KALA NIDHI FINE ARTS OF CANADA

CONFERENCE SESSIONS

8TH International Kalanidhi Dance Festival and Conference A Century of Indian Dance - Part II
Please note: Conference information is subject to change.
Speaker	Programme	Biography	Picture
Sudha Khandwani Artistic Director, Kalanidhi Fine Arts of Canada	Welcome Address Honouring Dr. Padma Subramanium	Ms Sudha Thakkar Khandwani is the Founder, Artistic Director and Curator of Kala Nidhi Fine Arts. Her 50-year career in the arts is marked by outstanding contributions to the fields of Indian dance, theatre, acting, choreography, photography and film in Canada and her native India. After nurturing Kala Nidhi Fine Arts in India for over twenty years, Sudha began transplanting the organization into Canada in the late 1980’s. In 1993, Kala Nidhi Fine Arts of Canada burst onto the Canadian dance scene with NEW DIRECTIONS IN INDIAN DANCE, the first in a series of highly acclaimed international dance festivals. Over the next twelve years, Kala Nidhi enriched Canada’s dance community with bold new choreographic works from Great Britain, India and the United States, including the spellbinding artistry of the legendary traditional artists such as Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra and the original creativity of the world-renowned contemporary choreographer Chandralekha. As Kala Nidhi’s Artistic Director, Sudha has nurtured emerging dance artists through her NAVODAYA-NEW DAWN festivals and supported the creative agendas of mid-career and senior dancers. Through all these efforts, Sudha takes her work a step closer to her ultimate vision of balancing the magnificence of Indian classical tradition with the creativity of contemporary works.
Rasesh Thakkar Co-Producer, Kalanidhi Fine Arts of Canada	Mapping the Domain	Dr. Rasesh Thakkar is a retired Director of India Studies and Professor of Economics at York University and currently serves as the Executive Director and Artistic Producer of Kalanidhi Fine Arts of Canada and the Menaka Thakkar Dance Company. Besides his professional publications in economics, he is widely published in the area of arts and culture and has co-edited a book on Tagore. He has written screenplays (A Tale of Two Mosques, A Fantastic Deal) and voice-over narration for film and dance. He has written scripts for most of Menaka Thakkar’s Dance Theatre works.
HE Shyamala Cowsik India’s High Commissioner to Canada	Welcome Inauguration Honouring Dr. Kapila Vatsyayana	HE Shyamala Balasubramanian Cowsik is a professional diplomat. Before joining the Indian Foreign Service through the regular All India Civil Services examination – where she was the first woman to top the country-wide list of successful candidates from over 100,000 contenders – she rounded off her academic career with a university first in her Master’s degree in Physics. Her first diplomatic assignment was in Geneva, where she served as Vice Consul and, later, as Consul of India, while simultaneously acting as Alternate Delegate to various UN conferences. Her subsequent postings took her across the world and back again – to Washington, Bangkok, and Belgrade - and then home to New Delhi as the Joint Secretary/Head of Division at the Ministry of External Affairs. Her first assignment as Head of Mission was in 1992, as Ambassador of India to the Philippines, from where she returned to Washington as the Deputy Chief of Mission, again a first for a woman. Before becoming the High Commissioner for India to Canada in December 2004, she had been the Indian Ambassador to the Netherlands and to Cyprus. Her extra curricular interests include classical music, both Indian and Western, reading, films, and trekking. She has a 23-year old son, Siddhartha.
Dr. Kapila Vatsyayana India	A Sense of the Century	Dr. Vatsyayana’s contribution to the arts through her inter and multi-disciplinary work has been nationally and internationally recognized. She is an elected Fellow of Sangeet Natak Akademi of Music, Dance and Drama in New Delhi, an honour shared with other notables such as Ravi Shankar, Zubin Mehta and Satyajit Ray. She is an elected fellow of the prestigious Lalit Kala Akademi of Art in New Delhi and a recipient of the Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fellowship. She has received the Srimanta Shankaradeva Award given by the Assam government to honour dedication towards making a new society free from class differences and religious intolerance by establishing universal human values. Dr. Vatsyayana is an original founder of the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts in New Delhi where she remains as the Chair and the President of the Board of Trustees. Her books and articles and especially “Classical Indian Dance in Literature and the Arts, The Square and the Circle of the Indian Arts, Traditional Indian Theatre, Multiple Streams, Dance in Indian Painting, and Traditions of Indian Folk Dance” have explored the aesthetics of the Natyasastra* at the level of theory and practice which has made an invaluable contribution to the continued evolution of classical Indian dance and theatre. Her six volume classic on the 12th century epic poem, Gita Govinda, explored the interrelationship of text, image, sound and movement. Each of these works along with the volumes on Concepts of Space (akasa) and Time (kala) and also the unique exhibitions on these perennial themes has established a new model of understanding the Indian system, which moves concurrently along the physical and the metaphysical dimensions.
