Bageshree Vaze Paratopias
Friday, October 2nd (with talkback) & Saturday October 3rd | 7:30 PM
Runtime: 70 minutes
Dalhousie Arts Centre – Dunn Theatre
Co-presented with
Accommodations sponsor
Born in Pune, India but raised in St. John’s, NL, Bageshree Vaze is an Indo-Canadian dance artist, musician, and writer. Bageshree initially trained in Bharatha Natyam at the St. John’s Hindu Temple, and studied vocal music with her father, Damodar Vaze. She later trained in India on scholarships with some of the foremost masters of Indian classical dance and music – Bageshree studied Kathak dance with Jai Kishan Maharaj in New Delhi, and studied vocal music with the renowned Veena Sahasrabuddhe. As a vocalist and composer, Bageshree has 6 CDs to her credit, including Tarana, an album of music for Indian dance, which was released in India by Times Music under the name Khanak. In 2004, Bageshree was named an MTV India ‘rising star’ and in 2010, she was awarded the K.M. Hunter Award in Dance. Bageshree has a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism from Carleton University and a Master’s in Dance from York University. In 2022, Bageshree was named Dance Collection Danse’s inaugural Artist Researcher-in-Residence. Bageshree is the 2022 co-recipient of the Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding Original Sound Composition in the Dance Division.
Paratopias
‘Paratopia’ means an alternate reality. Paratopias combines Kathak and Tabla rhythmic language, Bharatha Natyam aesthetics, original music by Bageshree Vaze and Vineet Vyas, and video narrative to pay homage to the St. John’s Hindu Temple in which Bageshree Vaze first discovered Indian dance. The Temple was and continues to be a space of gathering and inspiration to empower the Indo-Canadian community to help navigate what it means to be Canadian. Choreographed and performed by Bageshree Vaze alongside a team of stellar music and dance artists, Paratopias is a counter-vision to the commonly accepted and perpetuated white, Eurocentric narrative of Newfoundland’s cultural and dance history. In a world where wars continue to rage over land, nationality, religion, and identity, Paratopias celebrates the inspiring possibilities of an inclusive and diverse world.