​​​EKAKSHARA
​DANCE CREATIONS
​Paromita Kar
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Paromita Kar is a Toronto-based dance artist, and the first to complete a PhD in Dance Studies in Canada. She is a performer of the classical Indian Odissi dance, and a student of Odissi maestro Guru Durgacharan Ranbir of Odisha, India. She is the recipient of the Lawrence Heisey Award (2009), and the Shastri Indo-Canadian Fellowship for Dance (2011-2012) for further training in classical Indian dance. She is a company dancer in Dilan Dance Company since 2011, dancing the choreographies of Kurdish, Turkish and Romani heritage under the guidance of Artistic Director Fethi Karakecili, and in the nouveau cancan troupe Saucy Tarts, performing frequently across Toronto and Montreal.
Select performances include Canadian National Exhibition, Royal Canadian Yacht Club, Lawrence Centre for the Performing Arts, TD Festival of South Asia, Toronto International Youth Dance Festival, Caf' Conc Theatre and La Salle Oscar Pearson in Montreal, the Choreography Festival in India (2012), Nuit Blanche, and the Toronto International Fringe Festival 2013 and the Horizon Series 2014 at Sampradaya Theatre . She has danced in music videos by Afghani-Canadian singer Obaid Amiri, as well as Japanese pop star Yumiko. She has also taught dance workshops in the United States and in Canada. In summer 2015, she will be performing in the Netherlands, Czech Republic, and Germany. Her personal website is paromitakar.wix.com/danseuse
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ABOUT US
Amrapali Ray
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Amrapali Ray is a Toronto-based dance artist. Born and brought up in Kuwait, she started dancing at the tender age of three. She received classical Indian dance training in Bharatnatyam and completed her Arangetram under the tutelage of Smt. Shanti Nair. She has also trained in Mohiniyattam and folk dancing. She danced competitively for a number of years, and placed third at the national-level Boogie Woogie dance competition in Kuwait in 1998. Upon moving to Canada in 2001, she has worked under choreographers such as Sukalyan Bhattacharya and Kohinoor Sen Barat of India. Select performances in Toronto include the Masala Masti Mehndi South Asian Festival, TD South Asian Festival at Gerrard Street, Terpsichore 6, Salon Noir at Nuit Blanche, Dancenette and the Eaton Theatre at the Royal Ontario Museum, and at the Gallery Upstairs in Milton and in Kitchener and Waterloo, ON. She has performed in music videos by Canadian artists Riley Wallace and Afghan-Canadian singer Obaid Amiri. Amrapali is also a highly sought-after instructor, and has taught Bollywood Dance at studios such as Roxy's Dance Studio (Vaughan, ON), and workshops throughout Toronto, Brampton, and Stouffeville, ON.
Tulika Bhattacharyya
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Currently based in Toronto, Tulika Bhattacharya trained in the classical Indian dance form of Kuchipudi under Sri Jayarama and Vanashree Rao and in the Odissi classical dance form under Guru Dibankar Kuntia, in the Mayadhar Raut style of Odissi. She has performed at venues such as Triveni Kala Kendra and India Habitat Centre in New Delhi, India and in Canada, has performed at the Canadian National Exhibition, North American Bengali Conference, Dancenette, in Kitchener and Waterloo in Ontario as well as in Montreal. She also appears as a dancer in Riley Wallace's music video.