Guru C.V. Chandrasekhar India	“The Legacy of Rukmini Devi" – Tribute Lecture Demonstration on Bharatanatyam Honouring Professor C.V. Chandrasekhar: Tribute by Leela Venkatraman	Professor C. V. Chandrasekhar, one of India's senior most Bharatanatyam dancers. He was trained at the internationally renowned Kalakshetra School in Chennai under the tutelage and mentorship of Smt. Rukmini Devi Arundale. He has absorbed from his mentor the best of Indian art, culture and aesthetics. He served the Banaras Hindu University and M. S. University of Baroda and retired as the Head and Dean of the Faculty of Performing Arts of M S University of Baroda. Professor C. V. Chandrasekhar is one of the India's outstanding senior gurus and dancers. He is a multi faceted personality being a dancer, choreographer, researcher, musician, academician, composer and highly acclaimed teacher of Bharatanatyam. He has been performing for the past six decades in India and all over the globe and is invited by many dancers the world over to teach and choreograph. A much revered dance teacher in his seventies, his presentation of Bharatanatyam technique at its finest for over six decades continues to be an inspiration for all dancers.
Dr. Sunil Kothari India	In Memoriam:Tribute to Mr. & Mrs. Krishna Rao, Kelucharan Mohapatra, Sanjukta Panigrahi & Protima Bedi History of Bharatanatyam and Its Development in the Last Century Alternative Visions – A Range of Gurus and Gharanas in Bharatanatyam Honouring Chandralakha Models of Dance Management - Issues of Legacy Preservation and Succession in India, U.K., and North America	Dr Sunil Kothari is a leading dance historian, scholar, author and critic of Indian classical dances. He has to his credit more than 12 books on Indian classical dance forms and allied subjects including definitive works on Bharata Natyam, Odissi, Kathak, Kuchipudi, Chhau Dances of India, edited volumes on 'RASA', 'Damaru', photo biographies of legendary dancers Uday Shankar and Rukmini Devi, edited volume on 'New Directions In Indian dance' etc. Dr Kothari was a dance critic of the Times of India group of publications and wrote for the Times of India for 40 years as a dance critic. Dr Kothari has held several positions: Uday Shankar Professor and Chair , Dance Department, Rabindra Baharti Univeristy, Kolkata: Dean and Professor, School of Arts and Aesthetics, Jawharlal Nehru Univerisity, New Delhi; National Porfesor of Dance, Under UGC scheme for two years.
Dr. Padma Subramanyam India		Padma Subramanyam is a multi-faceted personality. Apart from being a famous Bharatanatyam dancer, she is a research scholar, choreographer, musician, teacher, author and indologist. She was born in artistically inclined family. Padma's father was an internationally reputed film director and her mother was a dancer, choreographer, instrumentalist and a lyricist in Sanskrit and Tamil. Padma took her initial training in dance under Kausalya at `Nrityodaya'- the dance school founded by her father. Later on she came the guidance of guru Vazhuvoor Ramaiah Pillai. Padma gave her first performance in 1956. Meanwhile, she actively pursued academics and did her Ph.D in dance from University. Padma was the first classical dancer to introduce `Pushpanjali' as a dance piece and to use a `meera bhajan' to suit the grammar of `Pada Varnam'. She has revived the mono acting technique in her dance dramas. She has authored numerous Articles, research papers, and travelogues such as `Bharata's Art - Then and Now', `Bharatakkalai Kotpadu', `Natya Shastra and National Unity' and `Legacy of a Legend'. Padma has many awards and honours to her credit. These include - Padma Bhushan', `Padmashri', `Sangeet Natak Akademi Award' and `Kalaimamani Award'. She has also received the prestigious `Fukokawa Asian Cultural Prize' from Japan for her contribution to development and harmony in Asia.
