16th Kalanidhi International Festival of Indian Dance Presents WHIRLING STREAMS, 3/28-4/2

The 16th Kalanidhi International Festival of Indian Dance: Whirling Streams is just around the corner, running Tuesday March 28 to Sunday April 2, 2017 at Fleck Dance Theatre, Harbourfront Centre. Tickets are available by calling the Harbourfront Centre Box Office at 416-973-4000 OR online at: www.harbourfrontcentre.com/nextsteps OR visit www.kalanidhifinearts.org

The live and live-streamed Festival will present over 40 dancers from Canada and India and feature the classical and contemporary dance styles of Bharatanatyam, Odissi, Kathak, Chhau, Kathakali and Modern over the course of six days - from traditional to cutting edge!

The festival features such superstars as Canada's multi-honoured dancer and choreographer Menaka Thakkar, Artistic Director of both Menaka Thakkar Dance Company and the Kalanidhi Festival; the internationally acclaimed Odissi dancer Sujata Mohapatra of India; Aparna Sindhoor and Anil Natyaveda's breathtaking aerial dance company Navarasa Dance Theater of the United States, Montreal's award-winning Sinha Danseand more!

Renowned dance artist and teacher Menaka Thakkar is responsible for creating several generations of Indian dancers across Canada trained in the classical systems of Bharatanatyam and Odissi. She has made fundamental contributions to the development of neoclassical and contemporary forms of Indian dance in Canada. In 1972, she founded the first school of Indian dance, Nrtyakala: the Canadian Academy of Indian Dance. In 1978, she founded the first professional company of Indian dance called Menaka Thakkar Dance Company. She is the recipient of two of the highest honours that Canada can offer to any dance artist: the 2012 Canada Council Walter Carson Prize for Excellence in Performing Arts (Dance) and the 2013 Governor General's Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Performing Arts (Dance). She gives a rare performance of "Karna Kunti" in the Abhinaya style on opening night. http://www.menakathakkardance.org/

The legendary Sujata Mohapatra has traveled the world as a soloist and won whole-hearted applause from audiences and critics alike. As the disciple and daughter-in-law of the late guru Padmavibhushan Kelucharan Mohapatra who revived the Odissi form in India, she inherited his devotion and passion for the classical dance form. Her lyrical movements epitomize grace and technical perfection. http://www.heritageindia.org/sujatha/artist.htm

Boldly knitting together dance, singing, martial arts, and original music into seamless theatrical presentations,Navarasa Dance Theater's multilayered, multilingual productions inspire, engage and entertain audiences around the world with their daring aerial work. http://www.navarasa.org

Sinha Danse brings Roger Sinha's Burning Skin, presented at the very first Kalanidhi Festival in 1993. Twenty-four years later this important work about the choreographer's racist experiences in Canada is even more relevant now considering the growing tide of white nationalism and anti-immigration. Roger Sinha was recently awarded the 2016 Cultural Diversity Prize in Dance from the Conseil des arts de Montréal.http://www.sinhadanse.com/en/

These are just a few of the extraordinary performers who will be at the Kalanidhi Festival. Performances run Tuesday to Friday 7:30pm and Saturday at 10:30am, 2:30pm & 7:30pm. Sunday April 2 is filled with FREE events from 10:30am to 5pm with symposia on teaching dance online and a discussion of contemporary Indian dance and a film retrospective.

The schedule follows:

2017 Kalanidhi Festival of International Indian Dance Festival Schedule

Fleck Dance Theatre, Harbourfront Centre, 207 Queens Quay West, 3rd Floor, Toronto

March 28 to April 2, 2017

Website: www.kalanidhifinearts.org

Tickets at Harbourfront Centre Box Office at 416-973-4000 or visit www.harbourfrontcentre.com/nextsteps

Tuesday, March 28, 2017 at 7:30pm - Opening Night featuring Nivedha Ramalingam (Pickering) with a Bharatanatyam solo, Menaka Thakkar (Toronto) with "Karna Kunti" Abhinaya solo, Sujata Mohapatra (Bhubaneshwar) with an Odissi solo and an Encore-streamed Performance of Santosh Nair / Sadhya Dance (New Delhi) Game of Dice (Mayurbhanj Chhau and Kathakali).

Wednesday, March 29, 2017 at 7:30pm - Kathak in Transition featuring Kasturi Mishra (Ottawa) with a Kathak solo with 4 musicians and Deepti Gupta /Arzoo Dance Theatre (Ottawa) with a Kathak solo with 3 musicians and narrator.

Thursday, March 30, 2017 at 7:30pm - Odissi Evening featuring Sujata Mohapatra (Bhubaneshwar) with an Odissi solo performance of Rama Charita Manasam, Menaka Thakkar Dance Company (Toronto) with an Encore-streamed Odissi production of Menaka Thakkar's classic Gita Govinda featuring Sujata Mohapatra and 8 company dancers.

Friday, March 31, 2017 at 7:30pm - Contemporary Dance featuring Sinha Danse (Montreal) with Roger Sinha & Mark Medrano performing Burning Skin; Aparna Sindhoor & Anil Natyaveda / Navarasa Dance (Los Angeles / Boston, India) with the Toronto premiere of a Malkhamb (Aerial Dance) work for 5 dancers, A Story and A Song; and Santosh Nair / Sadhya Dance (New Delhi) with Mayurbhanj Chhau Encore-streamed Performance of The Mystical Forest.

