residency Archive
Process+Practice Dance Residency
2023-24 Cohort
Presented by City of Toronto in partnership with TOES FOR DANCE, with support from ĀNANDAṀ
Residency Cycle: August 2023 - November 2024
Inaugural Artists: Rakeem Hardy and Tanveer Alam
Selection: David Norsworthy in consultation with Assembly Hall staff
Residency Components:
Year 1 Residency: July 30 to August 12, 2023
Open Rehearsal: August 13, 2023
Community Workshop, led by Tanveer Alam: August 24, 2024, supported by the Canada Arts Presentation Fund
Year 2 Residency, including Artistic Exchange: August 26-30, 2024
Collective Space Rehearsal Hours (50 per artist): Throughout 2024, supported by ĀNANDAṀ
Production Period: November 4-9, 2024, supported by Toronto Arts Council
Student Workshop, led by Rakeem Hardy: November 8, 2024
Double Bill Performances, including three public shows and one student matinee: November 7-9, 2024, supported by Toronto Arts Council and the Canada Arts Presentation Fund
Photo by Kendra Epik.
Rakeem Hardy
Biography
Rakeem Hardy (they/them) is a black, queer, agender dance artist originally from Toronto, Canada.
They received their BFA and the Thayer Fellowship Award from the State University of New York at Purchase College. They performed works by Ohad Naharin, Doug Varone, Sidra Bell, Norbert De La Cruz III, and Roderick George. They received additional training at the Taipei National University of the Arts, as well at Springboard Danse Montreal where they performed pieces by Crystal Pite, Alejandro Cerrudo, and Aszure Barton.
Rakeem has collaborated and performed with A.I.M by Kyle Abraham, Collectif LA TRESSE, Loni Landon Dance Projects, and Gallim Dance. Rakeem is a current member of the Vancouver-based company, Kidd Pivot.
residency project
running from and towards is an odyssey into the unknown, a dance with the immaterial, a meditation on fear and aspiration. This work is rooted in western contemporary dance.
Choreographer and performer: Rakeem Hardy
Outside Eye: Katherine Semchuk
Photos by Shannon Widdis and Aidan Tooth.
Tanveer Alam
Biography
Toronto-based Tanveer Alam started his Kathak training with Sudeshna Maulik and continued further nuanced studies with guru Sandhya Desai. Alam is a 2019 graduate of Dance Arts Institute of Canada (DAI). Alam has performed in the works of Rina Singha, Lata Pada, Padmini Chettur, Brandy Leary, Harikishan S. Nair, Sashar Zarif, Lucy Rupert, and Peter Chin, to name a few. As an emerging choreographer, he has presented work at SummerWorks Festival, Battery Dance Festival +, MAI - Montréal, arts, interculturels, CanAsian Dance Festival: Grit Short Dances, and Tangente. As an emerging curator, he has supported programming initiatives with Dancemakers, TOES FOR DANCE, and Flemingdon Park Toronto Public Library. Across the 23/24 season, Alam choreographed Moving for the second year students of DAI. He also performed solo presentations at Vilaya Festival (Pittsburgh), The New York Kathak Festival (New York), and Navatman Black Box Baithak (New York).
Residency Project
Muhandis is a new work based on the Indian classical dance form of Kathak. Muhandis draws inspiration from jaali (perforated stone) windows commonly found in Indo-Islamic architecture. It explores the characteristics of Islamic architectural geometry prevalent in South Asia, proposing that dancers are architects of space, collectively crafting intricate geometries to animate and activate their surroundings.
Choreographer: Tanveer Alam
Year 1 Dancers: Genevieve John, Priyanka Tope, Priya Doobay, Sindhu Nair, Sukriti Sharma
Year 2 Dancers: Raghav Monga, Sukriti Sharma, Anjali Tanna, Priyanka Topé
Music composer: Pavithra Chari
Dramaturg: Harikishan S Nair
Rehearsal director: Atri Nundy
Academic consultant: Prof. Heba Mostafa
Additional Funding: Toronto Arts Council, Canada Council for the Arts, TO Live Explorations Grant.
Photos by Shannon Widdis and Aidan Tooth.
Heartfelt gratitude to the following supporters for making the inaugural Process+Practice Dance Residency possible:
Lindy Green & Sam Chaiton, Cathy Lace, Paul Warder
Photo/artist credits: (below banner photo, left to right) Genevieve John, Sukriti Sharma, Priyanka Tope, Priya Doobay and Sindhu Nair in choreography by Tanveer Alam (photo by Aidan Tooth).
