Tehreema Mitha is in Toronto this week as an artist-in-residence at the recently opened Aga Khan Museum.
Earlier this week, Mitha participated in a panel discussion titled “Women and Dance in Muslim Societies,” following a screening of The Vigil, a film documenting challenges she faced when organizing a dance tour in Pakistan, as well as her outsider position within the American dance fraternity.
She continued her Aga Khan residency with a collaborative performance with local dancers and musicians Thursday, and showcase performances on the weekend, Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.
By: Aparita Bhandari Special to the Star, Published on Thu Oct 23 2014
An arangetram, or the debut performance in the classical Indian dance tradition of bharatanatyam, is a big affair.
After years of intensive training, a stage is booked, live musicians are hired, and an elaborate set of costumes and jewelry is ordered.
Tehreema Mitha wasn’t sure how many people would show up for her arangetram in Lahore, Pakistan, in 1986. She’d been learning bharatanatyam from her mother, Indu Mitha, at a time when dance was considered un-Islamic.
“There was a law . . . which did not allow what they called dance or other obscenities onstage,” says Mitha, now based out of Maryland.
“Using that as a tool, (Pakistan president) Zia ul-Haque didn’t allow any dancing on Pakistani soil. So we had to perform at the German Goethe Institute, on their back veranda. People were sitting on the grass. There were some 350 people, who had just heard of it by word-of-mouth.
“We took a big risk. But it was worth it, the commitment was there.”
“The time I was growing up, there were few options to do something physical and athletic for women and girls. There were no opportunities for sports or hiking, which were things I was interested in. Naturally I turned to something that was available, at my home,” says Mitha.
“In the earlier days, Pakistan was more open. People were happy to do cultural activities. But towards the end of (former prime minister Zulfikar Ali) Bhutto’s time . . . extremists had more leeway. Pakistan became more and more conservative and rigid in what it accepts as part of its cultural heritage and what it accepts as allowable for women.”
In Toronto, Mitha hopes to reach out to a diverse dance community.
“If they come, they’ll have fun and a great time,” she says. “The whole point of a residency is to help artists in their creativity, to help them move ahead and try something new.”
Via Toronto Star | Tehreema Mitha brings her original dance to Aga Khan Museum.
THIS WEEKEND! Witness the world premiere of Tehreema Mitha’s performance, “A Drop to Spare?”
Click here to learn more about Tehreema Mitha’s weekend performances.
THIS WEEKEND! Witness the world premiere of Tehreema Mitha’s performance, "A Drop to Spare?" ow.ly/DeCKr http://t.co/wk7Zjentag—
Aga Khan Museum (@AgaKhanMuseum) October 24, 2014
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