Training
Sampradaya Dance Academy offers a General Program as an introduction to Bharatanatyam to students from age 5 to adult levels. Our training aims to nurture a passion for dance by inspiring excellence, self-confidence and creativity in an emerging generation of dancers.
The training encompasses a carefully structured program that addresses training in Bharatanatyam movement technique, abhinaya - expressional dance, Bharatanatyam theory (drawn from various classical dance texts), Carnatic music, aspects of South Asian culture and aspects of safe dance practice and dancer health. All students in this program perform at our annual school recitals.
Professional Training Program
Students are selected by audition to enter the eight-year Professional Training Program (on a part-time basis) after training for three years in the Academy’s General Program. We also audition students who have had previous training with other teachers and/or training organizations across Canada and assess their training for suitable placement in our Professional Training Program.
In the Professional Training Program, students learn an entire margam - a repertoire which follows a systematic progression that takes the dancer through a carefully structured syllabus in preparation for a solo performance with a balance of abstract/rhythmic and expressional dance compositions. Students in the advanced levels of this program perform frequently in corporate, professional and community events and dance festivals providing them with many opportunities to deepen their technical and interpretative skills and appreciate the dynamics of ensemble choreography.
Students have the benefit of training with several Canadian and international visiting master teachers in allied movement disciplines to expand their interpretative and performance skills. We aim to maximize the individual potential of every student to become a professional member of the dance and arts sector. Our training also prepares our graduates to engage with and contribute to the larger community through innovative outreach and educational initiatives.
Dancers preparing to join the professional company, Sampradaya Dance Creations, are encouraged to complete this training program. For more information on the Professional Training Program, please email us at academy@sampradaya.ca or call 905-607-8454.
Sampradaya Dance Academy’s professional training program is supported by Canadian Heritage’s Arts Training Fund and the Ontario Arts Council.
Arangetrams
Students identified as being suitable for the arangetram program train for a further 12- 18 months to study a new repertoire for their solo debut. Preparation for an arangetram entails three to four two-hour weekly individual classes preparing the student for a repertoire of about 8-10 dance compositions, the notation of the choreography, reading of translations of theory texts, a strong understanding of the storyline, and the interpretation of the lyrics through facial and gestural expression. Students perform their arangetram with the accompaniment of live music featuring Toronto’s stellar musicians. We stress the value of marking the arangetram as the commencement of a lifetime pursuit rather than the completion of training.
York University Joint Program
We are affiliated with Toronto’s York University through an Articulated Agreement (signed in 2015) that provides 50% credits to SDA graduates entering York's Undergraduate Program in Dance.
Students in our Professional Training Program take annual exams conducted by ISTD (Imperial Society of Teaching in Dance) from London, England.
The program trains its students in a progressive curriculum including performance technique, Indian dance history, and theoretical principles of rhythm and music.
For more information on the undergraduate degree in dance at York University, please visit https://futurestudents.yorku.ca/program/dance
Aradhana
At the completion of an eleven-year training program, a complete Bharatanatyam repertoire known as a margam, a student can pursue an Aradhana certification.
The Aradhana margam is a carefully structured repertoire incorporating dance compositions that represent the theoretical aspects of Bharatanatyam. Both rhythmic and descriptive/narrative dance compositions highlight the student’s rigorous training.
The Aradhana program is performed to recorded music. A student can continue their training towards a full-fledged arangetram recital with a more advanced level repertoire to the accompaniment of musicians.
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