Join Irma Villafuerte and host, Neena Jayarajan, for an hour filled with dance, discoveries and connection.

Irma Villafuerte is a Tkaronto-based dance artist, educator, emerging choreographer, and first-generation daughter of refugees from Nahuat Territory Kuskatan, post-colonial El Salvador.

As a Latin American woman, her passion for social justice and human rights is the driving force for creation in Irma’s choreographic and performance work. She is a dance instructor at Casa Maiz’ Semillas Latinas program for Latin American children; in 2019, she joined the faculty of the theatre department at Randolph College for the Performing Arts.

This is a FREE series presented by TO Live and Nova Dance.

TUES DEC 12 @ 12PM
Greenwin Theatre, Meridian Arts Centre
In-Person

WED DEC 13 @ 3PM
Lower Lobby of Meridian Hall
In-Person and Online Livestream

Join Candace Kumar and host, Dainty Smith, for an hour filled with dance, discoveries and connection.

Candace Kumar is a Filipino/Indo-Fijian dance artist based in Toronto. She has trained in ballet, contemporary, jazz-funk, hip hop, folk dance and more. She specializes in contemporizing cultural dance forms to reimagine traditional culture from the diaspora. Candace collaborates with musicians such as A La Una and Han Han as a performer and choreographer, creating Filipino-contemporary works.

Candace will be sharing a series of Pangalay dances. Pangalay is the fingernail dance performed by communities in the Sulu Archipelago in the southern Philippines. The movements are slow and meditative, imitating the ocean currents in the Sulu Sea. Participants are invited to join in and connect with breath, slowly moving through the body as if in the ocean.

This is a FREE series presented by TO Live and Nova Dance.

TUES NOV 21 @ 12PM
Greenwin Theatre, Meridian Arts Centre
In-Person

WED NOV 22 @ 3PM
Lower Lobby of Meridian Hall
In-Person and Online Livestream

Join Samantha Schleese, Mel Hart and host, Dainty Smith, for an hour filled with dance, discoveries and connection.

SaMel Tanz is a Toronto based dance collective established in 2015. Samantha Schleese and Melissa Hart, both versatile and experienced dance artists, founded SaMel Tanz to share stories through a unique fusion of Contemporary movement and techniques with Street and Latin influences. Mel Hart is also a fellow Svāhā! cast member!

This is a FREE series presented by TO Live and Nova Dance.

TUES SEPT 12 @ 12PM
Studio Theatre of Meridian Arts Centre
In-Person

WED SEPT 13 @ 3PM
Lower Lobby of Meridian Hall
In-Person and Online Livestream

Dive into Deep End Week: Rest and Reflection at the Theatre Centre! Together, among a community of artists, we will explore various forms of rest and engage in intentional reflection on the recent past. Join us for captivating sessions with Artistic Director Nova Bhattacharya, body care workshops with Neena Jayarajan, enlightening guest speakers, and therapeutic art facilitation with Rachel Robbins. Don't miss this unique opportunity to spend a gentle week in community and nurture your artistic growth.

*60% of registration spots will be held for those who self-identify as Persons of Colour/mixed-race, Black or Indigenous.

Dates:
Tuesday, August 15 - Sunday, August 20, 2023

Location:
The Theatre Centre (1115 Queen Street West)

Times:
Full day option: 10:00am-5:00pm
Half day option: 2:00pm-5:00pm
Morning drop-in option: 10:00am-1:00pm

Nova Dance's latest production, Svāhā!, is headed to Vancouver! Catch the show at Vancouver Playhouse this summer!

Co-presented with DanceHouse, Indian Summer Festival and SFU Woodward’s Cultural Programs

Inspired by women building community through acts of celebration, mourning and worship, Nova Dance uses the universal language of movement to gather people together in synchronous experience.

In addition to a cast of more than 20 performers from almost 30 different dance traditions – everything from Bharatnatyam to Butoh, as well as ballet, jazz and salsa, Svāhā! features local artists in an opening invocation that accompanies the performances. From this experience of communion and solidarity comes a work brimming with life, colour, and revelry of every hue.

Svāhā!
July 14 & 15, 2023 | 8pm
Vancouver Playhouse (600 Hamilton Street)
Running time: 55 minutes (no intermission)

Join Dainty Smith and host, Nova Bhattacharya, for an hour filled with dance, discoveries and connection.

Discover Dance is an hour-long tour into the creative minds of highly skilled movement makers – you can ask questions, share your responses, or simply observe. Whether you join us in person or on-line, Discover Dance is free and fun for all ages.

We’re kicking things off by putting the spotlight on burlesque queen extraordinaire Dainty Smith. Dainty’s been a featured artist and she’s been hosting Discover Dance, so we wanted to take this opportunity to get to know her as a mover and maker. Nova Bhattacharya will be hosting and trust us, you’re in for a treat. Dainty and Nova, and Tina Turner cover tunes of Led Zeppelin and The Beatles! A rock’n’roll good time for all.

This is a FREE series presented by TO Live and Nova Dance.

APRIL 4 @ 12PM
Studio Theatre, Meridian Arts Centre
In-Person

APRIL 5 @ 12PM
Lower Lobby of Meridian Hall
In-Person and Online

TORONTO, WORLD PREMIERE

September 16 & 17, 2022
Show Time : 8:00pm
Lobby Opens : 7:00pm

September 18, 2022
Show Time : 2:00pm
Lobby Opens : 1:00pm

Bluma Appel Theatre St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts
Address: 27 Front Street E, Toronto, Ontario, ON, M5E 1B4
Phone: (416) 366-7723 | 1-800-708-6754
Email: boxoffice@tolive.com

Svāhā! is a celebration of dance as a revitalizing ritual that brings us closer together. It is an offering of movement, music, colours and sensations.

Created by award-winning Nova Bhattacharya, Svāhā! embodies the transformative power of dance, expressing the uniqueness of the individual and the value of community. Dancers surrender themselves, sparking the imagination, conveying a range of thoughts and sensations through movement and creating rhythm with their entire beings.

With a cast of over 20 performers selected from a diversity of dance forms and cultural backgrounds, Svāhā! brings differences together in a collage of moving images, offering metaphors, recitation, pulsating rhythms and intense emotions, revelling in simplicity and embracing complexity, Svāhā! asks, how can we be better together?

Join Irma Villafuerte and host, Dainty Smith, for an hour filled with dance, discoveries and connection.

Irma Villafuerte is a Tkaronto based dance artist, educator, emerging choreographer and first-generation daughter of refugees from Nahuat Territory Kuskatan, post-colonial El Salvador. She is vibrant, thoughtful and thoroughly engaging!

This is a FREE series presented by TO Live and Nova Dance.

AUGUST 16 @ 12PM
Greenwin Theatre, Meridian Arts Centre
In-Person

AUGUST 17 @ 12PM
Lower Lobby of Meridian Hall
In-Person and Online

NOVA DANCE X JAMII, LIVE OUTSIDE!

July 15 & 16 - 11:30 AM - 2:30 PM EST

Join us at David Crombie Park for a special edition of Discover Dance presented in partnership with Jamii and TO Live. There will be music, dance, conversation, henna and much more. Nova, will discuss the process of artistic creation, with a focus on her new work Svāhā!, set to premiere September 16, 2022. Together, we will explore the themes of intersection, identity and hybridity.