Past Events
2023-2020
Svāhā!
Friday, July 15 & Saturday, July 16, 2023
8pm
BC Premiere
Running time: approx. 70 minutes (no intermission)
Pre-show Talk 7:15pm each night in the Vancouver Playhouse Upper Lobby
Moderator: Jai Govinda, Artistic Director of Mandala Arts and Culture
Guest: Nova Bhattacharya, Choreographer and Artistic Director of Nova Dance
A shimmering, whirling ode to the rites and rituals of women, Nova Bhattacharya’s latest work Svāhā! celebrates the cathartic power of performance to unite people in laughter, beauty and shared joy.
Inspired by women building community through acts of celebration, mourning and worship, Nova Dance uses the universal language of movement to gather people together in synchronous experience.
In addition to a cast of more than 20 performers from almost 30 different dance traditions – everything from Bharatnatyam to Butoh, as well as ballet, jazz and salsa, Svāhā! features local artists in an opening invocation that accompanies the performances. From this experience of communion and solidarity comes a work brimming with life, colour, and revelry of every hue.
More than an exclamation made to proclaim an offering, Svāhā! is a shouted riposte to the loss, isolation, and social fracture of recent years and an expression of togetherness made tangible. Vibrating with life, love, and the profound pleasure of movement, it is a reminder of our shared existence and a return to wholeness and abundance.
Co-produced and funded by Balancing Act, Citadel + Compagnie, Metcalf Foundation, Toronto Arts Council, TO Live, National Ballet/Open Space- Toronto, National Arts Centre, Ontario Arts Council, Canada Council for the Arts – Ottawa.
Vancouver PlayHouse
More information click here
Tickets $19 and up!
Buy here
Sujit Vaidya: Breath In the Fragrance
Friday, June 23, 2023 | 7pm
Breathe In The Fragrance is Sujit Vaidya‘s celebration of erotic ritual — of taste, of smell, of song, of dance, of sensations awakened by Jasmine — to make space for the in-betweenness of things to exist. Combining traditional Indian dance elements with modern choreography and queer eroticism, Breathe In The Fragrance features Vaidya and fellow dancers Kiruthika Rathanaswami and Malavika Santhosh, with live music by Curtis Andrews, Arno Kamolika and Ramya Kapadia.
Roundhouse Community Centre (Performance Centre)
2022
Svāhā
Premiere Performances
TORONTO, WORLD PREMIERE
September 16 & 17, 2022
Show Time : 8:00pm
Lobby Opens : 7:00pm
September 18, 2022
Show Time : 2:00pm
Lobby Opens : 1:00pm
Bluma Appel Theatre
St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts
Address: 27 Front Street E, Toronto, Ontario, ON, M5E 1B4
Phone: (416) 366-7723 | 1-800-708-6754
Email: boxoffice@tolive.com
More information click here
BUY TICKETS HERE
NEWWORKS: All Over the Map
Sunday August 14. 2022
Bharata Natyam Performance
3:00pm
Ron Basford Park, Granville Island at 3pm
More information click here
FREE EVENT
2021
Starting December 4th 2021, Mandala will present the first of a series of 4 bharata natyam performances highlighting the 2 vibrant aspects of the dance form; Nritta/ abstract dance and Nritya/dance with a narrative. The prayerful aspect of bharata natyam performance is ignited by a dance offering, very often in the form of a pushpanjali, mallari, allaripu or prayers of some kind. In this series you will find 4 different dance offerings in praise of various deities such as the Surya/ Sun God, Saraswathi/ goddess of fine arts, Buddha, and Devi/ consort of Shiva. Each of the performances will also have one or two expressional choreographies/ abhinaya, and will conclude with thillanas in 4 beautiful contemporary melodies including compositions of Shri Lalgudi Jayaraman and Sri Balamurali Krishna.
A short description will highlight each of the choreographies as they are presented. Most of the choreographies are accompanied by the beautiful voice and music direction of Balasubramanya Sharma in Bangalore, and a few others under the direction of late O.S. Sridhar from Delhi. We are very appreciative of the high quality of each of the audio recordings that Mandala commissioned for the purpose of such performances. Three more performances will be presented during the season 2022/2023.
Mandala Arts and Culture would like to acknowledge the generous support of the CATF of Heritage Canada. This series was filmed in the Faris Theatre at the Scotiabank Dance Centre.
To access the performance on December 4th onwards, go to the following link:
Collingwood Days 2021
Saturday, July 17, 2021
Bharata Natyam Workshop
7:00pm-8:30pm (PST)
More information click here
HH11 Dance Festival
Presented by Nebula Dance Lab
Saturday, May 1
1:45pm (PST)
Choreography: Jai Govinda
Bharata Natyam Workshop
Saturday, May 1
12:00pm-1:00pm (PST)
Interview 1:00pm (PST)
Get tickets here (Free)
2020
Nextfest Dance series
Linked Expressions
Curated by Good Women Dance Collective & NextFest
Thursday, June 4, 2020 | 8:20pm (Mountain time)
Choreographed by Kiruthika Rathanaswami
Edited by: Ethan White
Featuring Dance Xtreme Students from Victoria High School (Edmonton)