Wasda Punjab Arts, an all-girls dance academy in Manitoba that focuses on Punjabi folk dances, will perform in the Exchange District on Feb. 22. The performance will take place at the Rachel Browne Theatre, 211 Bannatyne Avenue, and will focus on female empowerment.
Sehgeet Tind is a third-year student at the U of M and creative director and founder of Wasda Punjab Arts, having started the dance academy when she was in Grade 9.
Tind explained that almost all of the dancers are from the U of M and that the campus used to serve as a frequent practice ground for the group. “It kind of became a part of our everyday routine,” she said.
Tind stated that the group now rents a dance studio, though she admitted that the group still takes advantage of hallway space on campus sometimes to fine-tune performance skills.
“We don’t have group classes going on, but at the moment we’ll do workshops once in a while just to keep people active,” she said.
Tind said that after meeting Krupa Mashru, the University of Manitoba Students’ Union international students’ representative and Indian classical dance enthusiast, the two came about the idea of the Feb. 22 performance.
“What’s really cool is that all the dancers are girls. All the people that are doing tech [crew] are girls,” she said when speaking on the upcoming performance. “We think it’s really cool because all of these girls go to university and they have jobs, but at the same time, they’re taking out their time to put on a show.”
The event will feature dances ranging from classical to Bollywood fusion to other dance styles.
Tind explained that the dance academy is the first all-girls dance academy for Punjabi folk dance in the province, but added that she faced “a lot of […] backlash from the public” during the early stages.
“My main thing with the academy was to open a competitive team,” she said. “We never had a completive team here in Manitoba and the first one being a girl’s one was a big deal because obviously people thought ‘okay, well why aren’t the guys doing it?’”
Tind stated that the group has competed in Toronto and has been doing at least two competitions a year. She added that she holds tryouts, and provided that the individual has potential and is willing enough, she will train them one-on-one.
“Our city is small, it’s really hard to find dancers,” she said.
Tind also stated that a problem in communities in that when kids reach the 12-to-13-year age mark, their parents tend to take them out of dance — a critical moment where they are improving.
“So many people have found [our workshops] fun and entertaining and they come and ask me, ‘how can we join, we want to get to that point where we can teach too,’” said Tind. “It’s that type of empowerment that we give each other.”