Leela Venkatraman Delhi, India		Leela Venkataraman’s career as a writer on dance began as the Dance Critic for the National Herald in 1980, after which she was with another daily, The Patriot. Selected as the Dance Critic for The Hindu when the paper began its Delhi edition fifteen years ago, she has been with the paper ever since, her Friday review column earning a reputation for being the most incisive commentary on the dance scene in the capital. Widely traveled in India and abroad, she has participated in seminars and dance events like the international Seminar on Bharatanatyam in the Diaspora in Chicago, the North American Internationial Dance Seminar in Houston in 2001, the Binnels de is Danse at Lyons in 2000 and the Rukmini Devi festival in Malaysia. Leela Venkataraman has written extensively for journals in India and abroad, and is on the Delhi Bureau of SRUTI, a monthly journal published from Chennai. She was also on the Board of Management of the Kalakshetra Foundation for a full term. Among her publilcations are Bharatanatyam – Step by step and A Dancing Phenomenon – Birju Maharaj.
Devesh Soneji Canada	Invited Talk: History of Kuchipudi and Its Development in the Last Century	Devesh Soneji is a scholar of Hinduism and a dance historian. Having lectured widely in Canada, the USA, India, Singapore and Malaysia, Devesh has researched various aspects of Indic languages and literature, history, and religious experience, ranging from Sakta-Tantra to Dalit street theatre (Cindu Bhagavatam). Having completed advanced level training in Sanskrit in North America and India, he has worked extensively on the Tamil and Telugu texts of the dance and music compositions of the Tanjavur Quartet, as well as the social history of the konti parampara women of Tiruvarur. His doctoral research (McGill University, Canada) focuses on understandings of womanhood among bhagavatulu (Brahmin males) and kalavantulu (devadasi women) in central and coastal Andhra Pradesh. Devesh has also been associated with the reconstructionist activities of dance-artist Hari Krishnan (Wesleyan University) for over a decade.
Anuradha Nehru USA	Honouring Vempati Chinna Satyam – Tribute	As a performer, teacher, and choreographer, Anuradha Nehru wishes to share her extraordinary joy in dance, striving for new and effective ways to communicate the beauty of Kuchipudi to diverse audiences through new, vibrant, and creative choreography. Her critically acclaimed performances in India, Australia, Indonesia, Singapore, and the US have distinguished her as one of the leading Kuchipudi soloists in the world. She has taught for over 20 years in the United States and produced outstanding young classical dancers who are now dancing professionally in their own right. As a choreographer, her work draws on her Kuchipudi training, but goes beyond traditional boundaries. As a performer, Anuradha has been critically acclaimed around the world. Her stage presence and sophisticated aesthetics, whether in movement, costumes, or light design, set her performances apart from others. Anuradha is a truly international dancer, having worked with choreographers and dancers in Indonesia, Australia, India, US, and Europe. While her training is firmly rooted in the Kuchipudi style of her guru, Vempati Chinna Satyam, she relishes dialogue with other artistes of different genres, constantly nourishing her desire to seek new horizons for Kuchipudi. These experiences as a solo performer internationally have contributed to her innovative choreography. Most recently the production Navarasa (The Nine Moods) premiered in Washington DC in 2005. The Washington Post writes “Nehru uses Kuchipudi, the deliciously graceful yet rhythmically pungent South Indian classical form, as the expressive base from which she urges her eight dancers onto an epic and expressive quest.” Anuradha’s work in Kuchipudi has had a particularly deep impact on the Indian Diaspora in the United States. She has trained several professional dancers who have gone on to distinguish themselves as soloists. She has been recognized by the Governor of Maryland for her “dedicated efforts to promote and preserve the classical dance form ‘Kuchipudi’ for future generations”, and is a recipient of the ‘Teacher Recognition Certificate’ from the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts for encouraging and supporting students who have been recognized for exceptional artistic achievements.
