Transforming Grief Through Dance

Creative Arts in Interdisciplinary Practice,
Contributor Features


"I returned to dance, intuitively, instinctively. The dance of death was now my dance of life. As I danced, like a woman possessed, my conscious mind snuffed out the reality of my loss. While my world as wife and mother had been cruelly wrenched from me, I came to understand that my identity as a dancer had survived, an identity that no outside force could destroy."
Lata Pada





Lata Pada is Artistic Director of Sampradaya Dance creations, an award winning Canadian dance company recognized for its distinctive choreography spanning a dynamic range of classical bharatanatyam and contemporary dance works. Lata has trained with India's distinguished gurus, Kalaimamani K. Kalyanasundaram, Padma Bhushan and Kalanidhi Narayanan. Lata holds a Masters in Dance from York University and is currently an Adjunct Professor in York University's Master's program in Dance. In January 2009, Lata was awarded The Order of Canada. She has the distinction of being the first Indian artist to receive this national honour.

More about Lata Pada and her story here Toronto Star