaller regular dance classes for the patients with PD. She expressed a need to recruit and train more dance artists to open other classes across Toronto.

From her presentation I learnt that PD affects the part of the brain that controls movement. In layman's term,Rhythm,music and movement come from the same place.

Mark Morris dance company has pioneered The dance for P D program. They have developed a real syllabus and making a real impact in the dance world. It is becoming a popular choice to go to the company to train in this program. Dance for PD is fast becoming a career option beyond the performing career. In UK English national ballet is taking a lead to offer classes in London and rolling out this program in the regions. Currently they are working in Oxford

And Liverpool to develop ongoing programs run by local artists and offering CPD for dance artists I the region.

I was fortunate to attend one of Sarah 's satellite classes In the basement of a small community centre.It was reassuring to see how similar their routines were to the program I have developed for Namaskar the "Indian dance for limited mobility ' pack. I have witnessed first hand how the participants enjoyed and valued the class.

Following is an excerpt of a magazine interview with Sarah
"I was a professional dancer my whole life and 7 years ago was working with a man named Andy Barrie from CBC Metro Morning, who had been diagnosed with the degenerative neurological movement disorder Parkinson's disease. My goal was to find a way to help him through physical exercise to minimize his PD symptoms and strengthen his body. During this time I learned of the revolutionary Dance for PD program the Mark Morris Dance group was offering to those living with Parkinson in NYC. They were delivering therapeutic dance classes to Parkinson's sufferers. It was extremely clear to me once I witnessed the transformations that occurred in their classes that dancing was an uplifting and artistic way to facilitate movement in a Parkinson’s body."

Claudia Moore

Performer, curator and artistic director Claudia Moore, performer, curator and artistic director of MOonhORsE dance theatre, has been a force on the Canadian dance scene since the late 70’s.

Claudia founded MOonhORsE in 1996 and continues to perform her own works with her company. Claudia’s acclaimed series for senior dance artists, Older & Reckless, is now celebrating its 14th season. From a modest start it has grown into a regular festival
When I met her she was preparing for her solo show Escape artist. Initially she joined other friend and colleagues to make dance as nature artists. From that she decided to move to getting three dances made for her by different choreographers.

It was immediately inspiring to meet her. She is finitely a dancer who is addressing her ageing ina positive and truly artistic way.

"ESCAPE ARTIST has been a glorious adventure, surpassing my hopes, with a wonderful team of artists. I knew this solo project would give me the challenge I craved, but didn't realize the personal leaps I needed to take to deliver these potent solos"

Mandakranta Bose

Dr. Mandakranta Bose is Professor Emerita at the Institute of Asian Research at UBC and Director of the Institute's Centre for India and South Asia Research.

She is a dance Scholar and has written an impressive collection of books on classical India dance. She has also performed with Tagore songs. We had a discussion on current practice of Tagore dance

Lata Pada

is an Indian-born Canadian choreographer and Bharatanatyam dancer. Pada is the founder and artistic director of Sampradaya Dance Creations, a dance company that performs South Asian dance.

Lata Pada's choreography reflects the range of her creativity within traditional and non-traditional spheres of artistic expression, including inter-cultural dance collaborations with artists of diverse dance genres. Recent works include Dougla with the Trinidadian ancer/choreographer Ronald Taylor, Charla with Flamenco dancer/choreographer Carmen Romero and choreography for Nightwood Theatre's 1996 production of Mango Chutney and the 1997 production of Nagamandala

I visited her school and dance studio in Mississauga. It is a beautifully set up establishment. There was something like a wall of fame with framed photographs of senior students who had done their arrengatram ( a performance to mark the students entry into the world of formal dancing ).the school is a centre for excellence for Bharatanatyam but they also offer intensive summer school to widen the horizon of the students by introducing them to other styles of dancing. The institution was very focused on performance.

From the little I have observed Indian dance community in Canada have not made an inroad into the world of community dance. I have not come across any example of Dancing within the health setting or for the Wellbeing of the growing older population within the Indian dance community. She was interested in the work that I have been doing with and for older people.t

We had a brief discussion o dancing and ageing. She said that at a young one wants to be like other people one admires. The body does not lie when one is old. That is when one can have courage to be who one is. She could think of creating dances for herself in narrative style, abhinaya,with movements coming from within hersel. As such with does not mind not dancing.She feels that her body moves when it hears music.

She expressed passing interest in developing work for the care of
older people. I passed her the contact of Joseph DeSouza,assistant prof of Psychology,York University. Who was a collaborator of CRETE programme on Computational Approaches in Neuroscience Action Control & Transformation. I met him at a session of dance for PD. He expressed interest to find some one with Indian dance background to assist him I his research work.

Hari Krishnan

Professor of Dance at Wesleyan University
Artistic Director at inDANCE

inDANCE (www.indance.ca) is one of Canada’s most progressive dance companies. It presents works that are an original synthesis of artistic director Hari Krishnan’s South Asian and Western aesthetic sensibilities. While respecting the legacy of tradition, inDANCE boldly investigates post-modern evolutions that place the company on a trajectory of imbibing influences from the West into its strong and confident idiom of contemporary Asian cultures. The company aims to create work that is daring and radical- dancing outside the box. It produces eclectic, sensual, virtuosic and evocative dance creations that challenge dominant discourses on global culture.

I got to Toronto the day before he was leaving on tour with his company. Inspite of that he came to see me. He appreciated the way UK based Indian dancers are engaging with different meaningful community dance practices. We had a brief discussion about some choreographic ideas. I was impressed with his clarity of his thinking and openness of his imagination. He raised the question " how can we make kinder dancers"?

From his discussion I got the feeling that there isn't a trend of Indian dance artists of Canada to work with th wider community. Their work is mainly performance and excellence focused.

