.png)
CanNatyam offers performances by professional artists from across Canada in four distinct and enchanting styles, each originating from a different region of India. Curated by leading bharatanatyam artist Malavika Venkatsubbaiah, CanNatyam is a special initiative for the Thousand Faces Festival’s tenth anniversary celebration. Each show is a unique experience, only to be performed once.
Stories from South Asia through Classical Dance
The Natyam Ensemble
Bharatanatyam dancers from Calgary and Edmonton led by Malavika Venkatsubbaiah
Sopanam Canada
A national kathakali dance ensemble performing a spectacular style never before seen in Edmonton
Roshni Sajiv Kumar
Edmonton-based Mohiniyattam dancer
Anannya Biswas
Toronto-based Odissi dancer
Usha Dance Entourage
Edmonton kathak artists from the Usha Dance Entourage
2022 FESTIVAL ARTISTS
The Natyam Ensemble
Natyam Ensemble is creation-based dance company that has brought south-Asian dance to the forefront in Alberta. This brainchild of dancer, choreographer, and art educator Malavika Venkatsubbaiah, Natyam was established with the vision of cultivating and nurturing artistic excellence in the next generation of artists.
Sopanam Canada Ensemble
Sopanam is a coalition of performing artists and art connoisseurs settled in Toronto, Ontario pursuing and promoting various classical dance forms of Kerala such as Kathakali , Mohiniyattam, Chakiyar Koothu , Ottamthullal, Padakam. Through sacred steps (Sopanam) of Indian classical dance, we seek to promote, research, develop and perform innovative dance productions.
A MESSAGE FROM FESTIVAL CURATOR MALAVIKA VENKATSUBBAIAH
A dream for over 4 years is now a reality!
A deep desire to put forth an exclusive south-Asian dance festival to the Alberta audience showcasing the diversity, the vibrancy, the versatility, and the rich content that Indian classical dance and music has to offer has brewed in me for a very long time. Little did I imagine what started as a casual dialogue with Mark Henderson expressing my desire for a professionally curated festival for quality full length Indian classical dance presentations also bringing to light some of the lesser-known Indian classical dance to western Canada and his desire to create an exclusive platform for south-Asian artists interested in Thousand Faces Festival would conceive CanNatyam!
I am extremely grateful to Mark Henderson and his team for having faith in my expertise and inviting me to curate CanNatyam. With this I aim to bring to light the finer nuances these art forms have to offer and their adaptation to the contemporary arts scene while staying deep-rooted to their original vocabulary. A national dance festival, CanNatyam in its debut year will feature works of south-Asian dance and music exclusively by Canadian artists and choreographers from all across Canada.
CanNatyam will truly be a Weekend of heaven on stage! Do come and enjoy!
What is it like to be a professional ethnic dancer in Canada representing classical and folk traditions from another country? The CanNatyam Online Symposium follows our festival’s featured dance artists who will address opportunities for theatrical enhancements to identify any gaps, barriers and challenges in achieving excellence in their artistic work and expression. The symposium will provide behind the scenes access to industry insider conversations, performances, insights from a successful traditional artist, and an online debrief session with the panelists.
