Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Reflecting back on 2013..

On the eve of the new year, I'm sitting back and reflecting on my 2013, and I realize that its been a rather nice year. These are a few of my memorable times/ moments this year:

1) Spending time, performing and rehearsing with my dance sisters from Ekakshara Dance Creations- there were so much of this that I find it difficult to think of one particular episode. We've done so many classes, performances, and workshops. However, I think for me personally, the most memorable one was our performance at Caledon, ON  in January 2013. It was the first time that all of us were able to be in one location together. I have delightful memories  with these awesome ladies, and it truly feels like a family.

My dance community in Toronto infact often feels like my family away from home, and on this note, I must mention Fethi Karakecili, Iana Komarnytska, and Ariane of Obskurah- I've shared much dancing joy and adventures, as well as fond memories with each of them.

2) My solo show ("Corpus Matris") at Toronto Fringe Festival (July 2013): This was definitely one of the highlights of my year, and I will probably dedicate an entire post to this experience sometime soon. I have  found the Toronto Fringe to be highly supportive of all its artists. This was a great adventure, and I had a great  team with me throughout the Fringe run (Stage Manager Nicole MacKinnon, Assistant Stage Manager Renee-Claude Gratton, and Lighting Designer Parker Nowlan, and the wonderful technicians at Theatre Passe-Muraille Mainspace).

3) Defending my doctoral dissertation (December 2013): The dissertation has been the culmination of the last few years of my research on history of the stylistic lineage of late Guru Debaprasad Das. Defending this dissertation and reaching towards the final completion of this made the whole journey feel like it has come full circle.  I'm still working on the last few revisions towards the dissertation, which I hope to complete within the next few weeks.

4) Seeing much of my family over summer (August 2013): I do not get to see my family from India often and I was happy to see so many of them in one place this summer- I saw my maternal grandmother, my cousins on my mom's side, uncle (my dad's brother) and cousin, whom I hadn't seen since my trip to Odisha on the Shastri scholarship.

5) Finally, this post would not be complete if I didn't mention the wonderful roadtrip to Bluefield, WV with my significant other. Or for that matter, the many hours spent in watching movies, tv episodes and the entire run of Battlestar Galactica, attending weddings,  cooking delicious meals throughout the whole of this year. I used the term "significant other," but "boyfriend" would be equally applicable here. I have a wonderful and extremely supportive boyfriend  and I feel incredibly lucky for this. The times spent with him and his family have been truly memorable and have been greatly responsible for making this year as wonderful as it has been.

On the whole, I think this year has been a good year. It has been active, artistically and academically stimulating, and I've met wonderful new people, learned exciting new dance languages, and I end the year with a good feeling. I wish everyone a safe, joyous and successful 2014.

Monday, December 23, 2013

December thus far..

Just a little update on my December 2013 so far:

1) PhD Defense!: I successfully defended my PhD Dissertation, titled "The Debaprasad Das Lineage: Reconsidering the Narrative of Classical Indian Odissi Dance History" on December 13th, in the Dance Department at York University. Yes, on Friday the 13th! The defense was scheduled for 9:30 am on a Friday morning, and we received heavy snow that morning.  I have to admit, I was nervous and jittery for it, and hadn't slept the night before. As I walked into the room for the defense that morning, I realized that it was the same room as I had had my first class ever in Dance Ethnography back in 2006. It was a good feeling.

The defense went well, and the 2.5 hours didn't feel that long at all. This was the first doctoral defense in Dance in the department, the university, and also, I believe, in Canada. It was wonderful to be finished, and we had a lovely lunch at the department afterwards.

2) Reh'ma Intercultural Diversity Festival:  I performed at this event, held at the Noor Cultural Centre, exactly a week prior to my defense. I was happy to get away and dance for a bit, and truly enjoyed performing for this wonderful event and also watching the other performances here. I performed my Khalbeliya solo, as well as two pieces choreographed by Zingari Alejandra Garcia, whose unique choreographies engaged in dialoguing various genres with flamenco I hope to write about sometime soon.