Cultures collide in dance
[attach]810[/attach]Three cultures collide with the world premiere of Samvad at Harbourfront Centre’s Enwave Theatre, Oct. 23–24.
The Sanskrit word denoting “dialogue”, Samvad is an inter-cultural production that incorporates First Nations, African-Caribbean and South Asian dance to create a choreographically challenging and thought-provoking production.
Created by Sampradaya Dance Creations, under the mentorship of acclaimed dancers/choreographers Lata Pada, Michael Greyeyes and Charmaine Headley, Samvad showcases the work of three emerging artists: Meena Murugesan (South Asian), Nadine Jackson (aboriginal) and Shelly Ann McLeod (African-Caribbean).
“We are learning so much from them as I hope they are learning from us,” Headley says a few weeks before the premiere.
The Bloor West resident, who is a co-founder of the Collective of Black Artists, or COBA, sees the collaboration of emerging and established artists as a beneficial experience for all those involved.
Both groups learn from each other, with young dancers learning the groundwork of dance while the established artists learn new ways of dancing thanks to McLeod, Jackson and Murugesan.
“The older we are, we sometimes are more set in our ways of approaching dance,” Headley says.
She was asked to be part of the upcoming production by Pada, the creative director of Samvad and artistic director of Sampradaya Dance Creations.
“There is a little bit more fluidly in terms of their approaches (to dance) and to the way they think,” Headley says.
Young artist Nadine Jackson, who specializes in First Nations dancing, says it was an interesting experience working with the mentors, as the dancers were fortunate to get feedback from different perspectives and backgrounds.
“We were able to have that outside eye out for us on a continuous basis,” the York Mills area resident says.
Jackson, who was asked in 2007 to be part of Pada’s production, says she learned from all three.
She says she was fortunate to get to work with Greyeyes, a theatre professor at York University known for teaching movement to actors.
“I’ve seen his work,” Jackson says. “I had always been very interested in working with him and hadn’t had that opportunity until then.”
The production’s process began with the three dancers and mentors taking Greyeyes’s workshop on theatre movement to learn a structured way of incorporating improvisation into the creation of the work, Jackson explains.
Through the development of Samvad, dancers have taken leadership roles in different areas, creating a collaborative process not just between the mentors and dancers, but between the three dancers themselves.
Samvad includes solos, duets and group dances.
“In the end, we end up with a very full piece that’s been looked at in variety of ways,” Jackson says. “I like to shake (the audience) up a bit.
“I’d love for them to leave with questions in mind.”
