Monsoon Festival of Performing Art celebrates South Asian arts and artists.
Shawn Conner
Karima Essa leads a Bollywood dance session Aug. 1 at 9 a.m. as part of this year’s Monsoon Festival, which runs from Aug. 1-31.Photo by Alison Wandzura /PNG
Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page.
Article content
Monsoon Festival of Performing Arts
Advertisement
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
When: Aug. 1-31
Where: Online
Info:monsoonartsfest.ca
Why would people want to get up and dance first thing on Sunday morning?
The first four or five minutes, everyones so tired, said Bollywood dance instructor Karima Essa.
But when people get energized its so much fun. Bollywood dance is a form of escapism its a way of leaving this realm and going off into the mountains, where youre wearing a sari and the wind is blowing. It allows you to go into that space and time through the music. Well be transporting people from where they are to wear they wish to be. And also working up a sweat. At the end of the day we also need to burn some calories.
Essa will lead a Bollywood Dance session Aug. 1 at 9 a.m. (registration required) as part of this years Monsoon Festival of Performing Arts. Its the first of four Sunday morning dance sessions with the festival, which celebrates South Asian arts and artists.
Advertisement
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
Other festival attractions include a concert, workshops, and panels. For the second year, all offerings are online.
Monsoon Festival producer Gurpreet Sian says that organizers scaled down this years Monsoon Festival, whicih runs from Aug, 1-31, due to digital fatigue.Photo by Pardeep Singh /PNG
South Asian Arts Society executive director and Monsoon Festival producer Gurpreet Sian says that he and the other organizers decided to do a smaller-scale version this year.
Our board and production team was feeling what you might call digital fatigue. I can feel that a little bit myself as well. We wanted to still present something and support artists in Greater Vancouver.
For the first time, two of this years workshops focus on music. In Music Review and Release Strategies (Aug. 4), Canadian musician Ishq Bector will provide feedback to up-and-coming producers. In The Score (Aug. 11), local sound designer Ruby Singh will talk about his process in working in theatre and film.
Advertisement
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
In a third workshop, Freeing Your Character (Aug. 18), Adele Noronha (Samuel: The Birth of a Prophet, The Flash) helps fellow actors breakdown scripts.
In Monsoon Music Night (Aug. 15), a collection of local groups perform separately and together. Filmed at the Cultch, the show features music from India, Africa, Japan and Cuba. Artists include Des Raj, Jaswinder Raj, Rana Dholi, Kunda Culture, Uzume Taiko, and Israel Toto Berriel and Friends.
Inaugurated last year, the Monsoon Marketplace showcases South Asian visual artists. The work is wide-ranging, said Sian. Participating artists include Sandeep Johal, Angela Aujla, Anumation, Guntaj Deep Singh, Jag Nagra, and Kiran Rai. Sandeep does some quite abstract work based in femininity. Anumation does a lot of illustration work her background is in the video game industry. Guntaj Singh does a lot of portraits.
Advertisement
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
Also returning for the second year are the dance lessons.
There are a lot of preconceived notions when it comes to dance classes on Zoom, Essa said. Besides her class, other Monsoon dance sessions include Bhangra with Vancity Dance, Gidha with NachiYay, and Song & Dance with Krystal Kiran.
But people dont have to worry about others seeing them, since everyone has their cameras off. For the most part.
I recently did a Zoom show for 900 people across the world, she said. It was like a dance celebration. Other people are logging in at different times. It was so amazing because all the cameras are off and Im by myself on the screen. Then at the very end, I asked, Would you like to turn on your camera and dance with me? And that was a really nice moment when people joined in.
So, come with a completely open mind. And leave with more than you ever imagined possible.
Share this article in your social network
Advertisement
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Sign up to receive daily headline news from the Vancouver Sun, a division of Postmedia Network Inc.
By clicking on the sign up button you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. You may unsubscribe any time by clicking on the unsubscribe link at the bottom of our emails. Postmedia Network Inc. | 365 Bloor Street East, Toronto, Ontario, M4W 3L4 | 416-383-2300
We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again
Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion and encourage all readers to share their views on our articles. Comments may take up to an hour for moderation before appearing on the site. We ask you to keep your comments relevant and respectful. We have enabled email notificationsyou will now receive an email if you receive a reply to your comment, there is an update to a comment thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information and details on how to adjust your email settings.read more
