ARTISTIC DIRECTION
SONIA ST-MICHEL
Artistic Director — Choreographer — Performer — Art Educator
SSC was founded in May 2020 by its Executive and Artistic Director, Sonia St-Michel. For 20 years, she shared her life between Canada and India, and has been engaged in the practice of Odissi dance. She received a formal and recognized training by renowned masters in India who transmitted to her a choreographic repertoire, a philosophy and a tradition in the rules of the art, thus enabling her to practice, interpret and teach. Although she herself is not of Indian origin, she remains sensitive to the importance of evolving with respect and understanding of the culture and its heritage.
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At the heart of her practice, there is a dialogue between the classical Odissi repertoire, which she practices and teaches, and the creation of contemporary works. When she creates, she does so with a knowledge grounded in her extensive training in the art form.
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Several original works are part of the choreographer's repertoire: Chitrangada (2010), Aarti (2012), La Maille (2016), ArÅ«pa (2019), Mystique 2.0 (2019), Where the breeze is gentle (2020). These have been presented in theatres, festivals, art galeries in Canada and abroad in veues such as Tangente, Le Gésu, Ottawa Dance Directive, National Arts Centre, Shenkman Arts Centre, Galeria Rosenblueth, the Kabir Centre, ArohaFest and the Great Festival of India.
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SSC continues to nourrish a solid network of international collaborations, built over the last 2 decades, with artists and organisations who are invested in both the dissemination and transmission of tradition and the creation of contemporary works. This network includes Sampradaya Dance, Nova Dance, Aroha Fine Arts, Dance Routes, Devraj Patnaik, Supriya Nayak, Dali Basu, Sujata Mohapatra, Aloka Panikar, Natasha Bakth, Anandam.