Our Principles
Manohar is a Sanskrit word meaning “to capture the mind”. Manohar Performing Arts of Canada Inc. (established 1991; incorporated 1993) is an open, non-profit, dancer-led collective. The principles of the Manohar creative space reflect the following lifelong learning principles, in a structured but deliberately egalitarian and nurturing environment.
Creating an ordered physical environment
Movement and cognition are intrinsically linked. Regular body conditioning and practice are required to keep the physical instrument in tune. Company class is no substitute for individual motivation and personal practice. Physical conditioning should occur outside of rehearsal as well as during, for dancers to be prepared and capable of creating movement, and of generating the muscle memory required to learn and successfully reproduce that movement. Regular practice, company rehearsal and outreach may be conducted over distance via mutually workable online platforms.
Learning with and from peers
Dancers in Manohar are adult peers, so within the creative space, Manohar functions as a collective based on peer interaction. Dancers should work together to provide the environment, inspiration, guidance and encouragement for themselves and their colleagues to excel. All dancers can contribute collaboratively to the creation of dance works. Senior dancers are expected to readily share their knowledge, but should also invite and foster ideas offered by junior dancers, so they can develop confidence in their own creativity.
Creating or learning new choreography requires contextual learning, peer review and peer critique, which must always be constructive.
Dance standards are identified and adhered to; mistakes are identified gently, giving dancers the opportunity to self-correct. The operative principles for company class include altruism and empathy; peer critique is respectful and mutual among dancers.
Freedom within limits
Company rehearsal is aimed at a mutually accepted and inclusive physical standard; standards for a specific performance may be set higher, in which case only those dancers meeting that standard at that moment will be requested to perform. The Artistic Director will serve as the ultimate arbiter of dance technique or of the soundness of a choreography.
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Manohar Bharatanatyam company classes are run by the dancers themselves. Dancers who have learned from different teachers will
naturally have style differences; they are not asked to change their style during practice, but are to be open to the multiplicity of styles. For a performance, dancers may mutually decide on a particular style of movement for unison choreography. ​Manohar Kathak company classes are under the aegis of Jhankaar School of Dance, and Kathak dancers participating in Manohar productions from outside Jhankaar are asked to discuss stylistic issues with Artistic Director Usha Sharma.
Classical dance techniques are exacting, and some standards do not bend. During rehearsal, all bodies may be pushed toward achieving a movement ideal; final choreography will generally take into account the physical capabilities or limitations of each body, to emphasize strengths and minimize weaknesses while achieving a company standard.
Encouraging independence
Every year brings new techniques, new narratives or ways of presenting dance, new platforms and new technologies. Dancers are encouraged to explore what aspects they need to develop in themselves; they may take on different creative roles during a production, in addition to or instead of a performing role. Dancers are free to explore other physical disciplines and to cross train; they are welcome to introduce those disciplines to the group, into body conditioning rehearsals or in choreography.
Both senior and junior dancers are encouraged to initiate project ideas, to apply for project support under the banner of Manohar, or to seek out venues for group or solo performance. Dancers are also welcome to take on solo projects outside of the Manohar collective, for creation, teaching or performance. These should be identified ahead of time as solo projects, wherein neither the dancer nor the work need be identified as belonging to Manohar.
Intrinsic rather than extrinsic rewards and motivation
Manohar is a project-based organization, and works to facilitate professional performance on a regular basis. However, long periods may pass between performance opportunities. In order for the company to maintain its standards, practice and rehearsal continue regularly even when a performance opportunity is not present. Remuneration may occur for funded projects; body conditioning classes and general rehearsals are not remunerated. Costs of regular practice are borne by all active local Manohar members, whether
dancing in a specific production or not. Company rehearsal space is rented by Manohar for final performance preparation.​
The motivation to excel in dance has to be internally generated; the willingness to work together serves to boost that motivation. The group spirit of Manohar is collegial and a mutual support network; dancers are responsible to each other and to the group. This responsibility includes adherence to group commitments; once a performance opportunity is agreed upon, dancers who have agreed to participate cannot withdraw from that commitment for reasons short of extraordinary circumstance. This is intrinsic to the trust relationships within the Manohar group and forms part of Manohar’s code of conduct.
Dance is for all dancers
Professional-level dance, whether learning, execution or performance, requires facing, evaluating, incorporating (and sometimes rising above) a great deal of criticism, external or internal. Classical dance, especially abhinaya, calls on a dancer’s inner resources and can place a person in a position of emotional or mental vulnerability in its creation, evaluation and performance. It is imperative that Manohar be a place of both creativity and safety for its dancers. A safe artistic space is a vibrant, imaginative, uncensored space that allows scope for all artists and artistic voices to develop and to shine.
It is important to note that the classical Indian dance traditions have not always been inclusive or welcoming spaces; there have historically been exclusions on many societal, cultural, religious, and personal bases. Manohar Performing Arts of Canada Inc is, and will always be, a dance company for all dancers who take the classical arts seriously, whether or not they choose to make a career in the performing arts.
Manohar Performing Arts of Canada is a non-profit Winnipeg-based dance theatre company (incorporated in 1993 and registered in Manitoba and Ontario) that creates, produces, and presents dance and music arts originating in South Asia. Using the embodied traditions of classical Bharatanatyam and Kathak, with neoclassical and contemporary vocabularies, soundscapes, and narratives, we transform literature, poetry, and myth from the Indian subcontinent into the physical language of dance in a way that speaks universally to us as Canadians.
Contact Us
​Manohar Performing Arts of Canada, Inc 934 Crestview Park Drive, Winnipeg Manitoba, Canada R2Y0V7
1 (204) 837-3757
©2022 by Manohar Performing Arts of Canada