Supriya Nayak (she/her)

Supriya Nayak is an Odissi dancer from New Delhi, based in Toronto since 2015. Her work has been presented by the National Centre for Performing Arts (Mumbai), Bharat Bhavan (Bhopal), International Odissi Festival and Odisha Dance Academy (Bhubaneswar), Sangeet Natak Akademi, Indian Council for Cultural Relations, and more. She has performed in Bangladesh, China, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, South Africa, and the USA. Supriya’s artistic practice integrates her training in Alexander Technique. She is an Odissi teacher and has a developing practice of research and writing on Odissi. She has also danced in works by Kiran Segal, Rajendra Gangani, Brandy Leary, Lee Su-Feh, Nova Bhattacharya, and others.

Birthplace: New Delhi, India.

Companies: Pallavi Odissi Nritya Sangeet Vidyalaya, Nova Dance

Why Nova Dance: Nova Bhattacharya, Canadian Dance Community, self-discovery, sanctuary.

My cherished moments as a dancer in dance as in life, listening for an invitation, being open to surprises and available to the moment — the practice of these skills has led to my best moments as a dancer

I love dance for the possibilities that it offers to connect and the opening offered by Odissi specifically to search deeper into other artistic forms, and my own history.

For Nova Dance: Purnima Pushpanjail, Elemental Duet, M3, Svāhā