Indian performing arts find a new home

Ravi Singh would like to make indian performing arts more relevant to today’s young Indo-Canadians.

At the newly acquired Indo-Canadian Arts and Cultural Centre on St. Mary’s Road, Singh believes he finally has the means in which to do so.

“This centre will allow us to raise an awareness of classical Indian music, dance, art and literature, particularly to young people of Indian origins, but also the community at large” said Singh, co-founder of the new centre.

Creating a centre for the arts has been a high priority for Winnipeg’s Indo-Canadian community, and the new centre’s founders believe it will provide the community with a cultural hub.

“Having this building will give us a greater focus on the arts and culture and it will make a great contribution to the cultural mosaic,” said Hollis Singh, founding member.

“We hope to create some synergies out of this and get our young people involved.”

The doors to the centre will open for the first time on May 3, for the Gharana Arts production of Inspiration from Tradition: An interactive presentation of Indian classical arts.

“What we want to do is demonstrate the Indian art form and link where the tradition breaks and the inspiration begins,” said Ravi Singh, president of Gharana Arts.

“It is not simply ‘Here is the art form as it was 300 years ago,’ but rather ‘Here is how it is done traditionally and here is how it is evolving and changing.’”

Ravi Singh says the Indian arts need to be presented in a way that will be acceptable to a younger generation of people with Indian origins who live in a multicultural society

“Many of them have lost touch with their roots, so we want to raise awareness of Indian traditions and celebrate the linkages between classical traditions and their current cultural environment,” Singh said.

“For example, in the kathak dance, there will be many times we recite stories surrounding it.

“One is about Niagara Falls, where the sound of the Falls will be imitated through the dancers footsteps and through the sound of the drums.

“This is something the audience can find commonality with.”

Ravi Singh says there will be free workshops for arts students from the universities as well as other dance studios from across the city.

“During the concert there will be a lecture component in which the artists will interact with the audience, explaining what we are playing and why,” Singh said.

“They will discover how the the traditional dance of kathak has very much influenced other dance forms. such as tap and flamenco.”

For tickets to the May 3 performance or to register for vocal, tabla or kathak workshops call 254-1207.

The Indo-Canadian Arts Centre is located at 479 St. Mary’s Rd.