Menaka Thakkar, Who Runs A Dance Academy In Canada, Has Been Promoting Indian Culture Abroad For 50 Years
Menaka Thakkar’s theosophist father Bhanuchandra nurtured the dream that she would become a doctor one day. And she indeed lived up to his expectations — becoming a doctor of the traditional dance for ms of Bharat Natyam, Kuchipudi and Odissi. Thakkar has been running an art academy in Toronto for the past 40 years. She has recently started a novel project with the Canadian government’s grant to promote Indian classical dance and Indian culture.
“Under this project, Indian classical dance centres run by my students in the US, the UK and Canada are linked online,” says Thakkar who is one of few artistes to use state-of-the-art technology to promote Indian classical dance forms across the globe. “The link helps us impart dance training to students at these affiliated centres abroad.”
Preserving Indian classical dance for ms and promoting them abroad is Thakkar’s avowed mission. So a new means to share timeless traditions with the modern world has pleased her. Thakkar, who has been honoured with the titles of Singarmani Bharatnatyam and Sing ar mani Odissi, is one o f t h e few cultural figures to have been invited by Canada to stay per manently in Toronto. Honouring the invitation, Thakkar founded a dance academy in Toronto — Nrtuyakala — some 40 ago and was conferred an honorary doctorate by York University for mastering Indian traditional dance forms.
Thakkar began initial training under her elder sister Sudha T hakkar and noted dancer Anjali Medh at her residence in Mumbai. At the time, she was only four years old. Later, she evolved into an artiste with a formal degree in dance forms from JJ School of Arts. Thakkar’s mentor is the Odissi legend, the late Kelucharan Mahapatra.
Thakkar has been bestowed with many prestigious international titles and awards, including Japan’s Asian Cultural Prize, Traditional Creative Residency Award of Canada, Art of Toronto, and Face and Art Award.
Thakkar has choreographed dance compositions like Geet Govind, Sitaayan, Parashakti, Moods of Mor ning, Space and Rhythm, Karna-Kunti, Farewell of Heaven, and Mahi Madhav. “These are experimental compositions that retain pure aesthetics of classical dance forms,” she says.
