upcoming
Momentum Festival 2023
Momentum Festival 2023 is a presentation platform to showcase the diversity and richness of South Asian dance forms and provide a platform for artists to share their artistry with Canadian audiences.
The festival aims to promote cultural exchange and foster a deeper understanding and appreciation of South Asian dance and culture. Momentum Festival 2023 seeks to inspire and engage audiences, celebrate the vibrancy of South Asian dance, and create a space for artists to connect and collaborate.
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ShareSpace
With years of experience as a leader in the South Asian dance sector, we have identified several key challenges facing culturally diverse dancers, including limited resources, professional development opportunities, and performance venues. To address these issues, we are launching the ShareSpace project, an annual initiative aimed at supporting dance artists within the dance community.
As part of this initiative, we will be providing two independent culturally diverse and indigenous dance artists with 100 hours of free studio space from April - June, 2023. The ShareSpace Program is intended solely for use of studios as rehearsal and creation spaces. Our goal with this initiative is to provide valuable support to those who face unique challenges in pursuing their art, and to help create a more inclusive and equitable dance community.
Click here to apply.
Highlights
Mandala | India Tour
The dance production "Mandala" recently completed a successful tour of India, with performances held in major cities including Delhi, Mumbai, Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Bengaluru, and Kolkata between December 16, 2022, and January 1, 2023. The show, which featured a blend of Bharatanatyam and Kathak, was met with rave reviews from audiences. The talented cast and crew were praised for their skillful execution of the choreography and the stunning visual effects that were used to bring the performance to life. The tour was a huge success and solidified "Mandala" as one of the most exciting dance productions.
Click here to read the press articles.
About Us
Dance Creations
Sampradaya Dance Creations is an award-winning Canadian professional dance company specializing in creating and producing classical and contemporary dance works rooted in the South Asian dance form of Bharatanatyam. Sampradaya's strength lies in its pursuit of excellence by creating a stunning range of solo and ensemble works that are infused with the creativity of Indian dance vocabularies and inspiring audiences with its innovative approaches to traditional movement.
Sampradaya Dance Creations maintains a strong presence in the Canadian dance scene through its national tours and festival participation. Sampradaya Dance Creations has toured across Canada and internationally to India, the United States, Indonesia and Ireland.
Programming
Lata Pada, Founder
Dancer, Choreographer, Teacher & Cultural Consultant, Lata Pada is recognized as one of Canada’s leading artists and arts advocates. An award-winning artist, she holds the distinction of being the first South Asian artist to receive the prestigious national honor of the Order of Canada in 2009. In January 2011, she was awarded the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman by the President of India. In 2012, she was honored with the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for her contribution to the community as a Canadian citizen. More recently, Lata was inducted into the 2013 Inaugural Mississauga Legend’s Row as well as being named one of the Most Influential Individuals of the City of Mississauga.
As the Founder of Sampradaya Dance Creations, Lata’s choreographic vision is compelled by her desire to redefine bharatanatyam in the ‘here and now’ as it navigates new and uncharted territory resulting in a stunning range of solos, ensemble works and multi-disciplinary productions.
Lata has trained under India’s eminent gurus Kalaimamani Kalyanasundaram and Padmabhushan Kalanidhi Narayanan. Originally from Bangalore, India, she has made Canada her home since 1964. She holds an MFA in Dance from York University and is an Adjunct Professor in their Graduate Program.
“Her clear direction in dance makes her one of the few who can successfully translate a thousand-year-old tradition into 21st century realities “
Toronto star