TEERMANAM COLLECTIVE
|
Teermanam Collective is a Vancouver-based performing arts collective founded by dancers Sujit Vaidya and Arno Kamolika and percussionist Curtis Andrews. Rooted in Bharatanatyam and the close relationship between dance, rhythm and live Carnatic music, the Collective approaches tradition as embodied knowledge—carried, transmitted and continually reinterpreted across bodies, generations, places and time. Its work combines rigorous engagement with classical practice with an openness to experimentation, dialogue and evolving approaches to performance.
Vaidya and Kamolika contribute as both dancers and nattuvanars, while Andrews performs mridangam, with additional dancers and musicians joining for individual projects. Teermanam creates opportunities for established, emerging and newly arrived artists to work together as artistic collaborators. While Bharatanatyam and Carnatic music form an important foundation for the Collective, Teermanam also seeks meaningful collaborations beyond these traditions, creating encounters with other dance, music and artistic practices that can generate new perspectives while respecting the depth and integrity of the forms involved. Teermanam builds upon a history of collaboration among its members, including producing Swagat and organizing and performing in Vaidya’s four-city BC tour of SAMAR. Through performances, new artistic projects and collaborations, the Collective seeks to strengthen professional South Asian classical arts in British Columbia and beyond, create opportunities for a diverse and evolving community of artists, and explore how deeply rooted traditions can remain vital, responsive and connected to the contemporary world. |
|