Dance at Harbourfront Toronto: Sampradaya Dance Creations Presents Alchemy Nov 22-24 2012

From a media release:

Sampradaya Dance Creations presents Alchemy
A triple bill of international contemporary work that redefines Indian dance
3 Shows Only - November 22-24, 2012!
- a world premiere from Natasha Bakht and choreographies by
Akram Khan, Russell Maliphant, Aakash Odedra, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui and Santosh Nair -

Toronto -
Sampradaya Dance Creations, renowned for its innovative productions under award-winning artistic director Lata Pada, proudly presents Alchemy, an imaginative triple bill of international contemporary work that promises to redefine Indian dance. Alchemy runs November 22-24 at 8pm nightly at the Enwave Theatre, as part of Harbourfront Centre's Next Steps national dance series.

Alchemy features dance works by Canada's Natasha Bakht (with the world premiere of Bridges); the UK's Akram Khan, Russell Maliphant and Aakash Odedra; Belgium's Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui and India's Santosh Nair. Showcasing the diversity of Indian dance through groundbreaking bharatanatyam, kathak and chau-based choreographies, Alchemy is performed by Sampradaya and guest artists including Odedra and dancers from Sadhya, one of the leading contemporary dance companies of India.

Alchemy reflects a paradigm shift highlighting creative transformation and an adventurous exploration of the 'here and now' in contemporary Indian dance. In programming this eclectic evening, Pada notes, "Indian classical dance forms are often seen as fixed and archaic, discounting their ability to be fluid and modern expressions of contemporary thought and design. Indian dance, like all world traditions, constantly expresses itself in new ways. That newness is not fusion; it is a way each form speaks to its own journey of re-discovery."

The evening features:

Bridges - World premiere choreographed by acclaimed Canadian choreographer Natasha Bakht
Commissioned by Sampradaya Dance Creations, and dedicated to her father, Natasha Bakht says of Bridges: "Steel-free bridges defy corrosion. Choreography is architecture, a structure supporting movement and shaping space. Dance is a vehicle - we enter, surrender and experience the journey. Bridges balances an underlying continuity with a vast diversity of movement, unfolding in waves of action, stillness and integration." This bharatanatyam-based piece features five female dancers.

Stealth - Toronto premiere choreographed by celebrated martial dance form artist Santosh Nair of Sadhya (India)
The stage ignites with a dynamic and provocative physicality in this new spin on Indian dance. Stillness and rapid-fire rhythms colour this kinetic work for five dancers (including Nair), charging it with oppositional energies - female and male, soft and powerful, grounded and aerial. Created in the distinctive movement vocabulary of the martial art form of mayurbhanj chau from Eastern India, this edgy contemporary work speaks of harmony and dissonance. Stealth is a remount of Sampradaya's 2010 Canada Dance Festival commission, created by Santosh Nair for two female, three male dancers.      

Rising - Toronto premiere - 4 international choreographers create works for Aakash Odedra, a rising star of British South Asian dance
Showcasing four pieces created by renowned international choreographers Akram Khan, Russell Maliphant, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui (all associate artists at London's Sadler's Wells) as well as a piece of Odedra's own creation, Rising explores different processes and aesthetics to create new flavours of contemporary dance. Each of these individual works calls on Odedra's background in the classical Indian dance disciplines of kathak and bharatanatyam       

"It's the dance equivalent of a red-carpet event to get Akram Khan, Russell Maliphant and Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui as choreographers on the same programme. And it says much for talent of the south Asian dancer Aakash Odedra that all three have created solos for his new show." - The Guardian, U.K.

Sampradaya Dance Creations presents Alchemy
A triple bill of international contemporary work that redefines Indian dance
Choreographed by Natasha Bakht, Akram Khan, Russell Maliphant, Aakash Odedra, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui and Santosh Nair.
November 22 - 24, 2012 at 8pm
part of Harbourfront Centre's NextSteps series at Enwave Theatre, 231 Queens Quay W., Toronto ON
Tickets: $25-$35 - TICKETS ON SALE NOW at Harbourfront Centre Box Office: 416.973.4000 OR online at http://www.harbourfrontcentre.com/nextsteps/performances/

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