A recording of the April 1, 2022 livestream is available here.

Choreographic Statement from Atri Nundy

Mindful Chatter is a trio that explores connectivity based in Bharatanatyam technique. This was my first experience choreographing a group work that relied heavily on collaboration with the dancers. Rachana Joshi, Purawai Vyas and Nithya Garg were essential to the work. They brought in their knowledge, their curiosities, their energy and poured it all into the piece. This work started with a thoughtful chat with Brandy Leary and Nithya. I was curious to understand how Bharatanatyam dancers connected with one another in group choreography. I wanted to create a piece with Bharatanatyam dancers that prioritized their connection as dancers and then inviting the viewer into the experience. My interest in rhythm is the basis for many of the sequences. These dancers have an innate ability to hold rhythm in their bodies and I took this opportunity to play with this skill.

This work has changed from its inception and it took me a long time to acknowledge the change and accept it. The creation process took place through a time when it was difficult to physically connect with one another. And as we put the time of isolation behind us, this work is a way for me to re-enter and reconnect with the world.

About Contemporaneity

Contemporaneity is a development and presenting series examining questions of the contemporary in dance. It focuses on artists who work in a contemporary context in forms and lineages that exist outside of the European/North American traditions of concert dance. It understands that a healthy cultural ecology requires a multiplicity of aesthetics and discourse for the evolving contemporary in dance and aims to contribute an infrastructure that is inclusive, critical, contextual and transformative.

Contemporaneity was developed in 2017 by Soraya Peerbaye and Brandy Leary through the catalyst support of the Toronto Arts Council’s Open Door program. To date it has supported 12 artists, all of which have received further supported development, presentation and touring. We are particularly grateful to the Canadian Heritage Foundation for its support of this fourth iteration.