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Zahra Esmail, 24, has been dancing since she was five years old. Like many before her, Esmail began her dance experience as a child being dragged to classes by her mother. With time, she began to appreciate the social benefits of taking dance class, and noticed its impact on her self-confidence. It was her trip to India after high school, however, that really heightened her interest in her cultural heritage. She said after finding herself in the majority in India, she became sensitive to the idea that people in Canada didn’t see her as being as much a Canadian as they did those of European descent. By giving access to her traditional language and culture, dance helps her find an alternative identity, she says.
“When people see me, they see a South Asian, not a Canadian. If I were to lose my heritage, I wouldn’t be seen as an Indian, and I wouldn’t be seen as a Canadian. I would be in a middle space without any sense of belonging.”
More: http://www.carleton.ca/JMC/capitalarts/2007/s8.shtml
Zahra Esmail was one of the 2009/10 Aga Khan Foundation Fellows in International Development Management. She writes at her blog, click here: http://indiazahra.wordpress.com/
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