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Showtimes & Tickets
Oct 23 at 7:30PM | Oct 24 at 7:30PM* | Oct 25 at 2:00PM
Single Tickets: $25 (including tax, plus applicable fees)
Ticket Package: $65 (including tax, plus applicable fees)
Package includes all three Signature Programmes at the Bluma Appel Theatre. Limited packages available - buy now!
Running Time 90 minutes, including one 15 minute intermission
(* Oct 24 Showtime includes pre-show Artist Talk from 6:30-7PM)
Program
Featuring the UK’s The Royal Ballet, India’s Nad-Roop Company and Dheerendra Tiwari, and Toronto’s own Tanveer Alam, KATHAK & BALLET will interweave highly codified dance forms and complex choreographic works to tell a new story of confluence and divergence across eastern and western movement traditions and aesthetics.
Kathak is a form of Indian classical dance traced to the 18th century, marked by extraordinary footwork, intricate arm movements and dazzling spins. Ballet dates back to the 15th Century and although completely different, its hallmarks are also footwork, intricate arm movements and spins. Fans of each genre will discover commonalities and all dance lovers will be treated to the visual delights of these two historic dance forms.
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Shanaasai • شناسائی by Tanveer Alam and Barkha Patel
World Premiere
Shanaasai • شناسائی —meaning familiarity in Persian—is a new Kathak duet choreographed by Tanveer Alam. Rooted in the vocabulary and aesthetics of Kathak, the piece explores the deliberate composition of two bodies in shared space. As the dancers move in time and melody, Shanasaai reflects on the intimacy of co-presence and how acquaintance is built and deepened.
Toronto-based Tanveer Alam started his Kathak training with Sudeshna Maulik and continued further nuanced studies with guru Sandhya Desai. Alam is a 2019 graduate of western contemporary dance from Dance Arts Institute of Canada (DAI). Across the 24/25 season, Alam performed solo presentations at Vilaya Festival (Pittsburgh), The New York Kathak Festival (New York), and Navatman Black Box Baithak (New York). He was a commissioned choreographer for Sampradaya Dance Creation’s 35th year anniversary work, Salaam Rahman, featuring AR Rahman’s oeuvre performed by the Mississauga Symphony Orchestra. Most recently, he premiered his collaborative work Ibaadat with co-choreographer Barkha Patel, at the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre (Mumbai).
Barkha Patel is a Kathak dancer, choreographer, educator, and the Artistic Director of Barkha Dance Company (BDC) based in NYC. Barkha has performed across India at Lakmé Fashion Week with Gaurang Shah, Chidambaram Dance Festival, Modhera Dance Festival, and at Jamshed Tata Theatre. In the U.S. her work has been presented at venues such as Dance Theatre Harlem, Jacob’s Pillow, Joyce Theatre, Little Island, 92Y, and Chelsea Factory, among others.
Barkha was a Dance/USA Institute for Leadership mentee and a recipient of the 2023 Juried Bessie Award. She was recently named a recipient of the Princess Grace Award 2024. She is currently in residency with Movement Research and a Harlem Stage WaterWorks Fellow where she is developing a part of her new full-length work called Ramti Aave - Her Playful Arrival.
The Royal Ballet
The Royal Ballet has rarely appeared in Toronto over its almost 100-year history. The Company will perform a selection of solos and pas de deux from their repertoire, including The Dying Swan and Kenneth MacMillan’s Winter Dreams Pas de Deux, danced by Principal Dancers Melissa Hamilton and Ryoichi Hirano.
Live music performed by musicians of The Rebanks Family Fellowship and International Performance Residency Program at The Royal Conservatory’s Glenn Gould School.
Under the directorship of Kevin O’Hare, The Royal Ballet unites tradition and innovation in world-class performances and is a driving force in the development of ballet as an art form. Based at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, the Company’s extensive repertory embraces 19th-century classics, the singular legacy of works by Founder Choreographer Frederick Ashton and Principal Choreographer Kenneth MacMillan, a compelling new canon of work by choreographers today including Resident Choreographer Wayne McGregor and Artistic Associate Christopher Wheeldon. Guest choreographers Kyle Abraham, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Cathy Marston, Arthur Pita, Crystal Pite, Hofesh Shechter, Pam Tanowitz, Mthuthuzeli November, Jessica Lang, Gemma Bond and Twyla Tharp have also created work for the Company.
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SHIVO-AHAM - AN ODE TO THE SOUL by Dheerendra Tiwari
SHIVA: Without beginning, without end. Unborn, undying. Eternal. The cosmos dances in an auspicious rhythm of innocence and intelligence – that is Shiva.
Advaita philosophy reveals the soul as Shiva – one and the same. The true miracle lies in this: the singular consciousness animating all creation. Such pervasive unity is the ultimate wonder.
Dheerendra Tiwari's distinguished career owes much to the tutelage of the legendary Pt Rajendra Gangani. His artistry also bears the profound imprint of the internationally acclaimed Guru Aditi Mangaldas, who guided him in embodying the essence of Kathak.
Furthering his training, Dheerendra Tiwari worked with eminent Indian gurus and choreographers including Geetanjali Lal, Aditi Mangaldas, and Leela Samson. His roles as a senior member with Drishtikon Foundation and a rehearsal director with Aakash Odedra Dance Company enriched his understanding of contemporary Kathak. His performances at prestigious festivals in India and abroad have earned him wide recognition as an exceptional Indian Classical Dance artist.
Through his recently formed institution "SamDheer Foundation", he aims to cultivate the next generation of dancers fully dedicated to Kathak.
Chaturang ki Chaupal by Nad-Roop
Chaturang ki Chaupal draws inspiration from the colourful game board of Chaupal - an ancient game of dice, across which dancers move guided by four majestic ragas, or melodic frameworks, from the Hindustani classical repertoire: Yaman, Bhairavi, Jaijaiwanti, and Adana. The ragas converse, tease, and reveal their inner temperaments—sometimes in contrast, sometimes in harmony!
The choreography is energetic, intricate, and deeply nuanced, showcasing Kathak in its full glory. A confluence of tradition, classicism and creativity, Chaturang ki Chaupal is more than a performance - it is a celebration of classical arts, where the dancers and ragas merge into a powerful, unified aesthetic experience.
For over three decades, Nad-Roop Company from Pune, India has been a vibrant force in the world of Indian classical dance founded and led by renowned Kathak exponent Guru Smt. Shama Bhate. A training destination for over 1000+ students, Nad-Roop is dedicated to holistic artistic development.
Nad-Roop has 50 original dance ballets to its credit, each rooted in Kathak yet fresh in vision. The Company has graced prestigious stages like the Sawai Gandharva Festival, Khajuraho, Kala Ghoda, Purana Qila, etc and international platforms in the USA, UK, Canada, Germany, Austria, Malaysia, etc.
Shama Bhate is the Founder and Director of Nad-Roop. With over 50 years in the field, she is a celebrated Kathak performer, choreographer, scholar, and educator. A disciple of Guru Rohini Bhate and Pt. Suresh Talwalkar, Shama has performed at renowned festivals globally, and is known for her ability to blend classical tradition with contemporary sensibility. Her choreographic work is widely acclaimed, earning her honors like the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award and Maharashtra Rajya Puraskar. Shama Bhate continues to be a powerful force in Indian classical dance, shaping its future with vision, passion, and unwavering dedication.