Dancer holds form above technique

Although Nova Bhattacharya’s heritage is East Indian, the Toronto dancer/choreographer is as Canadian as Tim Hortons.

Born in Halifax, Bhattacharya animates her dance vocabulary with an exotic mix of Indian classical dance and the modern contemporary aesthetic.

Using classical facial expressions, precise hand gestures, detailed movements and storytelling format, she brings something different to the stage, more so than any other contemporary Canadian dancer. Now Bhattacharya is featured in a one-hour performance as part of the Arden’s On Stage Series on Sunday, March 20.

In Sleight of Hand, tabla player Ed Hanley of Autorickshaw, accompanies her in four works that range from the abstract to the ritualistic.

Reviewers have described her as a woman who dances with “kick-ass” authority. “I take it as a compliment,” she laughs. “I have invested a lot of time in training and developing an artistic practise. You develop a certain attitude and as a soloist, you bring a lot of yourself and personality to any work you do. I have a certain energy and it certainly comes out.”

As a young child Bhattacharya became a disciple of acclaimed Indian dancer Menaka Thakkar, who had just moved to Toronto. But upon high school graduation, Bhattacharya was encouraged to find a more lucrative career than dancing.

She enrolled in Carleton University’s journalism program, but when the opportunity presented itself, she picked up a summer internship at RBC Dominion Securities and remained for close to a decade.

Dissatisfied with the investment world, she was hired at Dance Umbrella of Ontario, an organization that offered arts administration to small dance companies. “I was surrounded by dancers and the scales tipped towards the dance world.”

By the time she was 30, much to the chagrin of family, she jumped head first into the dance world and has never looked back. “I had benefited from other people’s performances, and I wanted to create a powerful experience for others.”

Although Bhattacharya is a soloist, many of the dances she creates are with others. In Sleight of Hand, Unspoken is a narrative story that explores the idea of things left unsaid and was created with Hanley. Related Fragments Remix and Maskura are also Hanley collaborations, whereas Sanctum is a Peggy Baker choreography that the grand dame of modern dance gifted to Bhattacharya.

Although an exotic flavour permeates Bhattacharya’s work, she reassures viewers that understanding a classical Indian dance vocabulary is unnecessary. “The core of my work is the belief in the potential for dance to stimulate emotionally, spiritually and intellectually and that doesn’t have to do with technique. It has to do with the art form.”