Event Info
Jashan: A Night of South Asian Performance Art: Vidyasagar Vankayala , Lasya Vankayala , Sayenden Supramaniyom , Kowmaran Ranjithanathan , BPM
Featuring Performances by:
Bass Poetry Music, Jawani Bhangra, Vidya Kotamraju, ...
7:00pm - 10:00pm
Event Description
Featuring Performances by:
Bass Poetry Music, Jawani Bhangra, Vidya Kotamraju, Daksh ft. Naqsh, Trisha Rampersad, Sitara Thobani and Vidyasagar Vankayala
Artist Info:
Vidyasagar Vankayala hails from a family of musicians. His father and elder brother are noted Mridangam vidwans in India. Steeped in Carnatic music since age 6, Vidyasagar continued his vocal training for 15 years, in a very formal, rigorous and highly demanding system of learning. He won the gold medal for Carnatic vocal music for 3 consecutive years in the Inter Collegiate music festivals. He is also the recipient of the gold medal from Visakha Music Academy. He has been introduced to Hindustani and Drupad music during his student days at IIT Bombay. Since moving to Vancouver in 1996, Vidyasagar has been active in promoting Carnatic music in the lower mainland. He is the founder president of Vancouver SaPaSa, a non-profit society for promoting Carnatic Music and Dance. Vidyasagar has given many concerts in Canada, US and India. He has performed for Vancouver Sacred Music Festival, Victoria Sacred Music Festival, and Caravan World Rhythms Showcase. Vidyasagar performed at Utsav 2005 festival in Seattle sponsored by Ragamala and Seattle Townhall. Vidyasagar regularly offers several lecture demonstrations and music appreciation workshops to several local communities. He is a sought-after teacher with over 20 students and collaborators working with him on Carnatic Music.
Vidyasagar will be accompanied by Lasya Vankayala on vocals, Sayenden Supramaniyom on mridangam and Kowmaran Ranjithanathan on ghatam.
Trisha Rampersad Born in South Africa, Trisha Rampersad has been dancing since the age of four. Over the years she has been involved with Bharatanatyam and Kathak Dance. However, when she immigrated to Canada with her family, she found her love for dance in Kathak. Trisha has studied with the Nritya Manjaree School of Kathak Dance for nine years, under the direction of Mrs. Madhu Khare. In August of 2004, she performed “Nrityangan,” a graduation performance, earning her the title of “Nrityamani.” Since then, she has been involved with many performances and community events in British Columbia. Her passion lies in the fusion of the various dance forms, as she believes that there is truth within art. “Dance, this almost spiritual movement, transcends all boundaries we mere humans have inflicted upon this Earth. It frees the soul and fuels the spiritual journey.” Trisha is proud to be a part of this great dance tradition that is Kathak, and hopes to share this classical art with the future generations.
Jawani Bhangra Team is an independent, all-girls bhangra team from Vancouver, BC. Founded in May 2004, it consists of dancers from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds. Bhangra enables the expression of tradition, creativity, and passion. Jawani Bhangra is currently entering its 3rd successful competition season, and strives to convey these elements to every audience member. The girls dance for the pure of love of bhangra and are proud to represent Indian culture through this vibrant dance form.
BPM (Bass Poetry Music) is a dirty fusion of hip hop, bhangra and dancehall. "Banyen Roots, they dig deep down. Sounds of the underground; bound to the rhythm, bounce to this vision. Indian origins, organic instrumentalists, beat scientists..."Tarun Nayar of Delhi 2 Dublin and Beats Without Borders juggles beats on turntables and palpitates rhythms on tabla; he has a reputation for making dancing irresistible. Nadia Chaney scales tall lyrics in a cynical bound, wrapping words like bondage. She brings the boisterous, magnetic combination of MC, poet and cultural activist. Rupinder Sidhu illuminates the stage with his combustible presence, verbal currency, and fly hype jet engines. He is BPM's primary beatsmith.
Sitara Thobani began training in Odissi under the tutelage of Dr. Ratna Roy in 1997. She has also undertaken intensive training in India at the esteemed Nrityagram dance school and with leading choreographers in Bhubaneswar, Orissa. Sitara has performed at many cultural and art events in Canada, the United States, India, Tanzania, and England. She completed her solo debut Rangapravesh performance in Vancouver, British Columbia in August 2005. Sitara has since received a Canada Arts Council Grant for Emerging Dance Professionals (2005), a Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute scholarship for intensive dance training (2006-07) and a British Columbia Arts Council grant for dance production (2007). Her performance highlights include the Second and Third International Odissi Conferences (Washington, DC, 2003; Bhubaneswar, Orissa, 2006), the Mahari Festival (Bhubaneswar, 2007) and her solo productions of Arpan (London, 2006) and Sthayi (Vancouver, 2007).
Vidya Kotamraju began her bharatanatyam training with Sheila Kumar inIndia. She has been training under Jai Govinda for over four years andgraduated in 2007. In Vancouver, Kotamraju has performed notably for MandalaArts and Culture and the Scotiabank Dance Centre. Kotamraju is a computerengineer in the video-game industry.
Daksh has reached new heights with his performance of his own "Bachpan ki Kahani" and Atif Aslam's "Woh Lamhe" at the Aye Mausam - JoSH concert in Vancouver in May 2007 where he did the opening act for JoSH. Besides being an amazing singer, Daksh is also a dancer with the Academy of Cre8ive Arts. He performs with Imran Habib on lead guitar, Irfan Lawrence on base guitar and Aman Tohan on drums, and together they comprise Naqsh. The band has opened for the internationally renowned band Junoon, and recently closed for Vancouver Celebrates Diwali 2008. Their music combines Hindi and Urdu rock, with a hint of Sufi music and classic rock.
In-Person Event
Tue. November 23rd 2010 + Add to Calendar
Massey Theatre
