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NAMF Speech Competition & Dinner [by Reaz]

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 03:01:46 -0000

News:: NAMF Speech Competition & Dinner
Support the future leadership of the Muslim Community

You are cordially invited to 7th Annual NAMF Speech Competition & Dinner at

NAMF Islamic Center
4140 Finch Avenue East
Scarborough Ontario
M1S 3T9
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Registration: 5:00pm
Admission: $10
Topic:
Is the media influence the primary cause of youth rebellion in Canadian society?

Moving to Rhythm [by Reaz]

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 21:07:26 -0000

News:: Moving to Rhythm
Moving to Rhythm
Markham Theatre for Performing Arts

ONE SHOW ONLY! Saturday April 19th, 8pm

"LOVE'S FOLLEY is a delightfully coy story of unrequited love and MOVING TO RHYTHM is a fascinating kinetic and physical essay inspired by the structure of Ravel's BOLERO" . Paula Citron, The Globe and Mail Newspaper, February 2008

Our year-long celebration of the legacy of Menaka Thakkar finishes with an encore performance of MOVING TO RHYTHM and LOVE'S FOLLEY - Saturday April 19th, 8pm at the Markham Theatre for Performing Arts. MOVING TO RHYTHM illustrates through dance the evolution of Menaka Thakkar's choreographic canon from the time she arrived from India 37 years ago and introduced Indian culture to Canada through classical Indian dance. The performance begins with classical Bharatanatyam and quickly moves to worlds rhythms such as Latin and Caribbean which are integrated into classical Indian dance time cycles and dance movements. Both productions are choreographed and by Artistic Director Menaka Thakkar with music for MOVING TO RHYTHM created by Montreal's Vasudevan Govindarajan and Toronto composer Ron Allen.

As an added treat one of Canada's foremost modern Indian dancers Nova Bhattacharya, will perform an enchanting solo entitled "Maskura" a tribute Menaka Thakkar who was her first teacher.

LOVE'S FOLLY and MOVING TO RHYTHM will feature performances by top company dancers including Sukeyna Subramaniam, Shantini Kangesan, Neena Jayaragan, Paranitha Rajagopalan, Anu Yogeswaran, Cynthiya Ruban and Garima Talwar with two guest performers from India, Debu Kumar Paul and Kalishwaran Pillai.

Tickets are on sale at:
Markham Theatre for Performing Arts,
Anthony Roman Centre
171 Town Centre Blvd., Markham

http://www.markham.ca/Markham/Attractions/Theatre/boxoffice.htm
Ticket Prices:
$30, $25 General Admission
$24, $20 Students/Seniors/Arts Professionals

Show Times:
Saturday April 19 - 8pm

www.menakathakkardance.org

NAMF Family Fair Feb 18 2008 [by Reaz]

Tue, 12 Feb 2008 20:28:16 -0000

News:: NAMF Family Fair Feb 18 2008
[img width=300]http://www.dhantal.com/cache/1_47b2013a25a7f.jpg[/img]

INDIRA GANDHI NATIONAL CENTER FOR THE ARTS [by Reaz]

Sun, 20 Jan 2008 14:42:11 -0000

News:: INDIRA GANDHI NATIONAL CENTER FOR THE ARTS
Cordially invites you for

1. An interactive session with Prof. David Dabydeen University of Warwick, UK, and Ambassador to UNESCO for Guyana, on his latest book �THE FIRST CROSSING� an edited version of the diary of a medical doctor who traveled in the first immigrant ship to Guyana from Kolkata in 1838.

2. Release of Book on what happened to 250 Indians who came back on the last repatriation ship from Guyana to Kolkata in 1955. Written by Ms. Nalini Mohabir, University of Leeds, UK, published by IGNCA.

