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May 2002

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Internationally acclaimed for her excellence in Bharatanatyam, Lata Pada is recognised as a leading dance artist whose lifelong involvement with dance covers an impressive spectrum of performance, choreography and teaching. Lata's solo dance recitals have revealed a distinctive style, described as "classicism with an individual stamp of creativity."

Originally from Bangalore, India, Lata Pada has made Canada her home for thirty-seven years. She was trained under the renowned Kalaimamani Guru Kalyanasundaram and Padmabhushan Kalanidhi Narayanan.

Lata Pada’s first home in Canada was in the remote mining township of Thompson, Manitoba. As the only woman of South Asian origin in her community, Lata embraced the opportunity to learn about Canadian lifestyles and traditions by becoming active in numerous community groups. In turn, she gave dance performances and lectures on the culture and performing arts of India. She has brought great cultural enrichment to both Canada and the world as a dancer, choreographer, teacher, lecturer and a pioneer of South Asian dance.

Over her remarkable dance career, Lata Pada has performed more than six hundred concerts, including a command performance for the President of India in 1992 and two extensive solo performance tours of North America including appearances at venues such as the Metropolitan Museum of the Arts (New York) and The World Bank (Washington). She has also performed at such prestigious international festivals as the International Arts Festival of China (1989), Ibero Americano Theatre Festival (Colombia - 1991), WOMAD (Toronto -1991), Festival of India (Indonesia -1991), Rhythms of India (Toronto -1993), Centro Nacional de Las Artes (Mexico -1995), Kalanidhi Dance Festival (Toronto -1996), Canada Dance Festival (Ottawa - 1998, June 2002) and the Harbourfront Centre's World Moves Dance Series (Toronto, 2001).

For the past 20 years, Lata Pada has showcased the rich cultural heritage of India’s classical dance through her professional dance company, Sampradaya Dance Creations, of which she is Artistic Director. The company is recognised not only for their creativity and excellence, but also for their many community outreach activities that include lecture demonstrations and workshops in schools, universities and to other groups.

Lata Pada was awarded the New Pioneers Award in 2000 for Arts by Skills for Change Toronto.

Lata Pada is Founder of the Mississauga based Sampradaya Dance Academy. Her many recent honours include the 1995 Mississauga Arts Award for Dance, the 2000 New Pioneers Arts Award, the Bharathi Kala Manram Performing Arts Award and the Distinguished Artist Award by Kannada Sangha. She holds a M.F.A. in Dance from York University, serves on the Arts and Entertainment Committee of the Mississauga Living Arts Centre, Arts & Culture Committee of the 2008 Toronto Olympic Bid and is a founding member of the South Asian Advisory Committee at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) and is assisting in the planning and development of their future South Asian Gallery.

Lata Pada says, “My work is inspired by and rooted in my life's experiences. These transformative interventions are embedded in my consciousness, waiting for that moment to become an idea, then a concept, finally movement. Some never surface, they remain dormant – private.

“But like most creations of art, some ideas are powerful, so compelling that they must be communicated. For me, every work of art is about honest, sincere communication, it must touch, engage and enrich the lives of every audience member. Therefore, for me dance is not only about technique, it must be, as in the words of Martha Graham a ‘satisfaction of spirit, and cultivation of the being’.”

(With files from other sources) 

Interview with Lata Pada*

Your academy is called Sampradaya meaning tradition. You come from a classical solo background. Will you step out of tradition and do more contemporary work? 

When I established my dance academy and company, my choice of the title SAMPRADAYA was very deliberate. I have always felt that contemporary dance is but part of a continuum of centuries of an evolving tradition. I do not see the dichotomy in classical and contemporary; the polarity does not exist in my artistic vision. Tradition does not imply stasis, it is dynamic and vibrant, responsive to changing trends and realities of the society within which it exists. I honour and celebrate the classicism of Bharatanatyam, it is the touchstone that I will be inspired by in my search for new meaning in my dance. 

As a senior artiste and choreographer, what is your opinion about South Asian dance in Canada?