Kumkum Mohanty India	Invited Talk: History of Odissi and Its Development in the Last Century Invited Talk: Vision of Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra – Tribute Panel Discussion: Alternative Visions – Gurus and Gharans in Odissi	Among the distinguised senior dancers of the Odissi style, Shrimati Kumkum Mohanty received her training in Odissi dance at Kala Vikash Kendra under the tutelage of Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra. She is also trained in Odissi. Early in life, she was acclaimed as an outstanding dancer and won appreciation among the connoisseurs. She has excelled in her sensitive renderings of Asthapadis from the Gita Govinda and taken lead roles in several choreographic works by her guru. She has also participated in major festivals in the country and abroad. In the mid-1980s, when the Odissi Research Centre was established by the Government of Orissa, Shrimati Mohanty was appointed its Chief Executive. In that capacity she has worked with several masters of Odissi dance and music carrying out significant work in the documentation and dissemination of the tradition. She also has several dance compositions to her credit. Shrimati Mohanty is Special Secretary ( Culture) to the Government of Orissa. Her contricution to Odissi was acknowledged with the Orissa Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, bestowed on her 1993. Shrimati Kumkum Mohanty received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for her contributions to Odissi dance in 1994.
Gangadhar Pradan India	Lecture Demonstration of Odissi: From Gotipuas and Maharis to Present Day Odissi	Gangadhar Pradhan’s training began at the age of six at Balunkeswar temple in Puri District, Orissa to mature as a gotpua dancer. He was trained by Guru Banchhanidhi Pradhan, Pt. Chandra Shekhar Pattnaik, Guru Mahadeva Rout and Guru Birabara Sahoo. He completed his Natya Acharya course in Odissi from Utkal Sangeet Mahavidyala He received further training in Odissi under the able guidance of Guru Pankaj Charan Das, Guru Devprasad Das, Dr. Minati Mishra and Shri Dhirendra Nath Pattnaik. He mastered the delicate nuances and the subtleties of Odissi dance from none other than Padma Bubhusan Kelucharan Mohapatra. Guru Pradhan received intensive training in Mardala under the tutelage of the legendary maestro Singhari Shyama Sundar Kar and Guru Banamali Maharana. After his brief stint in Utkal Sangeet Mahavidyalaya and Odissi ResearchCentre, Bhubaneswar, he has been training hundreds of students across the globe. Guru Gangadhar Pradhan has traveled widely to all corners of the world and is the founder of Orissa Dance Academy and Konark Natya Mandap. A recipient of State Sangeet Natak Akademi in 1993 and the Central Sangeet Natak Akademi in 1998 “humbleness” has been the key to his success.
Ramli Ibrahim Malaysia	Invited Talk: Other Approaches to Odissi	Ramli Ibrahim, recipient of the Fulbright Distinguished Artist Award 1999 and the coveted BOH Cameronian Lifetime Achievement Award 2003 and most recently, the J.S.M. (Johan Setia Mahkota) 2004 is Malaysia’s most prominent dancer and choreographer, and is trained in classical ballet, modern dance and Indian classical dance. He performed extensively with the Sydney Dance Company throughout Australia, New York, London, Rome and toured Europe. Acclaimed as a potent dancer and choreographer himself, Ramli has achieved an impeccable mastery in Bharata Natyam, Odissi and contemporary dance.
Piali Ray England	Panel Discussion: Models of Dance Management - Issues of Legacy Preservation and Succession in India, U.K., and North America	Piali Ray, OBE, is the Director of Sampad, a thriving and leading national agency for the development of South Asian arts, based in Birmingham. She has high achievements both in the Academic and artistic fields. Having attained first class degrees in B Ed and MA History, she has also excelled as a performer, teacher and choreographer of Indian dance. In 1983 she started work in the UK as a performer and teacher of Indian dance, later becoming a dance animateur across the Midlands from 1985. It is this career span as a practitioner that has given her a range of experiences which she now brings to bear in her role of Director of Sampad. She founded the organisation in 1990, at a time when the provision of South Asian arts was ad hoc, and ignored by the main funding stream. She rallied the support of artists, educators, administrators and funders and led the agency to play a tremendous role in promoting the appreciation and practice of the diverse artforms originating from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. From the start, Piali aimed to provide artists working in multi-cultural Britain with a support mechanism, and to give them confidence, status and a context for the considerable heritage they have brought with them. The immense range of artforms and cultures she has championed have an intrinsic value and are of concrete benefit to the community as a whole. Single artists, consortia of schools, disenfranchised inner city communities, all have been given a voice through the fulfilment of their artistic and cultural needs for self-expression and identity. Those gains can be measured in a substantial artistic portfolio, as well as in the confidence shown in sampad by a multiplicity of funders, who regard the organisation as a resource to deliver their own objectives of access, quality, cultural diversity and new audiences. In addition to her role as Director of Sampad, Piali Ray plays a leading part in advising and shaping policy for South Asian arts development in this country through working closely with the Arts Council of England and other key organisations.