3. Migration of Roma from India: A dance performance by Ms. Simona Jovic, Serbia

PROGRAMME

DATE: MONDAY 21 JANAURY 2008

VENUE: AMPHI THEATER, IGNCA, JANPATH
400 pm

Welcome Address

410 pm

Keynote Address: Dr.K.K.Chakravarty, Member Secretary, IGNCA

425 pm

Reading by Prof. David Dabydeen from his latest book

�THE FIRST CROSSING�

500 pm

Interactive Session with Prof. David Dabydeen

515 pm
Release of Book written by Ms. Nalini Mohabir

Vote of thanks

530 pm

TEA

600 pm

A dance performance by Ms. Simona Jovic, Serbia

on Migration of Roma from India with

Indian dancers and musicians

About the Presenters:

DAVID DABYDEEN

David Dabydeen was born in British Guiana (now Guyana), and left for England in 1969. He read English at Cambridge, graduating in 1978 with the University's Prize for Creative Writing (the Quiller Couch Prize), the first time it was awarded. Professor Dabydeen's first book, Slave Song, was awarded the Commonwealth Poetry Prize in 1984 and he has subsequently published five novels and two volumes of verse. He was awarded the 2004 Raja Rao Award for Literature. Professor Dabydeen is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and Guyana's Ambassador/Permanent Delegate to UNESCO. He will be speaking about his most recent publication, his discovery of the diary of Theophilus Richmond, the doctor aboard the first ship in the 'coolie' trade which involved several hundred thousands of Indians being shipped from India to work in the sugar plantations of Fiji, Mauritius and the Caribbean. Please visit the University of Warwick�s Centre for Translation & Comparative Cultural Studies website for more information:

http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/ctccs/staff/dabydeen/

NALINI MOHABIR

Nalini Mohabir is currently a PhD Student at the University of Leeds, School of Geography in the UK. Her research focuses on the M.V. Resurgent, the last ship to transport ex-indentured labourers from the Caribbean back to India in 1955. This ship was the last colonial connection between India and the Caribbean.

SIMONA JOVIC

Roma dancer, signer and actress, Simona Jovic, has Serbian and Czech origins, and she grew up in the Former Yugoslavia. During her childhood, she was surrounded by Romany culture, and very young she started travelling in order to meet Roma people from all around the world. That's how she specialized herself in music and dances of the Rroma.

Please see her website for more info: http://www.simonajovic.com

For details contact

DIASPORA CULTURAL RESOURCE CENTER

Suresh Pillai, Head of Diaspora Programme

CV MESS, JANPATH, NEW DELHI 110001
Phone: 011 23386022 Fax: 23388280 Mobile: 9910357997
Email: info@igncadiaspora.com Web Site: www.igncadiaspora.com

Menaka Thakkar 's Moving to Rhythm Feb 15-17 2008 [by Reaz]

Sun, 13 Jan 2008 20:12:01 -0000

News:: Menaka Thakkar 's Moving to Rhythm Feb 15-17 2008
[img align=right width=300]http://www.dhantal.com/uploads/newbb/Moving_to_rhythm.JPG[/img]

Our year-long celebration of Menaka Thakkar 's legacy continues February 15-17th at Premiere Dance Theatre with an exciting new show featuring dancers who have studied with Menaka throughout her 35 years in Canada. The Menaka Thakkar Dance Company (MTDC), under the Artistic Direction of Menaka Thakkar will present a re-mount of LOVE ' S FOLLY, an amusing piece about the frustrations and joys of romance, along with a newly created contemporary choreography MOVING TO RHYTHM inspired by Ravel 's ' Bolero ' . Two rising bharatanatyam stars from India, Pavitra Bhatt and Kalishwaran Pillai will join the company for these productions.

