Mainstage A
Three distinct Mainstage programs showcase diverse, accomplished and innovative Canadian artists. See also Mainstage B and
Mainstage C offerings.
Co-operators Hall, River Run Centre, Guelph, Ontario
MENAKA THAKKAR DANCE COMPANY [Canada] Riaz
Chroegraphed by Natasha Bakht
Riaz is a brilliant group choreography by one of Canada's foremost Indian soloist dancers, Natasha Bakht. Bakht, a former member of the Menaka Thakkar Dance Company, developed the choreography especially for the company. Riaz is an original creation that takes classical Bharatanatyam movements and gives them the modern twist that is Bakht's individual style.
Photo by David Hou.
Menaka Thakkar settled in Canada over 38 years ago at the peak of her career as an international soloist and is credited with being the first artist to introduce Indian culture to Canadian audiences. She opened the first school of Indian dance in Canada, Nrytakala and formed the Menaka Thakkar Dance Company comprised of graduates of her school. Many of her graduates have gone on to develop their own careers in dance such as Winnipeg’s "Manohar Dance Company", Natasha Bakht, Niharika Mohanty, and Nova Bhattacharya. Today the Menaka Thakkar Dance Company is known as Canada’s premiere Indian dance company. It includes up to 20 professional dancers, most of whom have studied with Ms. Thakkar from 16 to 26 years. The company has a repertoire that ranges from classical Bharatanatyam and Odissi to contemporary and modern works that combine many different western and Indian dance styles and martial arts forms.
Fila 13 presents an excerpt of K-5. As much archaic as futuristic in its essence, K-5 exudes the pulse of life. The performers arrive on stage much like a nomad group. With their music, chant and dance, they dwell in a tribal and sensual mode, creating raw and intense, yet playful and stylized interactions.
"K-5 is a work that refuses to take life lying down. It dares to live to the full extent of its insanity (… ) It's the creation of a strange world, a true work of art (… )" Sylvain Verstricht , Indyish.com, 2008
K-5 - Lina Cruz, Fila 13 Productions. Catherine Larocque and Louis Turcotte. Photo by Cece.
"Stylized to the minimum gesture", Montreal choreographer Lina Cruz creates works that are very personal, unique, inventive and always evolving on the margins of mainstream dance. Lina Cruz trained in Spain and came to Montreal in 1989, where she dedicated herself to her own creative work. After 15 years as an independent choreographer, she founded the company Fila 13 Productions in 2003. The work of Fila 13 Productions is increasingly present in Quebec and has toured to the rest of Canada and Europe. A second place award winner in the 1998 choreographic competition of the St-Sauveur Arts Festival (Quebec), Lina Cruz has presented her work in Spain, Switzerland, France, Mexico, United States, Quebec and Canada.
TRIBAL CRACKLING WIND [Toronto] Stupa (2005)
Choreographer: Peter Chin
"Stupa is a densely layered, monumental work that evokes a complicated world where people grapple with both demons and dreams." Globe and Mail, Toronto
Photo by Cylla von Tiedemann.
A stupa is a Buddhist monument in the form of a dome or bell-shaped building. The piece, inspired in part by Buddhist temple architecture and South East Asian theatre, conjures a world populated by wrathful demons and benign deities. Integrating dramatic full-body dance movement and precise facial choreography with vocalization techniques from many eastern cultures, STUPA explores the notion of sacred space in both the physical and metaphysical realms as well as the sanctity of the human body and spirit. Inspired by Chin's years of work and research in Asia, STUPA is evocative of Asian dramas where performers are equally skilled in voice and movement; but is decidedly a contemporary and international stage work. Peter was awarded the Dora Mavor Moore Award for "Outstanding New Choreography" in 2005 for Stupa.
Peter Chin is an award-winning multidisciplinary artist born in Kingston Jamaica and based in Toronto. He is active as a musician/composer, dancer/choreographer, performance artist, designer and director. Peter's awards include the Muriel Sherrin Award for International Achievement in Dance, the inaugural Interdisciplinary KM Hunter Award, the Chalmers Fellowship and four Dora Mavor Moore Awards for his dance works Northeastsouthwest (1997), Bite (2000) and Stupa (2005). Peter Chin continues to distinguish himself in the field of dance film with international and national awards for his performances in Streetcar, Tari Rickshaw and No Man's Land from Tokyo, Los Angeles as well as a Gemini Award for "Best Performance in a performing arts program." His work has been presented at important festivals across Canada and internationally such as the Canada Dance Festival, Festival international de Nouvelle Danse, Rencontre Internationale de Theâtre Phnom Penh, the Indonesian Dance Festival, Singapore Festival Fringe, the Other Festival Chennai, as well as at venues in Japan, Jamaica, Mexico, Malaysia, and Holland. In Toronto, Chin has created choreography, music and/or designs for, among others, Toronto Dance Theatre, Dancemakers, Canadian Children's Dance Theatre, Esprit Orchestra, Evergreen Club Contemporary Gamelan, Array Music, Chan Hon Goh of the National Ballet of Canada, Atlas Moves Watching, Volcano, filmmaker Nick de Pencier, Andrea Nann, Katherine Duncanson, Denise Fujiwara, Marie-Josée Chartier, Didik Nini Thowok (Java), Hari Krishnan, princess productions and Hideo Arai (Tokyo).
*CanDance Touring Exchange / CanDanse: échanges-tournées is a co-presentation of The CanDance Network, CanAsian International Dance Festival, Guelph Contemporary Dance Festival and Dancing on the Edge Festival and supported by the Dance Section of The Canada Council for the Arts and Canadian Heritage.