Jayasperi Moopen South Africa	Lecture Demonstration on Zulu dance followed by three day workshop in Zulu.	Jayesperi Moopen is the Artistic Director of Tribhanghi Dance Theatre, a performing arts organization that presents dance creations in Zulu and Bharatanatyam. She is an accomplished dancer, teacher and choreographer. In 1984 she obtained a graduate diploma in Bharathanatyam from the Kalakshetra College of Fine Arts in Madras. In March 1997 she received the FNB Vita Choreographer of the Year Award for the dance piece, “Talas in Conversation”. While Bharatha Natyam forms the basic grammar of her work, Jayesperi Moopen believes very strongly that while one creates locally, one should think globally where language of all cultures can be embraced to enrich and broaden one’s perception of life and people. It’s all about keeping traditional forms of dance alive by resuscitating it with a contemporary energy. Art is not static, dance is not static.
Shanta Rati Misra India	Lecture Demonstration of Kuchipudi	“Shanta Rati Misra, brings to her dance a pure sense of aesthetics, bolstered by an acute intelligence. The physical features with which nature endowed her – a tall, lissome figure, expressive eyes and face contribute to the effortless beauty and grace of her dancing. Her footwork impeccable, her abhinaya beguiling and her sense of laya and music is excellent”. Born and brought up at Singapore, Shanta has lived in various cities in the world and is currently based in Mumbai. She is an exponent of Kathakali, Bharatnatyam and Kuchipudi. She has had the opportunity of being trained under some of the most eminent gurus of classical Indian dance like Sri Oyur Govinda Pillai, Srimati Kalanidhi Narayan, Padmabhushan Raja and Radha Reddy, Padmabhushan Guru Vempati Chinna Satyam. “In each dance recital, Shanta displays Nritta, Nritya and Abhinaya with a lyrical magnificence, fluid movements and alluring grace casting an enduring spell on the audience.”
Ileana Citaristi India	Residency in Chhau – Ileana Citaristi Lecture Demonstration on Chhau followed by three day workshop in Chhau Invited Talk: History of Chhau and Its Development in the Last Century	Italian by birth, Ileana Citaristi holds a Doctorate in Philosophy with a thesis on 'Psychoanalysis and eastern mythology'. She has come to Indian dance after years of experience in the traditional as well as experimental theatre in Europe. Ileana has been living in Orissa, India, since the year 1979 in close contact with the people, their language and culture. Her mentor in the Odissi dance style is the renown Guru, Padma Vibhushan Kelucharan Mohapatra. She is equally at home with the different martial postures of the Chhau dance of Mayurbhanji which she has learnt under the guidance of Guru Shri Hari Nayak, obtaining the title of 'Acharya' from the Sangeet Mahavidyalya of Bhubaneswar in Orissa. She has by now performed in all the major festivals in India and also in Italy, Argentina, Poland, France, Germany. Holland, Denmark, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Japan, USA, Australia and Israel. 'A' grade artist from Cuttack Television, Ileana has been awarded the prestigious title 'Leonide Massine for the art of dance' in Italy in September 1992 and the 'Raseshwar' award by the Sur Singar Sansad, Bombay, in December 1994. In May 1996 she won the 'National Award for best choreography' for her dance direction to the Bengali film 'Yugant' directed by Aparna Sen. She has conducted a research on the Martial Art of Orissa under the aegis of the Indira Gandhi National Center for the Arts in 1991 and in 1996 she has been granted a senior Fellowship by the Dept. of Culture, Government of India, for writing a book on Kelucharan Mohapatra's life. The book titled 'The making of a guru' has been published by Manohar and released in New Delhi, in April 2001. In 2006 she has been awarded with the title of Padmashree for her contribution to Odissi dance by the President of India. In Bhubaneswar she is imparting training in Odissi and Chhau dances to local as well as visiting students in her own institution 'Art vision', founded by her in the year 1995. Through Art Vision Ileana has organised along the years several Festivals unique in concept like the 'Festival of films on performing and visual arts' which has reached the 6th edition and the 'Kalinga Mahotsav', a Festival of Martial Dances held in front of the Dheuli stupa at Bhubaneswar. Art Vision is regularly hosting performances of folk theatre in the mini auditorium situated in its own premises.
