Anandam Dancetheatre Presents CONTEMPORANEITY 3.0

CONTEMPORANEITY 3.0 is a new presenting series by Anandam Dance theatre in partnership with Toronto Dance Theatre, featuring new works and works-in-progress by artists practicing in Asian, African, Latin American, Arab and Indigenous dance forms. CONTEMPORANEITY 3.0 features dance pieces by NOVA DANCE (Toronto), MIX MIX DANCE COLLECTIVE (Toronto), and PADMINI CHETTUR (India). This new series will be presented April 3 - 6, 2019 at Toronto Dance Theatre.

"The premise of the show was to reclaim contemporary dance to mean contemporary dance, as in current, present-day, and not limited to the Euro-centric picture that you probably have in your mind." - Travis Knights on Contemporaneity 1.0 TapLoveTour Podcast

The term "contemporary" is often used to describe European and white American theatrical dance, while all other forms are categorized as just that - "other." Anandam Dancetheatre is part of a current that seeks to reclaim and expand notions of the "contemporary".CONTEMPORANEITY 3.0 seeks new meanings, gathering around diverse and divergent aesthetics; reimagining values of beauty, virtuosity, innovation, tradition, ritual, and meaning.

CONTEMPORANEITY 3.0 FEATURED WORKS INCLUDE:

NOVA DANCE, led by Toronto dance artist Nova Bhattacharya, brings SV?H? STUDY I, a new solo work examining paradoxical ritual spaces of feminine energy encompassed in the dance practice of Bharatanatyam (south Indian classical dance). Nova is one of Indian dance's most passionate advocates, endeavoring to dive deeper into bharatanatyam as its own source for contemporary expression.

Choreographed and Performed by: Nova Bhattacharya, Composition: Ed Hanley

MIX MIX is a Toronto based intersectional collective like no other, utilizing various movement forms including: waacking, house, vogue, hip hop, contemporary, and martial arts to create new dance works and examine a wide spectrum of personal and cultural identities (Indigenous/of colour/mixed race, women/non-binary, queer/trans). MIX MIX's new piece RECLAIMING MY TIME, features original music from Toronto based rapper, producer, DJ and visual artist Myst Milano. Inspired by the declaration of American politician Maxine Waters, RECLAIMING MY TIMEis a new original work driven by our communal effort to overturn systems of underrepresentation, silencing, and power imbalances.

Directed/Choreographed by: Emily Law & Ashley Perez with contributions from the performers

Performed by and created with: Kristine Flores, Jelani Ade Lam, Sze Yang Ade Lam, Jasmyn Fyffe, Sarah Tumaliuan

PADMINI CHETTUR is one of India's foremost contemporary dancers, trained in bharatanatyam by visionary Chandralekha, and a former member of Chandralekha's dance company. As both choreographer and performer, Padmini has forged an overarching creative approach that pulls focus to the form and movement of the body. Chettur's work has been described as "[departing] from the classical repertoire of (Bharatanatyam) gestures, posturing and mythical tales, to shape an alternative...[She]resists the temptation to seduce, choosing instead, to convince". Her work unveils a taut vision that takes the contemporary dance of India, from what it is and how it should look, to radical dimensions. PHILOSOPHICAL ENACTMENTS 1 is a world premiere from one of India's most experimental and profound dance artists. Set to a sound score by Maarten Visser, that proposes gentle shifts in temporality, the piece plays with a ceaseless imagination of the body's capacity to expand and retreat.

Choreographed and performed by: Padmini Chettur Composition: Maarten Visser

ABOUT ANANDAM DANCE

Founded in 2007, Anandam Dancetheatre has produced innovative dance works, locally, nationally and worldwide, through choreography, commissions, interdisciplinary collaborations, and curated series and festivals. We serve a broad community interested in dance, performing arts, culturally diverse practices, contemporary philosophy and socio-cultural discourse. Operating as an undercurrent cultural force, Anandam shifts contemporary experimental aesthetics in dance upward towards more main stream awareness and articulation. The company has presented more than 20 works to date, including Verisimilitude (2019) Gandhari (2018), Ephemeral Artifacts (2017), the trilogy of Weather (2015), Seismology (2014), and Glaciology (2013); theatre-based, gallery-based and site-specific works, as well as public participatory choreographies.

Artistic Director: Brandy Leary Artistic Producer: Briana Brown

Performances are from April 3 - 6, 2019, 8pm, at TORONTO DANCE THEATRE, 80 Winchester Street, Toronto. To purchase tickets and for further details, please visit https://www.anandam.ca/

April 3, 8pm Preview, April 4, 8pm Opening Night and Reception, April 5, 8pm Artist talk back after performance (ASL interpretation provided), April 6, 8pm

Tickets: Preview $10 (April 4th only), General $25, Student/Senior/Arts Worker $20

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