Saturday, April 1 - 3 Different Shows: 10am, 2:30pm, 7:30pm
Promising Emerging Stars of Indian Dance - 2 shows:
Sat, Apr 1, 2017 at 10:00am

Preetisha Mohapatra (Bubaneshwar) - Odissi & Eesha Pingley (Mumbai) - Bharatanatyam: both LIVE-STREAMED TO TORONTO FROM INDIA; and live performance on stage by Parul Gupta / Infusion Dance Studio (Toronto) - Kathak.

Sat, Apr 1, 2017 at 2:30pm

Live performances: Sonia St-Michel (Ottawa) - Odissi solo; Shobi Ruban (Toronto) - Bharatanatyam solo; and Riya Alika Mittal (Edmonton) - Kathak solo.

Evening of Bharatanatyam:

Sat, Apr 1, 2017 at 7:30pm

Menaka Thakkar Dance Company (Toronto) performs Latangi Varnam (7 dancers) live on stage while Chikkavane (3 dancers) is live streamed; Bhavajan Kumar (Toronto) performs a live solo and with an ensemble of 4 male dancers; Sweta Pararajasingham (Toronto) and Nivedha Ramalingam (Pickering) each perform a live solo.

Sunday, April 2, 2017: 10:30am-5pm - ALL SUNDAY EVENTS ARE FREE!
A day of workshops, film retrospective and symposium:

10:30 am - 12:30 pm: Demonstration/Discussion of Online Teaching of Indian Dance with Menaka Thakkar and 6 dance students.

1:30 pm - 2:30 pm: Looking Back at Contemporary Dance: A Retrospective. Filmmaker Abdullah Khandwani and Rasesh Thakkar trace Contemporary Indian Dance through the past 15 Kalanidhi Festivals.

3:00 pm - 5:00 pm: CONTEMPORARY DANCE IN INDIA SYMPOSIUM Skype calls and in person

Kalanidhi examines current trends through the eyes of some of the most eminent scholars and performers of Indian Dance. International speakers combine with local speakers.

The 16th Kalanidhi International Festival of Indian Dance: Whirling Streams is dedicated to Sudha Khandwani, Founder and Artistic Director of Kalanidhi Fine Arts of Canada, who passed away in November of 2016, leaving an extraordinary history of international Indian Dance through her fifteen archived festivals (1993 to 2014). With the passing of Sudha, her sister, acclaimed dancer and choreographer Menaka Thakkar, has taken over the reins as Artistic Director; her brother Rashesh Thakkar continues as Executive Director.

All events on stage at Harbourfront Centre will be live streamed and performances will also be available for public viewing at Woodside Square Cinemas, 1571 Sandhurst Cir., Scarborough, ON and Menaka Thakkar Studio Theatre, 11 Glen Cameron Road, Thornhill, ON as well as on-line over the internet for home viewing.

The 16th Kalanidhi International Festival of Indian Dance is generously supported by: Canadian Heritage, Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council, and donations.

FESTIVAL DETAILS:
16th Annual Kalanidhi International Festival of Indian Dance: Whirling Streams
Tuesday March 28-Sunday April 2, 2017
at Harbourfront Centre's Fleck Dance Theatre, 207 Queens Quay W., 3rd Floor, Toronto, ON
Performances: Tuesday to Friday 7:30pm; Saturday 10:30am, 2:30pm & 7:30pm
Sunday, April 2 Demonstration/Symposiums: Teaching Dance Online 10:30am-12:30pm; Film Retrospective1:30pm-2:30pm; Symposium on Contemporary Dance 3pm-5pm.

LAST MINUTE TICKETS NOW ON SALE AT SPECIAL PRICES!
For SHOWS at Harbourfront Centre's Fleck Dance Theatre:
Single show tickets Tuesday-Saturday: $27 &$18 ($18 for seniors, $15 for students, under 25 & arts workers,Sunday Retrospective and Symposiums: FREE.

7 Show Passes: $126 & $98 - Get one ticket to all seven shows;
4 Show Passes: $90 & $76 - Get one ticket to four shows of your choice.
For tickets, call the Harbourfront Centre Box Office at 416-973-4000 OR purchase online atwww.kalanidhifinearts.org OR at www.harbourfrontcentre.com/nextsteps

For LIVE STREAMED SHOWS:
All events at Harbourfront Centre will be LIVE STREAMED and available on-line over the internet
and at:
Woodside Square Cinemas, 1571 Sandhurst Cir., Scarborough, ON and
Menaka Thakkar Studio Theatre, 11 Glen Cameron Road, Thornhill, ON.
Ticket Prices for LIVE STREAMED shows: In public locations: $15; On internet devices: $10;
Purchase tickets for these locations and online at www.kalanidhifinearts.org

For more information, connect with Kalanidhi:
Website: www.kalanidhifinearts.org ; Facebook: Kalanidhi Fine Arts of Canada ;
YouTube: Kalanidhi Fine Arts of Canada .