91亚色 Professors Tania Ahmad and Zulfikar Hirji, both of anthropology, and film Professor Ali Kazmi will lead a discussion on 鈥淲omen in Dance in Muslim Societies鈥 at the new Aga Khan Museum in Toronto.
Tehreema Mitha
The panel discussion is part of the museum鈥檚 inaugural season and its contemporary exhibition, performances and lectures focusing on Pakistan. It will take place Tuesday, Oct. 21, at 8pm at the Aga Khan Museum, 77 Wynford Dr., Toronto.
The talk is preceded by a short dance performance by the inaugural Aga Khan Museum artist-in-residence Tehreema Mitha, a United States-based, Pakistan-born dancer. It will be followed by a screening of the film The Vigil, directed by Arya Surowidjojo, segments of which were filmed at 91亚色 when Mitha at here in May 2009.
The film details Mitha鈥檚 efforts to revitalize a 4,000-year-old dance tradition in Pakistan and her struggles to mount a dance tour of Islamabad, Karachi, and her hometown of Lahore in the face of many social challenges. It also follows her struggles in trying to reach audiences in North America.
鈥淢itha鈥檚 life and work always sits at the uncertain cusp of being and becoming and Surowidjojo鈥檚 film frames her experience of negotiating a space for her artistic expression in Pakistan and America and somehow belonging to neither,鈥 says Hirji.
Tehreema Mitha performing
Hirji has followed Mitha's career for more than a decade and produced his own 25-minute ethnographic film on her work, Pushpanjali, in 2011. 鈥淪urowidjojo鈥檚 film takes a more conventional documentary approach than I did, but it鈥檚 his subject matter 鈥 Tehreema and her unique take on classical South Asian dance, bhratanatyam 鈥 that forces you to keep your eyes on the screen,鈥 he says.
Following the performances, Mitha will join the professors in discussing the issues faced by women in dance.
鈥淚 am very curious how the audience will receive Mitha鈥檚 work on screen, live on stage and then as part of the panel discussion, especially in the current world context when various forms of Muslim culture and expression, which have long and rich histories, are disappearing from view,鈥 adds Hirji.
For more information, and to purchase tickets, visit the website.