In addition, two of Menaka�s early students who are now renowned, international dancers in their own right will pay tribute to Menaka through solo pieces. Canada�s Nova Bhattacharya will perform an original modern dance and Niharika Mohanty from San Francisco will perform an exquisite Odissi work

Premiere Dance Theatre
Harbourfront Centre, Toronto
http://tickets.harbourfrontcentre.com

Box office: 416 - 973 - 4000

Ticket Prices:
$30 $25 General Admission
$24 $20 Students/Seniors/Arts Professionals
$25.50 $21.25 Next Steps Subscribers

http://www.menakathakkardance.org

SUN SPLASH - Jamaican Festival in Surinam [by Reaz]

Sat, 10 Nov 2007 02:55:57 -0000

News:: SUN SPLASH - Jamaican Festival in Surinam
Company M&W Entertainment
Location Paramaribo & Amsterdam
Comments

Friday the 30th of NOVEMBER
SUN SPLASH - jamaican festival.

Its the first REGGAE FESTIVAL in Surinam with totally 10 artist from JAMAICA.THe 10
names for SUN SPLASH are:

Junior Kelly
Wayne Marshall
Jah Mason
Marlon Asher
Junior Reid
Lymie Murray
Live Wyya
Chezidek
Norrisman
Dj Pittyless

Doors open: 18:30
Show time: 20:00

Location : FLAMBOYANT PARK
Paramaribo , Surinam

Masala! Mehndi! Masti! [by Reaz]

Wed, 11 Jul 2007 03:34:38 -0000

News:: Masala! Mehndi! Masti!
Masala! Mehndi! Masti! (M!M!M!) is back for its seventh sensational year at Bandshell Park, Exhibition Place (home of the CNE) 210 Princes� Boulevard, Toronto, ON Canada M6K 3C3, from July 27th to July 29th, 2007. The largest South Asian Arts festival in all of North America! As usual M!M!M! will showcase the best in contemporary, traditional and fusion South Asian culture by local and international artists.

Here�s what you can look forward to:
*FREE* (Look below for MUSIC venue dates and times)

"Indian Heritage Day in the Caribbean" by Dr. Kumar Mahabir [by Reaz]

Sat, 26 May 2007 14:57:50 -0000

News:: "Indian Heritage Day in the Caribbean" by Dr. Kumar Mahabir
The Indian heritage day will be observed as a national holiday on Wednesday May 30th.

On May 30th 1845, the Fath Al Razak docked in the Port of Spain harbour in Trinidad and Tobago with 225 adult passengers on board. The passengers were immigrants from India who had come to the British colony to work in the sugarcane plantations after the abolition of African slavery. They had spent 103 days on sea during the arduous and dangerous journey that spanned 14,000 miles (36,000 km). The immigrants were contracted for five to ten years to work in the sugarcane estates in a system that ended in 1917.

A total of 147,596 Indians came to Trinidad over a 70-year period. Although they were promised a free return passage back home, at least 75 percent of them stayed and settled in the New World colony. In many ways, they brought India to the Caribbean. They continued with their traditions of Hinduism and Islam, and eventually transformed Trinidad into a colourful cosmopolitan society with their introduction of new styles of dress, music, songs, dance, language, cuisine and customs.

Descendants of these Indian immigrants, who now comprise about half of the multi-ethnic society of the island (1.3 million), commemorate the arrival of their ancestors to these shores annually. The commemoration takes the form of prayers, speeches, songs, music, dances and plays in communal as well as public spaces. The spirit of the day is invoked at various beaches with the reenactment of the landing of the first boat-load of pioneers who gave birth to the Indian community in Trinidad. The historic day has been proclaimed a national holiday since 1994.

