Bageshree Vaze
Toronto, Canada
Bageshree Vaze (Choreographer/Dancer) is an Indo-Canadian dance artist and musician. Raised in St. John’s, NL, she initially trained in Bharatha Natyam with teachers in Michigan (Sudha Sekhar) and Bombay (the late Guru T.K. Mahalingam Pillai), and studied Hindustani vocal music with her father, Damodar Vaze. She later trained in Kathak with Jai Kishan Maharaj in New Delhi and studied with the renowned vocalist Veena Sahasrabuddhe in Mumbai. Bageshree has choreographed numerous dance works such as 2007’s ‘Tarana,’ 2011’s ‘Avatar (9),’ and 2012’s ‘Damaru/Mudra.’and has four CDs to her credit. Her breakthrough album Tarana (released as Khanak through Times Music in India), a CD of songs adapted and arranged for Indian dance, is accessed by dancers worldwide. Bageshree has been commissioned by and has performed in major festivals and in December 2018, Bageshree choreographed and performed a Kathak solo at the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto entitled ‘Jahanara’ based on the story of the late Jahanara Akhlaq who was killed in Lahore, Pakistan in 1999. Bageshree’s 2019 choreography ‘A Hidden Princess’ was nominated for three Dora Mavor Moore Toronto theatre Awards, including Outstanding Production, Outstanding Sound Composition and Outstanding Performance by an Individual.
Bageshree has a Masters degree in Dance from York University, and a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism from Carleton University.