Most recently I registered our art collective, Laya Art Collective, to become a BIPOC artist-in-residence at Halifax Dance. This opportunity comes with 100 hours of free studio space for the collective to grow its activities and scope of its work. Since deciding to leave my job in November to become a full-time artist, it has been a rollercoaster. Until early April I was fortunate to have contract after contract doing what I loved. Since then, the opportunities that I have applied for have not come through. I found myself feeling like a complete loser quite honestly. This came with one of the biggest lessons. When opportunities are not given, you need to CREATE them…you need to find a way to keep moving.
On May 9th, I took advantage of the free hours at Halifax Dance to invite collaborators into the studio to just CREATE. This reaffirmed my belief in the magic of art…it reaffirmed my belief in the power of process. I recently realized that as interested as I am in the product of the performing arts, I am equally interested in the process. I am interested in how to bring folks from diverse backgrounds…diverse in body, diverse in technique, diverse in upbringing…bring them together. This day was special because I was able to do just that.
My first collaborator was Japhy Sullivan. Japhy and I met at the Creative Music Workshop in the summer of 2024. Japhy is a gifted fiddle player. Japhy grew-up in Eastern Ontario honing her skills in local fiddle orchestras and family bands. Japhy also ran a free improvisation collective in Montreal. In our studio session we improvised together. The jig became an interesting point of collaboration.
The second two collaborators I invited into the studio that day were Janani Krishnan and Marrin Jessome. Janani is an Indian Classical dancer in the style of Bharatanatyam. I met Janani at Nova Multifest in 2024. Janani and I also take a course online together with Vithya Arasu in the Karanas. Marrin is a contemporary dancer that I have crossed paths with many times in Halifax, having seen her perform at Kinetic Open Studio Series and the Halifax Central Library as part of Spring Blooms for Mocean. It was exciting to work with two dancers, both skilled, from completely different dance backgrounds. Japhy stayed behind to accompany Marrin as she led Janani and I through a contemporary warm-up. Then we explored the polyrhythms of Indian Classical dance through footwork. We also explored animal-like Karanas.
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