Menaka Thakkar

Menaka Thakkar (born March 3, 1942) is an Indo-Canadian dancer, choreographer, and teacher who specializes in Indian classical dance. Based in Toronto, Ontario, Thakkar has taught and performed across Canada and around the world. She was awarded Canada's Governor General's Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement in 2013.

Menaka Thakkar
Born(1942-03-03)March 3, 1942
Mumbai, India
OccupationDancer
Choreographer
Instructor
Home townToronto, Ontario, Canada
Current groupMenaka Thakkar Dance Company

Early life and education

Thakkar was born in Mumbai, India, on March 3, 1942.[1] In Mumbai, Madras, and Cuttack, she completed training in Indian classical dance (including Bharatanatyam, Odissi, and Kuchipudi styles).[1] She earned an undergraduate degree in visual arts in 1963.[1]

Thakkar performed as a soloist in India.[2] She travelled to Canada in 1972 to visit her brother and to perform.[1] She decided to settle in the country the following year,[1] joining her brother and sister in Toronto.[3]

Career

Teaching

Thakkar founded Nrtyakala: The Canadian Academy of Indian Dance in Toronto in 1974.[1][4] For a decade, she taught dance intensives across Canada.[1] She also taught a course in Indian dance as an adjunct professor at York University in Toronto.[1][2] Thakkar was credited in the Ottawa Citizen for "singlehandedly craft[ing] a whole generation of South Asian dancers in Canada".[3]

Performance and choreography

In 1984, Thakkar founded the Menaka Thakkar Dance Company, based in Toronto.[1] As a dancer and choreographer, she has toured North America and internationally.[5] One early piece, a solo interpretation of the poem Gita Govinda, earned positive critical reviews in Canadian media when it debuted in the 1970s.[6][7] She performed the piece for over 25 years.[8]

She has also experimented with novel interpretations of Indian dance traditional styles.[9] For East Meets West, she collaborated with choreographer Robert Desrosiers to blend traditional Indian and Western dance styles.[5]

Awards and honours

Thakkar earned an honorary Doctor of Letters degree from York University in 1993.[1]

In 2012, Thakkar won the Canada Council Walter Carsen Prize for Excellence in the Performing Arts.[10] In 2013, she was awarded the Governor General's Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement in Dance.[1]

References
  1. Crabb, Michael (2012-12-25). "Menaka Thakkar". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  2. Miliokas, Nick (2006-05-25). "Thakkar's work explores creation and destruction". The Leader-Post. p. 25. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  3. Rowe, Andrea (2001-02-08). "A lifetime of dance". The Ottawa Citizen. p. 64. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  4. Mortin, Jenni (1993-10-14). "Indian dancer bridges two cultures". Star-Phoenix. p. 12. Retrieved 2020-05-26.
  5. Pilon, Bernard (1993-10-25). "The dance of a lifetime". The Leader-Post. p. 28. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  6. Lyon, George W. (1979-05-12). "Thakkar dance brings to life erotic sprituality of a poem". Calgary Herald. p. 52. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  7. Francis, Ruth (1976-05-26). "Sensitive portrayal by dancer". The Ottawa Journal. p. 70. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  8. "Dance | Today". The Vancouver Sun. 2009-05-16. p. 70. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  9. Crabb, Michael (2009-01-27). "A traditional art form upended". National Post. p. 19. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  10. "Indian dancer captures $30,000 prize". Times Colonist. 2012-09-01. p. 21. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
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