Congratulations to Bageshree Vaze, the inaugural DCD Artist Researcher-in-Residence!
Dance Collection Danse (DCD) announced that Bageshree Vaze will be DCD’s first Artist Researcher-in-Residence. This year-long residency will support Ms. Vaze’s research into the history of South Asian dance in Newfoundland and Labrador, particularly in St. John’s. She will receive full access to DCD’s collection and will also be given research support to find relevant materials within other heritage organizations.
Using a mixture of oral history gathering and archival documents, Ms. Vaze anticipates that her research will feed into the development of a new creation/production in 2023. The residency comes with a $2500 award to support Ms. Vaze’s research time.
DCD Executive and Curatorial Director, Amy Bowring, comments, “We are delighted to be able to support historical research as a point of inspiration for new performance work. Applicants submitted many exceptional ideas but Bageshree’s proposal really resonated with us for its clear plan and for the importance of encouraging new research. The dance stories of Canada are as diverse as the people who live here; we are therefore thrilled to support Bageshree in her research journey to bring more South Asian dance stories to the forefront.”
On receiving the award, Ms. Vaze stated, “I am thrilled and honoured to be DCD’s inaugural Artist Researcher-in-Residence. I look forward to working with the DCD team and having their support towards this project that aims to redress colonialism and the erasure of non-white bodies in Canadian dance history.”
Bageshree Vaze holds a Bachelor of Journalism (Honours) from Carleton University, and a Master’s in Arts (Dance) from York University. She has studied forms of Classical Indian Dance to include Bharata Natyam, Kuchipudi, and Kathak with many respected teachers in India, beginning in 1980 with Menaka Thakkar in St. John’s, NL. From 1986 to the present, Ms. Vaze has also received Hindustani vocal music training from various teachers, including her late father, Dr. Damodar Vaze. Ms. Vaze has performed and created works for theatres, cultural centres, and institutes in Canada and internationally in India and the U.S. Her recordings for dance such as ‘Tarana’ are used for performance and teaching by dancers around the world. Bageshree is the Artistic Director of Pratibha Arts in Toronto.