Menaka thakkar biography of williams death
It was gratifying to see her start to receive good funding for her projects. The whole Thakkar family was deeply devoted to the arts. Sudha later flourished in her role as impresario and presenter with Kalanidhi Fine Arts. Their festivals and conferences not only featured Menaka and company, but also brought dancers together from across North America, and included some of the most illustrious artists and scholars from India.
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Many vital conversations about the changing world of Indian dance as it moved beyond its borders and re-imagined its traditions, took place right here in Toronto. I was lucky to be a part of these. At the time of her 20th anniversary, when she was honoured with an honorary doctorate from York University, we sat down for an interview. As I read over the text now, I am struck by her insight into the body as an instrument, her total dedication to dance, and yet her remarkably open and flexible mind.
She joked with me that she had wanted all her siblings to remain unmarried — like her — so their devotion to the arts would be absolute. She also had an astute understanding of her role in her community, connecting the Canadian lives of her young students with the sensibilities and traditions of their cultural origins.
I was very touched when Menaka invited me to perform the Odissi Mangalacharan at the performance to mark her 25th anniversary in Canada. With great attention to detail, she rehearsed me in the dance that I had learned in India many years earlier.
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In , Thakkar opened Nrytakala: The Canadian Academy of Indian Dance, with the goals of providing training and building awareness of Indian arts and culture in Canada. Some of the graduates of the school have gone on to join the Menaka Thakkar Dance Company, which she founded in The company toured internationally and performed in cities such as Houston, Tokyo and London.
Such collaborations resulted in the creation of innovative works such as Land of Cards and Duality , which weave together contemporary and classical traditions. In addition, Ms. Thakkar has also reached out to students of ballet at the National Ballet School through an annual residency in which she has trained ballet students in classical bharatnatyam for the past 20 years.
Today, the legacy continues with the formation of the new wing of MTDC for contemporary Indian dance, which nurtures young professionals in creating choreography and provides opportunities to work with company dancers.
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MTDC has recently developed a new wing for young audiences and performs shows in theatres and schools in Ontario and British Columbia annually. The Menaka Thakkar Dance Company continues to present an annual home season in Toronto and tours nationally every year. The MTDC dancers are rigorously trained and continuously provided with professional development training in body conditioning and with special choreo-labs in other kinds of dance styles to increase their versatility as dancers.
Her death occurred 17 days after that of her older brother Rasesh Thakkar, and the Toronto Globe and Mail published a joint obituary for the two of them. Contents move to sidebar hide. Article Talk. Read Edit View history.
Menaka thakkar biography of williams
Tools Tools. Download as PDF Printable version. In other projects. Wikidata item. Indo-Canadian dancer, choreographer — Mumbai , India. Early life and education [ edit ].