Vedantam Venkata Naga Chalapathi Rao India	Lecture Demonstration: Gender Transformation in Indian and Chinese Dance Traditions – a comparative analysis	Venkata Naga Chalapathi Rao was born into a famous dance family, to Vedantam Rattaiah Sarma and Rajyalaxmi in 1976. From childhood his role model was the famous dance master, Kala Prapurna Sri Vendantam Raghavayya, who was his father’s elder brother. Chalapathi started learning dance at the age of five from his father who was an expert in Kuchipudi dance and his uncle Vendantam Radhesyam also taught him the various nuances of Kuchipudi. As he showed a lot of interest and flair for dance, elders advised him to learn to perform ‘Sathya Bhama’ which is a traditional role in Kuchipudi. But he cherished a desire to perform the role of Rakshasas in Yakshaganas from his childhood when he saw his father performing these roles. Knowing this desire, his father made him perform the role of Hiranyakasipa in ‘Bhaktha Prahlada’ at the age of eleven. It won him accolades from connoisseurs who recognized him as the worthy son of a worthy father. By 1999 he had attained his certificates and diploma courses and won a talent search scholarship from the central Government to learn advanced Kuchipudi. Though his father Rattaiah Sarma was the principal of the Siddendra Yogi Dance College at Kuchipudi, he treated Chalapathi like any other student. He was taught to perform as ‘Hiranya Kasipa’ in Bhaktha Prahalada, ‘Tharakeswara’ in Parvathi Kalyanam, ‘Bali Chakravarthi’ in ‘Ksheera Sagara Madhanam’ and gave many stage performances. Recognising his talent, Dr. Vempati Chinna Satyam, included him in his group, which gave 60 shows for 4 months in the USA in 1994. Later he joined the Potti Sree Ramulu University to do his post graduation in dance, in 1998. He went to USA in 1998 and also 2000 to USA to teach Kuchipudi. Chalapathi took special training with the famous Natyacharya Vedantam Sathyanarayana Sarma, and performed in the ‘Parampara’ festival of Sangeetha Natak Academy in 1996. Dr. Vempati Chinna Satyam and Dr. Sathyanarayana Sarma blessed him as the ‘Kuchipudi Natya Kiranam’. He started his own ‘Kuchipudi Kalaniketan (School of Art)’ to teach future artists his knowledge of Kuchipudi, which he had learned from his elders and Gurus like Rattaiah Sarma Radhesyam, Satyanarayana Sarma and Dr. Vempati Chinna Satyam. Today, he continues to perform throughout India his ballets, Bhaktha Prahlada, Parvathi Parinayam, KsheeraSagara Madhanam, Vijaya Vilasam, Sita Kalyanam, Annamayya.
William Lau Canada	Lecture Demonstration: “Gender Transformation in Indian and Chinese Dance Traditions – a Comparative Analysis” With Vedantam Venkata Naga Chalapathi Rao	William Lau, born in Hong Kong and raised in Montreal, studied both Chinese classical dance and classical ballet. A disciple of the opera masters Shen Xiao Mei and Song Chang Rong, he specializes in the challenging "Dan," or female roles in the Peking Opera. Over the past twenty years, he has pushed back the boundaries of traditional dance through collaborations with artists from many different cultural backgrounds. He is founder and artistic director of the Little Pear Garden Collective, whose mission is to develop and promote the Chinese performing arts in Canada through performances, lectures, exhibitions, demonstrations and choreographic workshops. Its concerts feature excerpts from the Peking Opera, a mixture of singing, dancing, theatre, the martial arts and poetry. In addition to his performing career he has worked as an arts administrator and advisor, arts advocate and scholarly researcher. He holds a masters degree from the York University dance program and is a PhD candidate in Ethnomusicology at York University. He is President of the Board of CanAsian Dance Festival and a member of the Board of the Canadian Conference of the Arts.