In most celebrations, replicas of the ship Fath Al Razak are constructed which holds the same sentimental value as the Mayflower has for Americans. At libraries, books and other reading materials are put on display. Schools engage children in art and research competitions, and in the re-construction of their respective family trees. Citizens are encouraged to collect and display old photographs and artifacts relevant to the history of Indians in the Caribbean. For the second year, the Indian Caribbean Museum at Waterloo will open its doors to the public with selected exhibits for the occasion. Its large collection includes old and antique items such as old musical instruments, agricultural objects, cooking utensils, pieces of clothing, old photographs and rare books. The Museum also houses an art gallery and a reference library

Community, national, regional and world heroes like V.S. Naipaul and Errol Sitahal. are honored. Sitahal is an actor who starred in the Hollywood films Tommy Boy (1995), A Little Princess (1995) and Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle (2004). Naipaul is a writer won almost every major literary award in English in the world and is the only Trinidadian to win the distinguished Nobel Prize for Literature in 2001. Like Emancipation Day, which is also a public holiday every August 1st, participants re-commit themselves to traditional values and celebrate their respective cultural contributions to the multi-ethnic society.

The entire month of May has been deemed as Indian Heritage Month, but May 30th holds a special historical significance. On that day, participants gather to honour their ancestors who had crossed three oceans to travel halfway around the world to reach the Caribbean. They gather to pray for their souls and to seek guidance and blessings for the future. Scholars, teachers and elders share their knowledge of the past and increase public awareness on this important aspect of the nation�s history and heritage. Speakers and writers emphasize the common experience of Indians and Africans under colonial rule, and the links between indentureship and slavery. It is a day of remembrance as well as reflection, and a time for celebration of unity in diversity. Both Indian Arrival Day and Emancipation Day demonstrate the historical similarities rather than the differences of descendants of Indians and Africans in Trinidad and Tobago.

Dr Kumar Mahabir

Chairman, Indo-Caribbean Cultural Council (ICC)

10 Swami Avenue, Don Miguel Road

San Juan, Trinidad and Tobago

West Indies

Parashakti, Homecoming and the world premiere of Riaz [by Reaz]

Thu, 10 May 2007 01:43:31 -0000

News:: Parashakti, Homecoming and the world premiere of Riaz

MENAKA THAKKAR DANCE COMPANY PREMIERES HOME SEASON AT
HARBOURFRONT AND THAKKAR CELEBRATES 65 YEARS

(Toronto, ON � April 23, 2007): The Menaka Thakkar Dance Company presents the world premiere of Riaz (2007), a brilliant new group choreography by one of Canada�s foremost Indian soloist dancers, Natasha Bakht as part of its Home Season. This Season launches the Celebration Year for Menaka Thakkar�s 65 years. The Company�s Home Season will run from Friday, May 25 th through to Sunday, May 27 th , 2007 at Premiere Dance Theatre, Harbourfront Centre, Toronto. Various other activities and events will be announced at a later date, to commemorate the Celebration Year.

Riaz , created especially for the Menaka Thakkar Dance Company, is an original work that takes classical Bharatanatyam movements and gives them a modern twist in Bakht�s own individual style. The Menaka Thakkar Dance Company will also perform a remount of Thakkar�s Parashakti (1992) and Homecoming (1996) to mark the historical development of Thakkar�s vision of contemporary choreography in Indian dance. Based on Sangam poetry from Pre-Classical Tamil culture, Homecoming is a love story about trust and faith, while Parashakti stretches the limits of Bharatanatyam dance in portraying the cycle of Creation, Sustenance, Destruction and Re-birth.

All three works are part of a cycle in itself: the development and expression of the fusion of classical Indian movements with contemporary dance movements. When Thakkar first began this development with Parashakti in 1992, she was a leader in this process among the classical artists in Toronto at the time. Thakkar is pleased to see this choreographic cycle continuing with one of her own trained dancers, Bakht, who has become known for this style of choreography.

The Menaka Thakkar Dance Company�s Celebration Year to honour Thakkar�s 65 years is also an integral part of this Home Season. Since coming to Canada, Thakkar has seen the Canadian Indian dance community grow and has been proud to be a leader in bringing Indian dance to those of the Indian community and the mainstream community.

Re: Kalanidhi Fine Arts [by Reaz]

Mon, 28 Aug 2006 04:01:50 -0000

News:: Kalanidhi Fine Arts