Reflections on Menaka Thakkar
“ Mourning Menaka.
Menaka always loved the fact that she was named after an apsara (In Indian mythology, apsaras are beautiful, supernatural female beings. They are youthful and elegant, and superb in the art of dancing.).
Menaka always knew how to make entrances and exits, and departing this life on February 5, 2022 her exit coincided with Saraswati Puja - the day set aside to revere the embodiment of knowledge, wisdom, art, music and dance.
Starting in 1974 I would follow her around to performance after performance, watching her, and watching audiences watch her – made me understand the power dance has to transcend boundaries of culture and race, and made me want to be the artist I am today. She instilled in her students her open-mindedness about all forms of dance, she inspired so many dancers of all backgrounds. Her fearless creativity and uncompromising standard of excellence, opened doors, forever changing the dance scene in Canada with the power of her craft.
Menaka always said she was married to dance, and today dance itself is mourning her loss.
'Let it not be death but completeness. Let love melt into memory and pain into songs. Let the flight through the sky end in the folding of the wings over the nest. Let the last touch of your hands be gentle like the flower of the night. Stand still, O Beautiful End, for a moment, and say your last words in silence. I bow to you and hold up my lamp to light you on your way.' -Rabindranath Tagore ”
Nova Bhattacharya
It's been difficult to find the words to explain all the emotions I have felt today. To the woman who believed in me more than I believed in myself, pushed me out of my comfort zone, trusted me with her art... I'm left feeling alone and broken.
Messages of love, condolences and sharing of memories from 100's of people, has reminded me... that the biggest contribution she had, was impact. Not just on me, but an entire community and country. She fought for the recognition Indian art forms deserved, equal representation and visibility, and did so unapologetically without hesitation.
After my 6 years as Assistant Artistic Director for MTDC, I experienced what true unconditional passion was. We can all only aspire to dream with the intensity Menaka di and Rasesh bhai did, and hope that they will support us from their own artistic paradise. May we all leap towards challenges the way you did, may we continue to advocate for ourselves the way you did, may we dream to inspire the way you did.
Menaka di, your impact is monumental, I will forever be grateful for the path you carved out for me, and hope you will be beside me on this journey towards artistic excellence.
Sending love to all the students, dancers, collaborators and art lovers who are feeling a void today, know that Menaka di would only want you to fill it with love, passion and dance.
Rest in Power Menaka di, Menaka Thakkar Menaka Thakkar Dance Company Rasesh Thakkar
Eternally grateful Neena Jayarajan
Neena Jayarajan
“Menaka - how sad I am to know you are gone, and how blessed to have witnessed your brilliant artistry. Your shining gifts changed the face of Canadian dance. I cherish our Duality duet – what an honour it was to create and perform this work with you.
I will never forget the first time I saw you perform, over 40 years ago at the Toronto Workshop Productions. Still, I see your smile, your eyes - radiating love, light and life. Thank you, dear Menaka - we keep you in our hearts. I extend my love and deepest condolences to all who knew you.”
Claudia Moore
"Menaka-di, as she was known to her many dance students, was a giant in the Canadian dance world. Arriving in Canada in 1972 from Bombay, she was a classically trained dancer in three techniques, Bharatanatym, Odissi and Kuchipudi. Her early performances in Canada mesmerized audiences. She was virtuosic in her execution of nritta or pure dance while also being an incredibly moving performer of abhinaya or expressional dance. Her dances took audiences on an unforgettable journey. She compelled a Eurocentric Canadian dance community to sit up and take notice of her art.
Menaka-di was a brilliant and beloved teacher. She loved to teach dance and thought of it as her calling. In her early days in Canada, she travelled every weekend training young dancers from British Columbia to Newfoundland. She saw something of value and beauty in every child that she taught. With her dance academy, Nrtyakala, she trained thousands of students in Ontario, instilling in them not only a love for dance and art, but fostering a rich sense of pride and self-esteem. She brought living legends from the classical dance scene in India to her students and to Canada including Gurus Kalanidhi Narayanan, Kitappa Pillai, Vempatti Chinna Satyam and Kelucharan Mohapatra. Her conviction and commitment to living life fully as an Indian dancer in Canada nourished South Asian children in a world that was not always easy to navigate.
The Menaka Thakkar Dance Company, comprising primarily of dancers she had trained, performed her many original dance works, across Canada, the United States, India, Singapore and Japan. Her classical choreography was sheer genius. She took well-known Indian epics and reinterpreted them from a profoundly personal perspective. Her imaginative use of space, her rhythmic ingenuity, and her persuasive desire to convey stories to each and every person she met will always be remembered. She was a pioneer in cross-cultural collaborations working with some of Canada’s finest choreographers to explore and innovate in new genres of dance. Menaka-di’s work was pivotal in arts councils abandoning exclusionary eligibility criteria that only recognized ballet and western contemporary dance forms.
Her accolades were numerous including an honorary doctorate from York University, the Canada Council’s Walter Carsen Prize, the Governor-General’s Performing Arts Award, and induction into the Dance Collection Danse Hall of Fame, to name but a few. She was without a doubt a national treasure. Her passing, along with the recent death of her brother, supporter and co-creator, Rasesh Thakkar (Rasesh Bhai), marks the end of a vibrant era in Canadian dance. She will be dearly missed, but her long legacy lives on in the generations of dancers she trained and mentored.
Menaka-di’s impact on my own life has been immeasurable. The first time I saw her perform, I was spellbound. She had an ability to inspire awe in young people and she had me hooked from the age of six. I studied with her for over twenty years, I taught in her school, I toured with her company nationally and internationally, and I eventually began to create my own works encouraged and energized by the love of choreography that she generated in me. She was a teacher, mentor and mother to me demanding the highest standards of excellence, but also providing comfort and understanding in challenging times. Her presence in my life has been a profound gift."
Natasha Bakht