CONGRATULATIONS LEYA OOMMEN

We were thrilled to present the Jacque Foesier Youth Dance Award to Leya Oommen at DanceWeekend’22.

Leya was nominated by Selvi Sureswaran, Artistic Director, Sri Abiramy Dance Academy and chosen by the Dance Ontario Awards Committee: Lola Ryan and Jennifer Watkins.

Leya has been training in bharatanatyam at Sri Abiramy Dance Academy for close to 12 years. She is a hardworking, talented, and vibrant youth who is also keen to add value to the community and the society by involving in social causes, requiring help and attention. From a very young age, Leya has been active in various cultural events by many organizations across GTA and the Waterloo Region. She contributes to spreading the richness of this 2000-year-old art form in a diverse place like Canada.

Trainings/Accomplishments:

  • Leya has been training in bharatanatyam at Sri Abiramy Dance Academy for close to 12 years
  • Learning nattuvangam under her teacher, Selvi Sureswaran
  • Currently taking special training under Smt Jayanthi Subramaniam from India
  • Attends trainings and workshops under Divya Shiva Sunder (in India and Canada)
  • Attended training under Smt. Savithri Jaganatha Rao (in India)
  • Attended various workshops by renowned practitioners and teachers in this field, Smt. Leela Samson, Shri VP Dhananjayan & Smt. Shanta Dhananjayan, Smt. Roja Kannan and nattuvangam workshop by Shri Madurai R Muralidaran
  • Trained under under Guru Smt. Anitha Guha (in India and US) for production staged by her in US
  • Trained under Guru Sangeeta Isvaran (in India and US) as part for production staged under her in US
  • Completed level 5 grade level exams by Annamalai University, Canada in bharatanatyam
  • She is trained in Ballet/Jazz. Attended the RAD exams for ballet conducted by Royal Academy of Dance, London, UK

Awards/Competitions:

• Selected for IndianRaga fellowship (international) for Indian classical dance – 2020. She choreographed and performed in various dance programs as part of this.
• Prize winner at the Great Indian Festival, 2021
• Overall prize winner at Navatman dance competition, 2020
• 1st place – Bharatanatyam at the NJNS competition held at NJ, US, Feb 2018 (at age 13, in 13-15 yrs category) (Won a 1hr 15 min slot to perform in Chennai, India by Karthik Fine Arts)
• Winner at the Indian Raga’s advanced classical dance competition in 2017
• 1st prize(Bharatanatyam) at age 10, in 10-14 yrs category in 2015 at Cleveland Thyagaraja Festival, international event, the largest Indian classical music and dance festival outside India
• Dance Award in recognition of ‘Having great dance quality’, for ballet/modern dance by Carousel Dance Centre, Waterloo, Canada
• Diversity Award(under 25years catergory), Tamil Cultutal Association, Region of Waterloo, 2019

From a very young age, Leya has been active in various cultural events by many organizations across GTA and the Waterloo Region. She contributes to spreading the richness of this 2000-year-old art form in a diverse place like Canada. Other than cultural events, she performs for fundraisers, charity events, temples and churches. She performed regularly for 4 years (until Covid hindered the charity event) at the Child Haven International’s charity fundraising events. She also was invited to perform at charity events to raise funds for children in Venezuela – “International Night”, held by a church at Oakville. She performed a 1 hr online repertoire for an organization called Virtual Arts for Humanity that raise funds for charity through performances. Leya has been assisting in teaching at her dance school from a very young age and continues sharing her knowledge in teaching and instilling this art to the young dancers. She has been able to encourage other kids who look up to her to learn this beautiful art with complete dedication and grow steadily. When she was in grade 5 she also choreographed and trained grade 4/5 kids of the Gujarati school in Waterloo for their school’s annual show. She performed for the annual dinner by the alumni (in Canada) of the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology. Her performance was appreciated and she was referred to as a child prodigy. By using the medium of dance and personal efforts, she is able to find ways to add value to society and connect across cultures with people. Learning and performing both western and Indian classical dances, as well as music, has helped her grow up as a balanced individual respecting her roots, understanding cultures, and learning to admire all cultures. She works with IndianRaga as an intern now and contributes to artistic initiatives.