Anne Marie Gaston Canada	Other Perspectives	Anjali (Dr Anne-Marie Gaston) is an internationally recognized Indian Classical Dancer, choreographer, scholar and photographer. All of her training has been in India with some of the greatest masters. She performs the classical styles of Bharata Natyam, Odissi, Kuchipudi, Kathakali and Chhau. These styles also influence her original mixed media creative choreography created in collaboration with visual artists, musicians and dancers. Her latest mixed media choreography "The Dance of Time" premiPred in 2005 December at the Habitat Centre, New Delhi, India, and has since been performed in Ottawa, Chicago and China. Anjali’s work incorporates movement, text, music and evocative images. Earlier productions were inspired by Greek Myths: Demeter and Persephone, Athena-Arachne ; Japanese Noh Theatre stories: Rain Dragon, Tree Soul, Lady Aoi/Envy, Sun Goddess; the Sumerian legend of Ishtar and Gilgamesh, the Upanishads (Mirror of Illusion) and Tibetan Buddhist themes (Avalokitesvara: The Birth of Compassion). Other themes are an exploration of both the beauty and destruction of the natural world (Hiawatha, Chief Seattle’s Message, Tagore’s Mother Earth). She travels to, and photographs the sites where many of the legends took place which brings an authenticity and intimacy to the work . An accomplished photographer, the photographic images which accompany her recitals have been purchased by many important groups. Anjali has performed and lectured across India, UK, USA, Mexico, Holland, Greece, France, China and Canada. She is also an academic and holds a doctorate from Oxford University in South Asian Art and Culture. She is an elected fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society, London and a Research Associate with the Department of Music, Carleton University and a member of the InterCulture Research Laboratory, University of Ottawa. She has published three books: Siva in Dance Myth and Iconography (Oxford), Bharata Natyam from Temple to Theatre and Krishna’s Musicians (Manohar). Indian Dance, Continuity and Change will be published shortly in English and Greek. She is the editor for Dance in the Oxford Dictionary of Spirituality and the Arts to be published shortly. Anjali teaches dance at the Anjali Academy in Ottawa. As artistic director of Cultural Horizons she has just completed The Dancing Shiva Project (performance, booklet , DVD) which uses the arts to promote and encourage cultural understanding.
Lata Pada Canada	Other Perspectives	As Artistic Director of Sampradaya Dance Creations, Lata Pada is at the forefront of South Asian dance in Canada. Originally from Bangalore, India, Pada has made Canada her home for forty years. She has trained under India’s eminent gurus: Kalaimamani Kalyanasundaram and Padmabhushan Kalanidhi Narayanan. Pada’s career spans an impressive spectrum of performance, choreography, teaching and research. Lata's solo dance recitals have revealed a distinctive style, of which it has been said that “Pada continues to rivet the eye with her soulful lyricism” – Globe and Mail. Her work is recognized as daring and innovative; Lata ’s choreographic versatility is seen in her exploration of the classical idiom of bharatanatyam and her interpretation of contemporary themes. As the Toronto Star noted, Lata ’s “clear direction in dance makes her one of the few who can successfully translate a thousand year-old tradition into 21st – century realities”. Revealed By Fire, her acclaimed multi-media work, was recognized by leading critic Michael Crabb as the most important Canadian dance production of 2001. Lata is a visionary artist whose creativity springs from a rich source of global influences; she creates work that synthesizes the arts and aesthetics of India and the eclectic influences of the world we live in. Her passion and vision for integrating the arts into the lives of all Canadians is guided by principles of innovation and excellence. Over her extensive international career, Lata’s work has featured in several international festivals, including the 1989 Dance Festival in China, 1990 Festival of India in Indonesia, 1990 Ibero American Festival in Colombia, the 1998 and 2002 Canada Dance Festival and 2001 Harbourfront World Moves Dance Series. Her company Sampradaya Dance Creations went on a nine city Canadian tour in 1997, to Ireland in 2000 and the USA and India in the fall of 2003. Lata Pada is a frequent presenter at international dance conferences and symposia. Her film and television credits include documentaries and interviews on CBC, TV Ontario, Vision TV, Rogers TV, OMNI TV and Bravo. What Held It All – a documentary by award-winning director Lalita Krishnan on Lata’s choreography Cosmos – was featured on Bravo and Vision TV. Lata is a regular motivational speaker and workshop leader for corporate and community organizations, speaking on her life, creativity and collaborations in the arts. She holds a M.F.A. in Dance from York University, serves on the Arts and Entertainment Committee of the Mississauga Living Arts Centre, was a member of the Arts & Culture Committee of the 2008 Toronto Olympic Bid, and is a founding member of the South Asian Advisory Committee at the Royal Ontario Museum. Lata serves on the Advisory Committee of the Laidlaw Foundation, the Canadian Dance Assembly and is a member of the International Dance Council (UNESCO). She has received the 2003 Professional Woman of the Year Award (India-Canada Chamber of Commerce), New Pioneers Award (Skills for Change) and the Distinguished Artists Award (Bharathi Kala Manram).