I feel that South Asian dance is on the threshold of an unprecedented level of growth and integration into mainstream dance in Canada. It is here to stay as a very important voice of Canada’s cultural diversity. For instance, our production, REVEALED BY FIRE was invited to be part of Harbourfront’s World Moves, a prestigious mainstream dance series featuring the best of international and Canadian contemporary dance.  Increasingly the works of South Asian artists are being seen in major dance festivals and there is a vibrant range of classical and contemporary creations in Bharatanatyam, Odissi and Kathak.  South Asian dance is rapidly gaining recognition within funding agencies, nationally and regionally.  There is a growing thrust towards applying the highest professional standards to our productions and working with collaborators of acclaim. 

Do you have any ideas of also becoming a presenter and facilitating collaborations and workshops with visiting international artistes?

Working with other collaborators and visiting artists is part of our Company’s mandate; I believe in a variety of professional development initiatives for my dancers and myself.  I always find it exciting to network and share with my peers and colleagues around the world, this exchange of ideas and artistic approaches which are vital to the growth of any dance artist.  This fall, we have commissioned Anita Ratnam to create a new work HY-PHENATED (working title) for my Company and the work will premiere in a mixed program at the end of September in Toronto.  In July, L. Narendra from the Arangham Dance Company has been invited to teach a two-week workshop in Bharatanatyam and Kallari and assist in developing movement material for our new young audience production TALES FROM THE BANYAN TREE.

Since the arangetram phenomena all across America is a huge factor, what are some of the biggest stumbling blocks to introducing contemporary dance to the South Asian community in Canada?

As artist in a contemporary and culturally diverse Canadian society, we are challenged to make our work relevant to multi-generational and multi-ethnic audiences.  Our first generation South Asian audience with a preference for classical compositions are slow to accept change and appreciate contemporary work. On the other hand, second generation South Asians have eclectic tastes in the performing arts, they want to see work that is part of their reality as Canadians, then again we have a mainstream non South Asian audience that has a deep interest in world dance and music. Finding the ideal programming balance within my artistic objectives is one of the crucial challenges. 

Do you feel the need to return to India like the other NRI dancers and perform here? Do you find improvement or degeneration in quality of performances and selection of performers during the December season when you are a regular visitor to Chennai?

Yes, of course, as soon as the leaves turn a burnished gold in our glorious autumn season here, my thoughts gravitate to India and in particular to Chennai and Bangalore where I look forward to the bonanza of performances, festivals and conferences. I come back to India to be inspired and artistically rejuvenated and start having withdrawal symptoms if I miss one ‘season’.  I haven’t performed in India for a few years now, I suppose we have such active and hectic creating and performing schedules here in Canada, that it is a refreshing change to come back to India and become a spectator.  Unless one has contacts in India, the complex logistics of organizing the details of a performance in India are in themselves a deterrent. I have noticed that dancers/choreographers are incorporating sophisticated production values in their performances; there is more attention to aesthetics of lighting, costume and stage design.  I have seen a few interesting contemporary works, I only wish that there wasn’t such an unmanageable proliferation of dance performances in such a short time period, the burnout for a viewer happens far too quickly!

What are some of the other projects you are looking forward to this year?

This year, I will be working on a young audience work titled TALES FROM THE BANYAN TREE. Inspired by fables from the Panchatantra and native Canadian folklore, this work will be workshopped in schools as an Arts in The Schools initiative. Then later in the year, we will premiere HY-PHENATED (created by Anita Ratnam) as part of our season in September. We have been invited to perform at the Youth Showcase at Toronto’s 2008 Olympic Bid in May. 

16 years after the Kanishka tragedy where you lost your husband and  daughters, you have found love and peace again.  Congratulations on your recent marriage. How important has your husband been in your recent choices?

Thank you for your good wishes. It was our common passion for the arts that drew me to Hari Venkatacharya, whom I married in September of 2000. Even though he is not an artist (Hari is President of a software encryption company) he understands the challenges of an artist’s life and the nurturing a creative person needs.  He is my sounding board with whom my ideas and doubts are shared. 

    *(Source: Info Centre: Narthaki Online interviews - As told to ARR)