Jeanne Summerfield

One other person, whose generosity made a huge  difference  to my visit to Vancouver, was Jeanne Summerfield, the secretary of The Society for the Arts in Dementia Care. Before embarking on this journey I did not know her, we were introduced to each other through emails by Dalia Gottlieb-Tanaka, Chair for The Society for the Arts in Dementia Care. On arrival I found no one waiting for me. Jeanne was supposed to meet me and take me straight to her writing group. One of the porters lent me her phone. Just as I had feared, because my flight was delayed she had to go back to her class. I was asked to go to Tim Horton’s café and wait for her to come back after her class.

I met her for the first time at Vancouver Airport on the 26th of July 2013. In no time we realised that we would be friends for a lifetime.

One other person, whose generosity made a huge  difference  to my visit to Vancouver, was Jeanne Summerfield, the secretary of The Society for the Arts in Dementia Care. Before embarking on this journey I did not know her, we were introduced to each other through emails by Dalia Gottlieb-Tanaka, Chair for The Society for the Arts in Dementia Care. On arrival I found no one waiting for me. Jeanne was supposed to meet me and take me straight to her writing group. One of the porters lent me her phone. Just as I had feared, because my flight was delayed she had to go back to her class. I was asked to go to Tim Horton’s café and wait for her to come back after her class.

I met her for the first time at Vancouver Airport on the 26th of July 2013. In no time we realised that we would be friends for a lifetime.

Mamata Niogy Nakra

Choreographer, Teacher, Scholar – Bharata Natya, Indian classical dance.

She is the director of Kala bharati,an institute dedicated to the promotion of Indian dance and culture in Montreal.
She has written books on dance and made teaching aids to make the learning of Bharatanatyam fun.

Vincent Warren

I did not know about Vincent warren till I met him. A kind looking man with grey hair and a friendly smile. His eyes light up when he talks about dance.when I read about him in the encyclopaedia I see that my impression of him from a very short meeting was right.

It said "Vincent de Paul Warren, dancer, teacher, historian, lecturer, archivist.

mVincent de Paul Warren became one of the most accomplished and versatile dancers in the company's history and a star in his own right. His noble looks and refined dancing made him an ideal interpreter of classical roles from the traditional story-ballet repertoire, yet he equally excelled in contemporary works,. In 1965 Warren appeared in Norman MCLAREN's historic experimental dance film Pas de deux,

After retiring from the stage (in1979 ) Warren became a teacher at the company's associated school before concentrating his attention on the development and maintenance of its now large library and archive of dance books, documents, videos and related materials. He became its official curator in 1989. Warren is renowned for his encyclopedic knowledge and understanding of dance and its history, and remains a popular lecturer and panellist.

Vincent de Paul Warren retired as curator of La Bibliothèque de la Danse at the École supérieure de ballet contemporain in 2008. In 2010, the library was renamed Bibliothèque de la danse Vincent-Warren in honour of his years of dedication to both the library and the school. Les météores: Vincent Warren, un temps en mouvements, a compelling documentary by Marie Beaulieu about Warren's life in dance, premiered in 2011.

His library has left a deep impression on me. It was a place where I felt very comfortable.Where my past and present could sit comfortably. My inherited heritage and the evolving legacy of my lived experiences came together in his dance library.

It had a box full of archived program notes and articles on Udayshankar from 1930 onwards,large framed photograph of Ruth ST Denis on the wall and an image of a UK based new generation of kathak dancer Sonia Sabri by my friend and colleague renowned photographer SImon RIchardson on the cover of a Journal sitting on the book shelf.
It made me humble to see that they had a copy of Fergus Early and Jackey Lindsey's book "wise body ", which includes a chapter on my life.

Initially this visit was not in my itinerary,but I am so happy that Dr Mamata Niogy Nakra introduced me to Vincent Warren.
I had the opportunity to visit the dance library. As I entered a large framed photograph of Ruth ST Denis took my breath away.I gasped.This was not like any other prints I have seen in dance books. It made her spirit come alive. I was transported to a different reality where it all happened.

A comment by a dance scholar,made many many years ago left a lasting impression in my mind. Talking about photography Nigel......said "shutters come down to sever the past from the present". It seemed as though I could peer through the present image to that very moment when the shutter did come down. This is the woman whose love and passion for Indian dance has paved the path for me to travel.Seeing my reaction to the photograph Vincent asked the librarian to bring three large card board boxes full of invaluable collection of program notes,news paper cuttings and articles on Ruth st Denis, Pavlova and Udayshanker some from 1930 s. This was amazing. A history of my own dancing heritages.

I have learnt Udayshanker style of creative dance from his wife and dancing partner Amala Shanker.I have heard stories of Pablova from his own lips.

I feel inspired by Ruth St Denis's devotion and pursuit of spirituality in dance and it makes me immensely happy to see Simon's picture of Sonia's in this collection. All these together makes me who I am.
The reality was that,there I was,an Indian dance artist from 21st century Britain, visiting Canada on a fellowship from WCMT.
My dance aesthetics is informed by a plethora of influences from both the east and the west. It has been shaped by ancient Indian wisdom and the integrity of the current dance practice in the West.
A place like this library validates my position as an Indian dance artist from outside India.

It was an honour to meet Vincent Warren.it seemed to me that he has found a sense of fulfilment in developing this library. It is an extension of his dancing life.

In the library there was a large picture of him as a young dancer in a striking pose. I took a picture of him standing next to the framed image. When I showed him the photograph he said I can't dance like him. I said " the one in the picture do not have the lovely smile like yours " He laughed and agreed "No.He had no time ".
More than any words,my picture of him next to his old photograph,revealed to me "where does beauty lie,if not in youth."