MANOHAR
ma·no·har (Sanskrit) | mə - nō ‘ - hər
~ To Capture The Mind ~
Manohar Performing Arts of Canada has been capturing audiences’ imaginations since 1991 with its unique synthesis of dance and drama. Run as a Winnipeg-based, Indian classical dance collective – by dancers and for dancers – we integrate Bharatanatyam and Kathak into the contemporary Canadian dance scene. We value collective creation, technical excellence, creative energy, and a healthy approach to the body as an artistic instrument. Manohar’s productions are written, designed and choreographed by the artists of the company.
"We are storytellers. We want the audience to be carried by the dance, poetry, music and drama, to see through the story to reach its bare emotional heart. At the end of all the movement there is a crystalline moment, when nobody moves, but when the ideas carried by the movement have the greatest reality. That’s what drives us to create."
- Interview, Sowmya and Shyamala Dakshinamurti, Dance Current magazine, 2011
The Space We Dance In
Wherever we dance, we do bhoomi pranam, a salutation to the earth we dance upon. In Winnipeg, that is on Treaty 1 territory, original lands of Anishinaabeg, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota, and Dene peoples, and homeland of the Métis Nation. All Manohar projects on traditional Indigenous lands honour the peoples who came before us; we see the intersections of our many traditions, and present our dance in a spirit of kinship.