Emcy Award Winner

Arts/Education Award

Dr. Menaka Thakkar has been a performing artist, choreographer, teacher, producer and cultural entrepreneur working in Canada for over 37 years. Through her school Nrtyakala, her company The Menaka Thakkar Dance Company, and her affiliation with the arts presenting organization Kalanidhi Fine Arts, she has consistently promoted equity and diversity, contributing to the enrichment of the fabric of our country. Dr. Thakkar's school and company have earned a national and international reputation for excellence in East Indian Classical Dance and Music. Her students are from communities throughout Canada such as Toronto, Thunder Bay, Winnipeg, Regina, Saskatoon and St. John's Newfoundland. Menaka has introduced Canadians to the rich world of Indian music, dance and visual arts through ongoing workshops, discussion and performances. For this work, she was awarded an honorary D. Lit. degree from York University.

Over the past three decades, Menaka Thakkar has fostered successful and innovative collaborations with prominent Canadian artists such as Robert Desrosier, Claudia Moore and Danny Grossman. These performances have blended western and Indian practices and techniques to produce new "fusion choreography" that brings together the best of each artistic tradition. One particularly successful collaboration, The Land of Cards, fused five diverse dance cultures. Menaka created this work as a celebration of Canadian diversity, opening herself to the many cultural influences she has encountered in her personal and artistic life in Canada. The work embodied a sense of unity and diversity at the same time, a tribute to Canadian multicultural identity.