Long Bio:

Bageshree Vaze was initially trained in the style of Bharatha Natyam in St. John’s, Newfoundland, and also trained in Hindustani (North Indian) classical vocal music with her father, Dr. Damodar Vaze. After completing her Arangetram (graduation) in Bharatha Natyam, Bageshree received a fellowship from the Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute to further her studies in India with the late Guru T.K. Mahalingam Pillai. In 1998, Bageshree began training in the North Indian classical dance style of Kathak, with the living legend Pandit Birju Maharaj and his son Jai Kishan Maharaj. As this form uses Hindustani music, she was able to relate better to the rhythmic and musical language of this style, and has felt most comfortable choreographing and performing in Kathak. As a result, much of her work in recent years has drawn from the vocabulary of Kathak. Bageshree completed a Master’s degree in Dance from York University in 2000, and her final thesis was a choreography using Kathak language.

In 2001, Bageshree also began training with renowned vocalist Veena Sahasrabuddhe, and she released a debut album, Bageshree, which combined Indian classical aesthetics with modern pop music and electronica. Bageshree was named ‘ubbharta sitara’ (rising star) by MTV India in February 2004, and the video for her single ‘Deewana’ won the 2004 Annecy, France film festival award and the 2006 ReelWorld film festival award for Outstanding Canadian Music video. The track ‘Oh Meherabaan’ was picked up for airplay on BBC radio, and her track ‘Bhakti’ was included on a compilation by the Japanese label Dakini records.

Bageshree’s second CD Tarana was a landmark album of songs composed, arranged and adapted for Kathak dance. The CD was released under the name Khanak by Times Music in India, and is used widely by dancers around the world. Popular selections include ‘Tarana,’ ‘Lucknow’s Jewel’ and ‘Vinayak.’ Music from subsequent albums Ragas and Rhythms (2012), Avatar (9) (2011) and Kalashree (2019) is disseminated through ITunes and is accessed by dancers worldwide.

Bageshree holds a Bachelor’s degree (Honours) in Journalism from Carleton University and an M.A. in Dance from York University. As a writer, Bageshree’s articles have been published in Maclean’s, The Toronto Star, Canadian Theatre Review, The Economic and Political Weekly and several other publications.  Bageshree has been mentored by eminent writers such as Shyam Selvadurai and through the Diaspora Dialogues mentoring program she is finishing the draft of her debut novel A Hidden Dance. Bageshree was a participant in BIPOC Film and TV’s 2022-23 Episodic Writers Lab and has written the pilot script for an original tv drama entitled Mythology. Bageshree strives to tell hidden and unique stories representing the Indo-Canadian experience.

In 2009, Bageshree was featured as a guest artist with the Niagara Symphony Orchestra, and in 2010, she performed at Pt. Birju Maharaj’s ‘Vasantotsav’ dance festival in New Delhi. She was also a co-recipient of the 2010 K.M. Hunter Award in Dance.  In 2014 Bageshree choreographed and performed a new work entitled ‘In My (Dis)Place,’ commissioned by the CanAsian Dance KickStart Festival. Created under the mentorship of Toronto Dance Theatre Artistic Director Christopher House, the work was premiered in April at the Dancemakers Centre for Creation, with music by Phil Strong. In 2015, Bageshree choreographed and performed in a full-evening production entitled ‘Paratopia’ from April 23-25 at the Harbourfront Centre Theatre. The production was part of the DanceWorks 2014/15 Mainstage Season and was remounted at the 2016 Canada Dance Festival in Ottawa. In 2017, productions included ‘A Canadian Dream,’ exploring ice hockey and Indo-Canadian culture, and the staging of Bageshree Vaze’s Global Bollywood at the Oakville Centre. In 2017, Opera Nova Scotia also commissioned Bageshree along with Vineet Vyas to create and perform ‘Satyam,’ excerpts of which were remounted at the Toronto Music Garden in August 2018. Under the auspices of Pratibha Arts, Bageshree launched the Diversity Dance Initiative in 2018, a shared platform model for dance artists of colour. In 2019 her production ‘A Hidden Princess’ was nominated for 3 Dora Mavor Moore Awards including Outstanding Performance by an Individual, Outstanding Sound Composition and Outstanding Production.

Bageshree is the 2022 Inaugural Dance Collection Danse Artist Researcher-in-Residence, and in May 2022 she choreographed the work ‘Anthem’ for the School of Toronto Dance Theatre. In 2022 Bageshree won the Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding Original Composition in the Dance Division for her production ‘Sadhana/Tarana.’ In 2023 her video series ‘Tarana,’ a co-production with the Aga Khan Museum, was released online featuring her choreography and performance of original music for Kathak dance. Bageshree is the Artistic Director of Pratibha Arts.

Short Bio:

Bageshree Vaze is an Indo-Canadian dance artist and musician. Raised in St. John’s, NL, Bageshree initially trained in Bharatha Natyam, and studied vocal music with her father, Damodar Vaze. She later trained in Kathak dance with Jai Kishan Maharaj in New Delhi, and studied vocal music with the renowned Veena Sahasrabuddhe. Bageshree has five CDs to her credit, including Tarana, an album of music for Indian dance, which was released in India by Times Music under the name Khanak. Bageshree holds a Bachelor’s degree (Honours) in Journalism from Carleton University and an M.A. in Dance from York University. In 2019 her production ‘A Hidden Princess’ was nominated for 3 Dora Mavor Moore Awards including Outstanding Performance by an Individual, Outstanding Sound Composition and Outstanding Production. Bageshree is the 2022 Inaugural Dance Collection Danse Artist Researcher-in-Residence, and in May 2022 she choreographed the work ‘Anthem’ for the School of Toronto Dance Theatre. In 2022 Bageshree won the Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding Original Composition in the Dance Division for her production ‘Sadhana/Tarana.’ In 2023 her video series ‘Tarana,’ a co-production with the Aga Khan Museum, was released online featuring her choreography and performance of original music for Kathak dance. Bageshree is the Artistic Director of Pratibha Arts.

For more information on Pratibha Arts’ productions and work please visit www.pratibhaarts.com