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Dvaita | Duality

Dvaita | Duality

Shivamanohari Company

February 20 - February 22

Dvaita | Duality

Theatre Network Mainstage Series presents

Dvaita | Duality

Shivamanohari Company

Contradictions, comparison and ultimately confluence, Dvaita | Duality is a fusion of artistic expression and philosophical inquiry. Through two distinct dance forms, Kuchipudi and Balinese, Dvaita-Duality displays the dynamic balance of opposing energies and beautifully challenges the Colonial construct of Gender.

Centred around ‘Ardhanareeswara’, the composite form of Shiva-Shakti the androgynous God, the dance visualises the distinct yet complementary nature of the masculine and feminine energies. A layered performance, this piece explores the philosophical questions of how our consciousness (Purusha/ Male) interacts with the material world (Prakriti/Female).

Dvaita-Duality aspires to resolve the paradox of opposites not through negotiation, but by harmonious expression and positive influences of life.

Gomathi Boorada (Lead Dancer/Choreographer)
Goutham Maheswar (Lead Dancer)
Hemali Boorada (Lead Dancer)⁠
Ni Putu Widiantini (Lead Dancer/Choreographer)
Jesitta Jilju
Veidant Murthy
Alphonsa Kamble
Neharika Nair
⁠Ni Wayan Pia Wahyuni
Kiana Chandanatha
⁠Ni Kadek Santi Wiadnyani

Choreographers:
Gomathi Boorada – Kuchipudi
Ni Putu Widiantini – Balinese

Music:
D.S.V. Sastry
I Wayan Sudirana
Brian Raine

“Dvaita | Duality offered the audience more than aesthetic pleasure. It stood as a rare example of cultural collaboration grounded in mutual respect and deep inquiry, and a testament to the power of classical forms to engage timeless questions of gender identities.” – Narthaki Dance Magazine. Prof. Satish Suri (Bangalore based Dance Critic)  

“What makes Dvaita-Duality more than a performance is how it holds past and present in the same breath. Through ancient gestures and new collaborations, it speaks of identity without borders, energy beyond gender, and tradition as a living, evolving, life force.”– Indian Express. Arundhuti Banerjee

Biographies

Lead Dancer

Gomathi Boorada

Gomathi, the Artistic Director of Shivamanohari School of Performing Arts in Edmonton, is a trained Kuchipudi dancer with extensive experience in South Asian Dance Drama and Theatre. She has been honored with the prestigious ‘Cultural Diversity Award’ from The Edmonton Arts Council and has received numerous grants / awards from the Canada Council for the Arts. Gomathi has tirelessly worked to bridge communities and establish Edmonton’s first inclusive, multicultural theatre – The Cube.

Lead Dancer

Goutham Maheswar

Goutham Maheshwar, from Kerala, is a Kuchipudi performer, Choreographer, Teacher and Nattuvangam artist. He is a recent graduate with an MFA in Kuchipudi; also trained in Mohiniattam and Bharathnatyam. Goutham is also a Doordarshan graded artist. An active performer, he has graced stages nationally and internationally in places such as Abu Dhabi, Indonesia, Oman and Canada. Goutham is the founder and artistic director of the Sattva Dance Academy, based in Thiruvananthapuram, India.

Lead Dancer

Hemali Boorada

Hemali Boorada is a Kuchipudi dancer training under Guru Gomathi Boorada for the past 20 years. A lead dancer in the Shivamanohari Company, she actively tours nationally and internationally. Hemali made her choreographic debut in 2023 at NextFest and SkirtsAFire, and is now actively choreographing, with a focus on multicultural collaborations. While completing her Masters in Kuchipudi, Hemali is also currently a student-at-law.

Lead Dancer

⁠Ni Putu Widiantini

Putu Widiantini is a dancer and choreographer who graduated from the Indonesian Institute of the Arts Bali. Putu actively teaches Balinese dance for children as a form of preserving classical Balinese dance. Now she is active as a dance director at Gamelan Yuganada and the Chandra Nada Ubud Arts Group. Some of her choreographies such as Dewi Usha, Kecak Anyar, JingGong, have filled world stages such as the Samulnori Competition in Chilgok South Korea 2015, Kaleidoscope Drumming Nation Kuala Lumpur 2016, Taksu Ubud 2020, Sudamala 2022 & 2023. She is now collaborating with the Shivamanohari School of Performing Arts Edmonton Canada at the Bali Arts Festival 2024.

Lead Dancer

Shakthi Ganesh Verma

Shakthi is a Bharatnatyam dancer trained under Guru Karthika Ganeshan for over 15years. Artistic director of Shakthi Kshetralaya dance company, Calgary. She is a regular at major festivals in Canada, Shakthi is a versatile dancer that has worked with many leading South Asian Dance companies in Alberta. Shakthis is currently pursuing her MFA in Bharatnatyam and is a company member of Shivamanohari Dance company.

Drag

Theatre Network Mainstage

Theatre Network’s mainstage is our bread and butter, the core of what we do, representing the productions that we create and present ourselves from season to season. This series features the best of professional contemporary theatre with a focus on artists, playwrights and stories from western Canada. In this series you can count on work that is challenging, engaging, entertaining, and unafraid to question our conceptions of the world we live in. Our continuing commitment is towards risk. Not all of our work is controversial, but we have chosen to welcome controversy, rather than fear it.

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